LIV Golf was caught completely off-guard by the agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and the Asian Tour, with Scott O’Neil only learning about the deal on Monday.
Not much seems to be going right for LIV Golf right now. Of course, it should be in the coming weeks that the golfing world learns more about what the future holds for the league.
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It is not yet clear whether Scott O’Neil and his team have been able to secure fresh investment for LIV.
But it does appear that they have been dealt a huge blow when it comes to the pitch they were making to potential partners.
LIV Golf completely blindsided by deal involving the PGA Tour and the Asian Tour
LIV Golf has been connected to the Asian Tour for much of its history. There has been a pathway between the two, with players earning a place on LIV through the Order of Merit in Asia.
However, it seems that the pathway is going to be closed off. The PGA Tour has announced a deal with the Asian Tour that also involves the DP World Tour and will run until 2029.
The best players on the Asian circuit will earn places on the DP World Tour with a number of events set to be co-sanctioned.
Clearly, this plan also helps achieve Brian Rolapp‘s goal of including more international events on the PGA Tour schedule.
It also means that LIV Golf will miss out on linking up with a number of national opens in Asia.
According to Joel Beall, LIV CEO Scott O’Neil did not find out about the agreement until Monday, with the deal getting done during The Open Championship.
Another significant setback for LIV Golf
Pieces of good news seem to be few and far between for LIV right now.
What may have given the league’s supporters some hope was the fact that LIV appeared to have a blueprint for where they wanted to take the venture.
Flushing It reported in June that there was set to be increased emphasis on national opens, with up to 10 included on the calendar.
Those hopes have surely been dashed now. And with their most prominent pathway to the tour also being cut off, it is not clear where LIV can go from here.
From the outside, it is getting more and more difficult to see how LIV can be saved.
Rory McIlroy reacts to the agreement
What LIV fans probably did not want to see was Rory McIlroy react to the news of the partnership between the three tours.
McIlroy suggested on social media that the deal was great for the game across the globe.
He posted: ‘Positive news, and great to see the respective tours working together for the good of international golf.‘
It may still be premature to say that there is no way back for LIV, but it is fair to say that many are seemingly queuing up to make sure that the writing is indeed on the wall.
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