The idea of a unified golf tour has been gaining traction lately, with PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan recently meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss the possibility. According to Monahan, Trump is on board with the idea of a single, unified golf tour featuring all of the sport’s top players. “For him to respond to our request to sit down and talk about how we achieve what he stated publicly as a goal… was a great opportunity,” Monahan said. “We had a really productive conversation.”
However, not everyone is convinced that a unified tour is on the horizon. PGA Tour pro-Kevin Kisner recently expressed skepticism about Monahan’s claim that the PGA Tour is working towards unifying golf. Kisner argued that the Tour isn’t heading in that direction, citing the lack of top players competing against each other regularly. “I think golf at its best is a great product when you have the best players playing against each other at really cool venues,” Kisner said. “But I don’t know that golf is good enough to be divided and have the best players less likely to be playing against each other.”
Kisner also noted that the Tour’s current structure, with fewer cards available and more turnover, might actually lead to fewer household names competing at the top level. “You’re going to have more turnover than there ever has been… and every kid that comes out is really freaking good,” Kisner said. “I don’t think the tours are moving in a direction that we’re going to like… we need to do a better job.” Kisner’s comments suggest that there is still a long way to go in terms of unifying golf and creating a more competitive and exciting product for fans.
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While Kisner may share some contrasting views on the whole matter of unification of golf, one PGA Tour pro begs to differ.
Rory McIlroy is on board to welcome LIV defectors back to the PGA Tour
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Rory McIlroy is taking a refreshingly pragmatic approach to the whole PGA Tour vs LIV Golf drama. In a recent interview, he basically said, “Hey, let’s just move on from the past and focus on what’s best for the game.” He even went so far as to invite big-name LIV players to return to the PGA Tour, saying “If people are butt-hurt or have their feelings hurt because guys went or whatever, like who cares?” It’s clear that McIlroy is more interested in promoting the game of golf than in holding grudges. “There are guys that were on the PGA Tour that went to play on LIV and if they still have status, sure, come back, come back and play,” he said. This kind of openness and willingness to move forward is exactly what the golf world needs right now.
McIlroy specifically mentioned Bryson DeChambeau, saying that having him back on the PGA Tour would be a positive development. “Having Bryson DeChambeau come back and play on this tour is good,” he said. By extending an olive branch to LIV defectors, McIlroy is helping to pave the way for a potential reunification of the golf world. It’s a pretty cool move, and it’ll be interesting to see how things play out. What do you think – should LIV players be allowed to return to the PGA Tour? Let us know in the comments!