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It’s been close to a year since the PGA Tour made the shocking announcement concerning a proposed merger with LIV Golf linked to a financial injection from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. It seems like the deal is dead in the water based on some recent developments, but Jordan Speith appears to think it’s only a matter of time until it’s finalized.
LIV Golf has been the source of an unprecedented amount of drama thanks to its efforts to go toe-to-toe with the PGA Tour, and it was a bit hard to imagine the two sides would ever be able to amicably co-exist due to animosity stemming from the strategy the upstart league harnessed in an attempt to take on its rival.
As a result, plenty of people were stunned when PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan revealed the organization was gearing up to accept an investment from the PIF as part of a merger with LIV Golf that was supposed to be finalized by the end of 2023 but has still yet to come to fruition.
That issue has taken center stage over the past month or so courtesy of some developments concerning the PGA Tour policy board.
Earlier this month, a member who was a key figure in orchestrating the merger resigned while noting “no meaningful progress has been made” on that particular front. That development transpired shortly after Rory McIlroy’s bid to rejoin the board was reportedly blocked by a bloc of players who disagree with his assertion the PGA Tour needs to get into bed with the PIF.
It was believed Patrick Cantlay led the charge against McIlory, although other reports have suggested he had Tiger Woods and Jordan Speith in his corner. However, that may not actually be the case based on what Spieth had to say while gearing up for the Charles Schwab Challenge.
According to Playing Through, Spieth countered the prevailing opinion surrounding the current state of the merger while chatting with the media at Colonial Country Club on Wednesday, saying:
“I think the narrative that things are in a bad place and are moving slowly, and some of the things that are asked of me or said are untrue. I think that—I know that—they’re false, actually.”
“Things are actually moving positively from both sides. I think ultimately we’ll end up in a place where professional golf is maybe the best that it’s ever been. I think both sides believe that.”
He claimed more players on the PGA Tour have started to warm up to the idea and asserted the momentum will keep growing as they “continue to get more and more information over the coming months,” so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if that ends up being the case.