Although an agreement has not yet been finalized, it is anticipated that LIV Golf stars will be welcomed back by the PGA Tour as part of a deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
According to 12-time Tour winner Steve Stricker, members of the LIV Golf setup want to return to the PGA Tour as part of the proposed peace agreement between the rival circuits.
With the creation of the LIV setup in June 2022, the PGA Tour forbade any player from joining the Saudi-backed league, splitting the professional golf world in two. When the Tour declared its intention to collaborate with LIV’s supporters, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), last summer, there were expectations that the rivalry would end.
Although a deal has not yet been finalized after the initial deadline of December 31 at the end of 2023 was missed, it is anticipated that LIV players will be offered a pathway back to the American-based circuit as part of the agreement between the two rivals.
Even though there is still uncertainty surrounding the proposed merger, former Ryder Cup captain Stricker thinks players on the LIV circuit are eager to return to the PGA Tour. At the Cologuard Classic last week, he remarked, “I know the guys, some of them on the LIV tour want to come back and play out on the regular Tour.”
“It’s kind of a wait-and-see game, especially for us out here,” the speaker stated with certainty. The 57-year-old Stricker, who enjoyed success on the PGA Tour, has now shifted his focus to the Champions Tour, but he is still very interested in the proposed agreement with the Saudi-backed organization.
“Though it doesn’t really affect us, I’m still curious about what’s going on and what lies ahead for us.” Following its founding, a plethora of the top players on the PGA Tour chose to join the breakaway league, including several members of Stricker’s Ryder Cup-winning squad from 2021.
Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau—three of his best players—as well as Phil Mickelson, his former teammate and vice captain, who started the nearly two-year journey to the Saudi-backed league, are on the LIV roster.
Following the original framework agreement in June 2023, Mickelson refuted Stricker’s recent remarks, asserting that none of the members of the LIV setup desired to rejoin their previous Tour. He tweeted in July of last year, “Not a single player on LIV wants to play PGA Tour.”
“A public apology and compensation to LIV players for spending millions to influence the media to disparage us all would be necessary. Future penalties for the numerous players who now visit LIV would be a more interesting topic. Johnson, another defector, supported Mickelson’s assertions by acknowledging that, following the shocking revelation of the previous year, he had no intention of continuing to play golf.
At LIV Valderrama in June of last year, he declared, “I think with this agreement, the only thing that’s going to happen is LIV is going to get even better than what it is now, which is already great.” “I’m content right now, and I’m not looking to play golf any more than I do right now, that much is certain.”
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