Golf’s big divide might be getting a new solution, but not everyone’s buying it.
During The Players Championship, Paul McGinley shared his vision for bringing peace to professional golf’s civil war. His plan? Let some LIV Golf players compete in the PGA Tour’s biggest events.
It’s a bold move, considering LIV players are currently banned from PGA Tour tournaments, though they can still play in majors.
But Brandel Chamblee isn’t having any of it.
“There would be an uproar on the PGA Tour,” said Chamblee, speaking alongside McGinley at TPC Sawgrass. “These guys stayed loyal. They didn’t leave, they didn’t sue anybody.”
Chamblee, who’s been one of LIV Golf’s biggest critics since it launched in 2022, didn’t stop there. He took aim at LIV players’ recent performance in major championships.
“Their results in majors last year weren’t great – the top 10 LIV players averaged about 43rd place,” he pointed out. “PGA Tour players did way better.”
The debate got even spicier when McGinley suggested PGA Tour players could join LIV’s season finale. Chamblee shot that down too.
“You’re asking them to do something they wouldn’t like,” he said. “There’s zero evidence anywhere that fans want team events in golf.”
What about making golf more global? McGinley thinks it could be a way to get the world’s best players competing more often.
But Chamblee argues the PGA Tour is already plenty global: “They play in Japan, China, Canada, Mexico, England, Ireland, Scotland… The Tour couldn’t be more international if it tried.”
The back-and-forth shows just how complicated golf’s divide remains. While some push for unity, others believe LIV players should have to earn their way back.
Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking on negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with no deal in sight.
