The shocking announcement Tuesday morning that golf’s civil war is over and that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF have agreed to merge has opened up a new can of worms. Among the questions: how will LIV players, who banked lucrative signing bonuses to jump ship while others turned down the Saudi lucre, be brought back into the fold?
“Do guys who stayed loyal just get a thank you and then guys who got money just get that money and get to come back?” a highly decorated player who received an attractive offer but declined to leave the PGA Tour said. “There’s a lot of questions out there.”
The joint news release that was issued this morning by the golf bodies stated, “the three organizations will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season and for determining fair criteria and terms of re-admission, consistent with each Tour’s policies.”
In a social media posting, DP World Tour commissioner Keith Pelley said, “There was always a route back, players were not banned. There was always a way to return to the DP World Tour.”
But Monahan has consistently brushed off questions whether LIV players could return to the Tour and met with the media just last month and remained resolute that there wasn’t an established path to return.
“I think one of the big things will be moving forward is how are players re-integrated back into the system, if they are,” said Canadian veteran Adam Hadwin, speaking at a Tuesday press conference ahead of the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open. “I mean, again, we don’t even know if they will be. I mean, so that being one of the big talking points throughout this year and a half from the Commissioner about how these guys will never play on the PGA Tour again, it will be interesting.”
One way that LIV players may fit back in is to give them a chance to regain their status during the fall portion of the schedule along with the players outside of the top 70 who qualify for the FedEx Cup. Having some LIV star power competing while the Tour’s stars enjoy their well-earned off-season certainly would attract more eyeballs to those tournaments. In addition, LIV players likely will be forced to pay a reinstatement fee, which will escalate based on their world ranking at the time of their departure and their LIV payout.
“There will be a heavy reinstatement fee, what that looks like is still to be determined,” a source said. “They won’t have to forfeit the money but be required to pay a massive reinstatement fee.”
But what about those players who remained loyal and turned down obscene payouts to join the upstart Saudi-funded league?
“Is there a way that guys who stayed loyal, not that we need any compensation because we play for plenty of money, that’s not what it is, but is there a way to make guys feel like they are compensated for their loyalty?” asked a top-50 multiple Tour winner.
The new for-profit LLC formed as part of the merger should allow some new flexibility to handsomely reward the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and others for their service. And while players may not like having been kept in the dark about the deal going down, they also realize that they have benefited financially from the turmoil in the game and they just want to play against the best field possible – and not just at the majors.
“I’ve dedicated my entire life to being at golf’s highest level,” Hadwin said. “I’m not about to stop playing golf because the entity that I play for has joined forces with the Saudi government.”
There are many questions to be sorted out and few answers at the moment but Monahan will have to face music at a player meeting being held at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Oakdale Golf & Country Club, site of the RBC Canadian.
As one player put it, “I wouldn’t necessarily want to be in his shoes.”
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