PGA Tour, LIV Golf split continues to hurt everyone involved

It’s been 15 months since the shocking announcement that the PGA Tour and the organization behind LIV Golf had reached a framework agreement to come together and repair the rift in men’s professional golf.

There’s been a lot of talk since, but golf fans holding out hope of seeing everybody back together were dealt a reality check with the release of the 2025 PGA Tour schedule Aug. 14.

Commissioner Jay Monahan dashed those dreams when asked if the new schedule indicates there won’t be anything with LIV in 2025, or even 2026 or 2027.

“I think that’s fair,” he said.

It was quite a revealing statement from Monahan, even as his team, along with several top players, continue discussions with the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi organization that runs LIV Golf. That means LIV Golf will live on for the foreseeable future.

That’s a big loss for golf, because it’s apparent after three seasons that LIV is nothing but a sideshow. It has gained no traction with fans beyond a tiny niche crowd despite its astronomical purses.

LIV attracted plenty of big names when it launched in 2022, most on the downslope of their careers. But now, with limited exceptions — Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and, to a lesser extent, Brooks Koepka and Joaquin Niemann — the players that took the money and jumped have become insignificant to golf fans.

LIV has attracted a minuscule television audience and small crowds at its domestic tournaments. The Las Vegas event in February drew a national TV audience of 297,000 viewers on the CW for the final round. That made it the 51st most-watched sports program that day.

LIV officials have yet to say if the tour will be back in Las Vegas in 2025, or whether that was a one-off designed to build an audience around the Super Bowl.

In the meantime, the PGA Tour moves on through its playoffs and a 2025 schedule that mirrors 2024. And much like its competitor, the PGA Tour has suffered during the rift. Leadership’s response to LIV has significantly hurt its own product. It has thrown money and opportunity at the top players, taken away the meritocracy of golf and created a two-tiered system that excessively rewards the top 50 players with signature events. The bulk of its members are then forced to fight for the remaining scraps.

“There’s tremendous momentum,” Monahan said last week, turning a blind eye to what has happened to his product. “I think that’s reflected in the energy you see coming in the playoffs, the ’25 schedule.”

Those top 50 players have certainly been rewarded. Just six of them failed to make the playoffs thanks to all those signature events with limited fields, $20 million purses and elevated FedEx Cup points.

That’s not necessarily true for the other players.

Harry Hall, Chris Gotterup and Brice Garnett all won tournaments in 2024 — something just 27 players can claim — yet none of them made the postseason without access to those signature events. Is it truly a legitimate playoff when tournament winners are left out?

Chip shots

*California high schoolers Addison Claire Lee and Victoria Cui combined for a 7-under 65 at Boulder Creek Golf Club to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball, set for next May in Oklahoma City. Coronado graduate Ariya Soldwisch, set to begin play at Cal-State Northridge as a freshman this season, and Hazel Peters, a high school freshman from Hawaii, are first alternates.

*Winners of last week’s Nevada State Net Amateur at Highland Falls included Trevor Coss, 4 and 2 over Jason Berton (Championship); Luis Morais, 19 holes over Michael Haas (Senior); and Jimmy Bradley in a mid-match concession from George Yocum (Silver).

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.