By ED TRAVIS
A fearless prediction for the new golf year.
No, it’s not that Scottie Scheffler will continue his winning ways nor that Nellie Korda’s LPGA Tour ascendency will push purses even higher than 2025’s $131 million. Both are true of course and will be fun to watch.
Our fearless forecast is at last the traditional men’s professional tours, The PGA Tour and DP World Tour, will play nice and share their toys with the Saudi Arabian sovereign Public Investment Fund’s LIV Golf.
It’s all about the money certainly and various reports are saying a deal of some kind has been reached with LIV investing $1 billion or maybe more into the old tours specifically in the recently formed PGA Tour Enterprises funded by the Strategic Sports Group of big time American sports investors.
Many questions are yet to be answered.
Will the fan favorites on the PGA and LIV finally start playing regularly against each other rather than just in the major championships?
Will there be a combined schedule and what form will it take?
On what basis will those that defected from the PGAT and DPWT be allowed back to compete on the main tours?
Will there be combined events of some kind?
How will the as yet to be hired CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises fit into the picture?
How will LIV players desire for World Ranking Points be handled since points are not rewarded at present for the 54-hole limited field events they play and how will that change be comparable with the rest of the big boy pro world of 72-hole full field tournaments.
What will Greg Norman’s role be?
Since LIV’s inception Norman has been he CEO and commissioner but is being “transitioned out of the CEO position”—whatever that means. Has he been fired? Or is he retiring…he’ll be 70 in February. The Great White Shark was instrumental in LIV’s formation becoming the face of the league, soliciting Tour players for megabucks and leading the denial of the sportswashing charges leveled against the Saudi PIF. Add to that is it a fact Norman had a vendetta against the PGAT for their refusal to start a world tour, an idea of his back in the 90s.
Back then as now it was about players making more money and Live has succeeded on that score with the billions of the Saudi royal family behind it.
Most importantly and a theme we have talked about multiple times—how will golf fans make out in all of this?
Sure Norman talks about LIV spreading pro golf to more places around the world and making it more accessible to more people and PGAT Commissioner Jay Monahan said recently that fans are his “most important constituent.”
All of which we have heard many times.
Fans want to see the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka going head-to-head weekly. Is that too much to ask?
