Paul McGinley believes an announcement which could reunite men’s golf’s major tours is imminent and could be confirmed before the Masters in April.
Since announcing a framework agreement in June 2023, negotiations have been ongoing as the game’s major tours struggle to sustain the massive prize fund increases and keep pace with the mega spending LIV Golf League.
Speaking at Balmoral Golf Club where McGinley Golf Designs unveiled plans to create a new course for Balmoral at the New Grove Estate, McGinley said a deal with the PIF could be announced before the Masters.
“The best thing for the game is to come together somehow – it’s not going to be easy as we’ve seen. It’s taken a long time to get to where we are, but it sounds like we’re closer now than we ever have been,” McGinley told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.
“It’s not going to start with everybody back as friends – it’ll be a slow process in that regard.
“But the main thing is to find some kind of umbrella that both tours can work under as well as the DP World Tour and then try to get some kind of schedule out of that.
“There’s going to be something announced, and from what I hear, it’s going to be announced relatively soon, maybe even before the Masters.”
McGinley feels strongly that men’s professional golf has more money than sense and he fears that if a deal isn’t struck soon that golf could be on the road to bankruptcy and there is a sense that the players are cashing in at the expense of the Tours sustainability and the public’s enjoyment.
“The game has got to come together; it’s not sustainable at the moment,” McGinley said. “The prize money is ridiculous. The business model is not producing the money the players are playing for.
“The Saudis have spent $5bn so far with LIV and they’ve got limited traction. The PGA Tour is spending more than they’re bringing in and they’re going to run out of runway there.
“So the game has got to come back. Nobody’s winning at the moment, except for the players with the huge prize money they’re playing for.
“The sponsors are not winning, and the public is not winning because we’re not getting to see these players play together more regularly, and TV is not winning.”
Tiger Woods said on Sunday night when speaking to CBS that the introduction of US President Donald Trump to the negotiations would speed up the process of healing golf and moving the game in the right direction again.
Rory McIlroy also confirmed that despite hosting LIV events on his golf courses, Trump is firmly in the PGA Tour’s corner and is not a fan of the LIV Golf format.
McIlroy also feels that players who have reservations about LIV players coming back to the PGA Tour need to get over themselves and realise that it’s for the betterment of the game.
“I think everyone’s just got to get over it, and we all have to say, OK, this is the starting point, and we move forward,” McIlroy said. “We don’t look behind us; we don’t look to the past.
“Whatever’s happened has happened and it’s been unfortunate, but reunification, how we all come back together and move forward, that’s the best thing for everyone.
“If people are butt hurt or have their feelings hurt because guys went or whatever, like who cares?
“Let’s move forward together and let’s just try to get this thing going again and do what’s best for the game.”
Leave a comment