No solution for PGA Tour and LIV Golf remains 'frustrating'

ATLANTA — For as much as Rory McIlroy lamented his loss to Bryon DeChambeau in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in June, there was something good about it.

The tournament was one of the few, really just four majors a year, that now bring together the world’s best golfers as the ongoing dispute between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continues.

There appears to be no end in sight.

“I think the game of golf deserves having those sort of things happen more than just four times a year,” McIlroy said Thursday after this first round of the Tour Championship, the finale of the FedEx Cup playoffs, at East Lake Golf Club.

As the game of golf remains divided, it appears the next opportunity for the best to be on the same course will be the Masters in April.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf remain separate entities despite a merger agreement in June of last year. Nearly 15 months later no deal has been reached. A Dec. 31 deadline originally was set between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan addressed the situation Wednesday before the Tour Championship. He said he would not negotiate publicly.

“I think the best way for me to respond to that is when you look at where we are right now, we’re in regular dialogue,” Monahan said. “We have the right people at the table with the right mindset. I see that in all of these conversations, and that’s both sides. That creates optimism about the future and our ability to come together.

“But at the same time, these conversations are complex. They’re going to take time. They have taken time, and they will continue to take time.”

Still, the delay is frustrating.

“I think anyone that cares about golf, I think has to be frustrated,” McIlroy said. “I think anyone that cares about the PGA Tour has to be frustrated because we’re — we, the royal we, we’re not putting forward the absolute best product that we can because — I get the argument that these guys left and that was their choice and whatever.

“I just think that it’s gone on long enough. We’ve got to try to — I mean, I think everyone is trying to find a solution. It’s just a solution is hard to get to.”