Brian Rolapp has responded to being asked about reports the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia are about to pull their funding of LIV Golf, and commented on whether there will be a pathway back to the PGA Tour for the likes of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
After years of turbulence for the game’s landscape, it would appear that LIV Golf’s days are now numbered.
It was late on Tuesday that Ryan French reported on social media that he had been told that LIV was on the verge of shutting down.
What did not help prevent the rumour mill from going into overdrive was LIV having to cancel press conferences on Tuesday due to apparent technical issues.
Brian Rolapp reacts to reports over LIV Golf’s future
Players did speak to the media on Wednesday ahead of this week’s event in Mexico City. But the Financial Times then dropped the bombshell report that the PIF plans to end their funding of LIV.
It just so happened that PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp was set to be interviewed by Trey Wingo as the news emerged.
And speaking on Wingo’s podcast, Rolapp issued his reaction to the reports.
“I’m like everybody else, I’m just reading things as they come across. I don’t know what’s going on. It would be premature for me to speculate, so I don’t have a lot to say. I just see the same stories everybody else sees. As I’ve said, we’re pretty focused on what we’re doing here and how we’re making the PGA Tour better, so that’s clearly where my focus is,” he said.
Rolapp responds to being asked about the futures of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau
Obviously, it is not nice that it appears almost inevitable that jobs will be lost. While it is hard to have any sympathy for the majority of the players who already boasted incredible riches, it is definitely sad that staff behind the scenes are going to suffer.
For the large majority of golf fans, the big question now concerns what happens next for the likes of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. The pair were among the players who had the option to return to the PGA Tour through the Returning Member Program earlier this year.
Rolapp insisted at the time that there were no guarantees that the offer would be on the table again. But he remains consistent that he is not prepared to cut off his nose to spite his face.
“I’ve always said on this subject I’m interested in doing whatever makes the PGA Tour better. Fans want the best players playing together. I’ve always said that from day one when I took the job. Having said that, I don’t know what the circumstances are. Once there’s clarity we’ll cross that bridge, but we’re clearly not there yet,” he said.
It is going to be fascinating to follow LIV if they are indeed going to make it until the end of the season. It cannot be easy for the players to concentrate when there are real doubts over whether they will play next year.
Understandably, many fans will be calling for extremely harsh penalties before they can return to the PGA Tour’s biggest events.
There is no question now that the PGA Tour seems to hold all of the cards.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
