LIV Golf star makes bold claim as PGA Tour negotiations rumble on

With talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund about to roll over into a 22nd month, one major champion is remaining optimistic.

Graeme McDowell is the latest golfer to express his excitement for the “reunification” of the men’s game at the top level.

PGA Tour representatives – including commissioner Jay Monahan and players’ board members Tiger Woods and Adam Scott – have met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund which runs LIV Golf, as well as US president Donald Trump.

Those meetings, we’re told, were “constructive” as the two circuits look to put an end to the so-called civil war that has decimated the game for the past three years.

And McDowell, one of the original defectors to LIV Golf when the league was inaugurated, believes the parties are “starting to turn a corner” and that “everyone is optimistic” of the framework agreement – which was first announced in June 2023 – coming to some sort of satisfactory conclusion.

“I’m really excited that things are going on to try and repair the damage that’s been done and bring the best players in the world back together more often,” the 2010 US Open champion told BBC Sport.

“That’s the key, really. For the fans, for the sponsors, and for TV, having the best players in the world coming together more often is something we all want.

“The future of golf is bright.”  

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Having finished in the “Open Zone” in LIV’s individual standings last year, McDowell was at risk of being traded or released from Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC team. But the 45-year-old was re-signed and has started the season with ties for 21st and 37th.

He will need to turn that form around if he is to achieve his main goal for this year – to qualify for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.  

The Northern Irishman, who has a hole named after him on the club’s second course, the Valley, said it is “extremely important” that he has one more shot at playing in a major in his hometown.

“I’ve got a busy enough six months coming up but the major championships remain the most important events in the world,” McDowell, who finished in a tie for 57th when the Claret Jug crossed the Irish Sea in 2019, said.

“I’ve done all I can in the past three or four years to qualify for The Open and the US Open via the different routes and The Open being at Portrush this year cranks up the intensity a little bit higher for me.

“I’m looking all over the world to see where there might be an opportunity and trying to go that extra mile to try and get into that tournament.”