It’s almost a year since the PGA Tour and the PIF announced an agreement to sit down and negotiate and end the current fracture that the world of golf is experiencing. In short, no progress has been made. There is nothing tangible. That’s why any positive comment, however vague it may seem, is welcomed like a breath of fresh air. Much more so if it comes from someone who is fully involved in the negotiation like Adam Scott, a crucial part of the core group of players who are sitting on the board of the PGA Tour.
The Australian has spoken to Golfweek taking advantage of the week of the RBC Canadian Open and assures that we are going to have news imminently. At least, that’s what can be inferred from his words, which are not exactly an open book. “I think we’re getting there, sure, we’re making progress. At some point someone is going to have to expose exactly what PIF’s vision of professional golf is in the coming years and I think that will happen very soon. I think so. The ice has to be broken, more or less, and someone has to lend a hand. It has to happen soon. It’s moving as fast as it can,” he says.
As for the pace of the conversations, much slower than would be desirable, Scott asks for patience and understanding. “Not everything depends on our schedule. The head of the PIF (Yasir Al Rumayaan) is on 125 boards or something like that… He’s also busy. Some would say that the responsibility is his and that he has to make decisions about what he invests in,” he says.
A source told Golfweek that the question is how much the players on the board are willing to give up and, at the same time, how much money the PIF is willing to lose. That is, the way back for the LIV golfers to the PGA Tour and how the contracts that are already signed by the players with the Saudis are fixed.
“It’s about who blinks first,” a source told this same medium. “It’s not rosy on either front, so give power to Jay (Monahan), put him in a room with Yasir and make a deal.”
There are voices that assure that the Memorial Tournament, which is played this week, can be the ideal scenario to unlock the agreement. As you know, the Memorial is Jack Nicklaus‘ tournament, it is played at his home, at Muirfield Village, there are many personalities from the world of golf invited and he seems the ideal person to intercede and achieve the desired agreement. They may be optimistic voices, but after a year any straw to grasp at is welcome.
