What if, to put the existential question into real world golf terms, this is all there is?
What if there is no deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund?
What if there is no reunification?
What if professional golf goes on essentially as it is, splintered and subjected to the back-and-forth nature that comes with opposite sides competing against one another?
What if the June 6, 2023, framework agreement turns out to be nothing more than that – an agreement to negotiate in good faith even if it means eventually the two sides go back to their respective corners of golf’s ecosystem?
There are those who believe that the negotiations between the tour and the PIF have reached a crossroads and both sides could eventually go down separate paths despite recent reports that an agreement between the two was getting closer.
Whatever optimism there was after the first meeting between President Donald Trump, tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Adam Scott was said to have been dampened by a second meeting that also included Tiger Woods and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
That’s not to suggest it went as badly as Trump’s contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, but when asked earlier in the week whether negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war or resolving golf’s ongoing struggle was more difficult, Trump said, “I think the PGA [Tour] deal is much more complicated.”
This was never going to be an easy fix.
The tour was forced to do an overnight remodeling of its business model, to reach for outside money and to squeeze sponsors to pony up enough cash to keep the stars who stayed from being wooed away, even if their consciences might bother them.
The Saudis barged into professional golf with billions of dollars to spend and they weren’t shy about spending. They bought Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm to name a few.
What they have not bought is a strong ROI or relevance.
The players, many of them on both sides, have been the winners. A couple of them supposedly got nine-figure deals from LIV and said they had no qualms about taking it, no matter what the Saudis’ human rights record might reflect.
Now, of course, some of those who waved goodbye to the tour while cashing their new checks have expressed an interest in reuniting the game. Apparently playing a glorified three-day exhibition 14 times a year can lose its appeal, even when you’re wearing shorts and never have a tee time before noon.
Or maybe they just want to play in TGL next year.
Few details from the most recent White House meeting have leaked but there has been talk that when the president asked if team golf mattered beyond the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, a member of the tour group said no.
That, it follows, did not sit well with Al-Rumayyan, who sees professional golf going the way of Formula 1 racing where teams are at the core of fan interest.
If you’re wondering how that’s going here, ask yourself this question: How many of your friends are wearing 4Aces or HyFlyers gear?
In any negotiation, both sides have to be willing to give up something. If the LIV side won’t give up team golf, or at least make a massive compromise on the matter, maybe that scuttles any deal.
The PGA Tour does not need team golf and shouldn’t make it part of its product, unless it’s some kind of add-on in what amounts to the off-season. It already has the Zurich Classic and TGL where the teams still don’t matter as much as the players and their personalities.
Every good business person understands that there are times when it’s necessary to walk away from the negotiating table if things aren’t going the way he or she hopes. Maybe that’s where the PGA Tour-PIF thing stands at the moment.
The tour has plenty to gain – perhaps a multibillion-dollar infusion in its new PGA Tour Enterprises, no more worrying about who LIV might poach next and, assuming the hard feelings can be put aside, the return of the handful of players who might draw eyeballs, most notably DeChambeau, Rahm and Koepka.
The tour would also give up a measure of control or, at the very least, introduce into the mix a strong-willed investor that has tried and failed to sportswash its image, perhaps the biggest miscalculation the Saudis have made.
The PIF can’t be happy with what it has gotten from however many billions it has invested in LIV. The contracts of some star players are nearing their end and, though there is a new broadcasting deal with Fox Sports, LIV has no more traction with golf fans than bald tires on an icy road.
If there is no deal, it’s possible that LIV renews its efforts to sign players away from the tour. It’s harder now because the tour has created signature events, player equity in PGA Tour Enterprises and top players are making more than ever.
Scottie Scheffler earned more than $60 million on tour last year which had to catch the eye of some LIV players, at least those who are still paying attention.
Maybe we will get another June 6 moment, a sudden announcement that peace is at hand and the fractured game will begin to heal as best it can, whatever that may look like.
And maybe that day remains a long way off and tomorrow doesn’t look much different than today.
E-MAIL RON
Top: PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan met recently with President Trump and PGA Tour representatives.
RoberT PERRY, PA IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES