Justin Thomas says that the ongoing uncertainty over a prospective deal between the PGA and the Saudi Public Investment Fund is “past the level of exhaustion” among his fellow PGA Tour players.
Speaking to the press ahead of The Players Championship, where Thomas is a past champion, he said that this is the third time that he’s returned to TPC Sawgrass with the standoff between LIV and the PGA Tour being one of the overshadowing factors.
“Definitely has,” Thomas responded when asked if a sense of fatigue had set in among the players. “I think this is like the third time I’ve played this tournament while this has been going on in some way, shape or form. Yeah, I think we’re kind of like past the level of exhaustion. At least it’s not consuming everything we’re being asked about. You just get a couple things here and there, but there’s just so many of us, really on both sides, both us on TOUR and I think the LIV players, that we don’t really know what’s going on and we’re just playing golf and hoping for the best and because there’s a lot that we don’t know and that we can’t control or do letting the higher-ups do it.”
Despite being a member of the Player Advisory Council, Thomas is not part of the negotiating panel that have been tasked with bringing a deal with the PIF closer to fruition, therefore, is not privy to exactly what is happening, but nevertheless, he’s a little surprised with the length of time that it’s taken to get to the current point where there are still more questions than answers.
“I guess. But also, I don’t know,” he said. “There’s just so much that goes into it. Like I think it’s — I’m glad I don’t know more or I’m not more invested because I think it would be mentally draining, physically draining. It just would be exhausting.
“Yeah, I think it’s very obvious we all just want to get it resolved, but this is something that’s pretty serious, so it’s not like you or anybody can say, all right, this is what we’re going to do without it being perfect. I think obviously everybody needs to be on the same page, and I think when it gets to that level, I don’t know if the government’s getting involved, like there’s just so many things above my pay grade that are involved that I don’t know about, that I probably shouldn’t or can’t speak to because there’s just so many things involved in it. But obviously like the rest of us, we would love for it to be done sooner rather than later.”
Several players – most notably Rory McIlroy – have gone on the record and stated that LIV’s arrival has been beneficial to many PGA Tour players with tournament prize purses going up and the introduction of the Player Impact Program. But Thomas refused to admit that it was positive or negative, instead saying that there were valid arguments to be made for both sides.
“I think you would be stubborn, and as stubborn as I am, to say that, you know, a lot of things that have happened have been because of them and what’s gone on,” he explained.
“I mean, there’s a handful of guys or there’s a couple guys like a Phil [Mickelson] or a Bryson [DeChambeau] that how they went about it maybe isn’t exactly how I would have, but they did make a lot of points or say some things that were — that had some value to them or had some truth.
“But it is just how it all transpired. I obviously wish it could have just gone differently, but that’s neither here nor there, but do I think that a lot of things that have happened on our tour and in our game are because of that.
“Now, it’s hard to say has it made the game of golf better because, you know, you can take both sides. It’s like, yeah, it’s maybe done some things on TOUR that have improved the TOUR, but the game of golf as a whole, if it’s separated in different and creating some animosity, then that’s not necessarily better, and so it’s hard to say. You can make arguments on both sides, but there’s definitely been some good and bad on both, but wish it obviously could have just been all good and gone on how it was somehow.”
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