Major champ points fingers at LIV Golf as PGA Tour deal drags on

It’s almost two years since the framework agreement was laid out and we’re seemingly no closer to a solution. For Webb Simpson, though, the blame lies in the other camp.

Webb Simpson has revealed the reason for the delayed reunification between players on the traditional circuits and those who jumped ship to ply their trade on LIV Golf. 

It was almost two years ago a framework agreement was announced between the warring factions, but little tangible progress has been made since then. 

At the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Rory McIlroy, who has scaled back his involvement in the process, said a deal “doesn’t feel like it’s any closer”.

But Simpson, a PGA Tour Policy Board member, countered that viewpoint when thinking back to the steps that have been taken since members of the PGA Tour Policy Board first met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund that bankrolls LIV.

“I think we’re definitely closer because I think at that time SSG [Strategic Sports Group] was brand new,” Simpson told Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig. “They were getting their feet wet.

“I think now there is an understanding more of who he [Al-Rumayyan] is, what he wants, what he’s trying to accomplish with LIV. At least we have a better understanding. On paper, maybe it doesn’t look like we’re any further. I do believe we are.”

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So what is the hold-up?

The main stumbling block appears to be LIV Golf’s team format. The breakaway circuit operates a 14-event schedule, with individual and team prizes up for grabs at each tournament.

At its inception, the idea was to follow the hugely successful Formula 1 model, but that is at odds with the structure of the traditional tours and the inherent nature of the game itself. 

Aside from LIV, there are team events in men’s golf – notably the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup – but they are only played every two years.

To incorporate LIV as part of the PGA Tour, then, will require some substantial compromise from one or both sides, and that clearly has not yet been forthcoming.

For Simpson, a former US Open and Players champion, he concedes it is difficult to see how both tours can proceed as is under one umbrella.

“To me, it’s hard to get your mind around the team concept,” Simpson added. “I’ve gotten that feedback from golf fans.

“You can get your mind around the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup once a year. But the franchise model or Formula 1 model on the PGA Tour… it’s hard to see a future in that.”

Despite the difficulty in moving forward, Simpson is well aware that LIV boasts some serious star quality and that the sport would be better with everyone back together.

“We know what a star Bryson [DeChambeau]) is. Or Brooks [Koepka] or Jon Rahm,” Simpson continued. “We also know the fans have said a million times they want to see Bryson and Rahm play in the best tournaments. 

“They don’t want to see us at Valspar this week and them at Singapore last week. That’s not good for the game of golf.

“We’re throwing out different ideas of how we incorporate them back in. There’s only a few guys who have any eligibility out here but they’re the best players. 

“And I think the appetite for the average PGA Tour member to see a legitimate path is quicker than maybe we once there. There’s a bigger leniency there. Because player equity gets better [if the best players are together]. 

“I think people are over the shock value of [LIV Golf].”