PGA Tour officials, including Tiger Woods, met this week with representatives of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), despite Wednesday marking the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
News of these discussions rightfully angered the families of the 9/11 victims and many other New Yorkers. Rory McIlroy even called it “odd timing,” and he made the comments at Royal County Down, where he is playing in the Irish Open this week. Padraig Harrington was also there teeing off, and he's never afraid to share his opinions and offer solutions to any problem with the golf swing.
But Harrington, 53, knows professional golf as well as anyone. He rose through the ranks on the then-European Tour to become a major player on the PGA Tour. So the Dubliner offered a solution to the rift between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf, as the two tours will remain independent.
“For me, ideally, I would suggest that every PGA Tour and European Tour event should offer four invitations to LIV players, and every LIV event should offer four invitations to the International Team,” Harrington said at the Irish Open.
“That way, we have enough crossover to get Jon Rahm on the European Tour and Abraham Ancer at the Mexican Open. If four PGA Tour guys come, they won't get a warm welcome; so it will create a buzz in their game.”
Maybe Harrington should pull out of the Irish Open and fly to New York for these meetings. All jokes aside, his views and ideas could be a good start to these negotiations.
Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan did not reveal details about the deal when he spoke at the Tour Championship on Aug. 28. However, Monahan did say the priority of reaching an agreement had “elevated.”
“I think we are all very patient right now. [PIF Governor] Yasir [al-Rumayyan] and Jay Monahan have joined forces. I think a lot of players are frustrated to see how slowly things are moving,” Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald said after his first round match at the Irish Open.
“[But] I hear there has been some progress in the last few weeks.”
If they had called Harrington in, progress might have been accelerated.
“If we have four LIV players this week [at Royal County Down], [everyone] The spotlight will be on them and people will watch,” Harrington said.
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“Some people want them to do well and some people want them to not do well. But it creates some buzz and vice versa. If four PGA Tour guys show up at a LIV event or four international guys, they don't want that team to win; they don't want outsiders to win. So it creates some buzz for them.”
Harrington then made an unfortunate prediction, which is probably the most likely scenario of all.
“I don't see integration in golf. That's the dilemma they're facing,” the Irishman said.
“Competition is good for sport and we've seen that this year in the Grand Slams. Grand Slams have never been better because of these rivalries, so why can't we have that this week? Why can't we have a couple of guys – I believe Tyrrell [Hatton] There was a lot of buzz about his performance at the British Masters two weeks ago. A lot of the home fans wanted him to do well, but there were also a lot of people who didn’t want him to do well. In the right context, that’s a good thing.”
The final round of the 2024 U.S. Open featured some of the most exciting matchups in golf history. Bryson DeChambeau of LIV Golf versus McIlroy, a recent PGA Tour champion. America versus Europe. YouTube viewers versus traditional fans. The comparisons are endless, but they all underscore Harrington's point: Competition is good for sports. Look at other matches in golf history that helped shape the game we love: Arnie, Jack, Gary Player and Tom, Tiger versus Phil, Team USA versus Team Europe.
But today, LIV Golf and the PGA Tour only compete in the four majors, which increases their importance but reduces the overall output of non-major events. This has left golf fans confused, but the importance of major events has increased today. And, no matter the venue, the major events seem to be getting bigger every year.
“[My idea is] That’s the only solution I see in golf,” Harrington added.
“They can do all the business solutions — that's a whole different thing — but you can't convince them — just like the guys on the PGA Tour have never had a better experience. You can't convince them to go play an extra 10 or 14 tournaments around the world. They've been struggling with things like traveling to Asia. They're just not comfortable with the extra time differences and all that.”
As LIV Golf gained popularity, the PGA Tour began to invest more money in top players. The PGA Tour also established Signature Events, a group of eight limited-field events with a total purse of $20 million and a first-place prize of $4 million. Most of these events have no elimination rounds, so every star is guaranteed to play on the weekend, which is a pleasure for television partners.
Harrington understood all this, but he knew his point of view had limited significance.
“I wasn’t sitting in the main seat,” Harrington said.
“That’s why I’m sitting here in the media center telling you my solution.”
Based on these ideas and his brilliant worldview, perhaps Harrington should sit in the middle of the room and detail how the PGA Tour and LIV Golf should approach the game itself. Many players would welcome that. Monahan and Al-Rumayyan should, too.
Jack Milko is SB Nation's Playing Through golf columnist. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @JackMilco Same here.
