CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | As if the differences between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf needed to be put into any sharper relief, their respective events this week and the vibe emanating from both – the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club and LIV Golf Virginia at Trump National Washington D.C. – provided a telling contrast.
At Quail Hollow, the color scheme has changed – Truist’s purple is prominent as the Charlotte-based bank makes its local debut as the title sponsor – and Rory McIlroy’s first start since his Masters victory has generated the expected hum of interest at a place where he’s won four of his 30 PGA Tour titles.
Otherwise, it has been happy business as usual once a drought-easing overnight soaking began to clear the forecast for the weekend.
The angst has been limited to Scottie Scheffler choosing to bypass this $20 million signature event because he prefers not to play the weeks before major championships and, with his allegiance to the Dallas/Fort Worth-based tournaments following the PGA Championship, he opted to stay away from a spot where he won the PGA, his third major championship, one year ago.
McIlroy skipped the $20 million Cadillac Championship last week – an event that fell flat, raising questions about its future place on the tour schedule – and it demonstrated an inherent challenge facing the tour as it maps out a future with potentially twice as many “A-track” big-money events.
Unless a tournament has a major-championship designation, there is no guarantee of getting all the top players together as often as the tour brass and sponsors would like. It won’t stop the tour from asking sponsors for bigger commitments going forward, especially as CEO Brian Rolapp seeks to have all his pieces aligned for the next round of media negotiations.
Meanwhile, up the road outside Washington, D.C., the LIV drama continues to churn. It is being watched by tour players but there is a sense of detachment now, almost like rubberneckers passing an accident scene.
When the subject of LIV was raised to a prominent tour player this week, he shook his head and asked what is the latest, suggesting he’s quit paying attention to it. Hard to blame him.
Among the questions now is how imperative is the need to keep stuffing tournament purses higher and higher if LIV’s existential threat is gone.
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil is in full sales mode, pushing a narrative that the end of Saudi Arabia’s billions after this season offers an opportunity rather than a death sentence. That’s his story and he’s sticking to it.
But there is no question that whatever urgency that may have remained for the tour with LIV’s PIF-backed presence has subsided. Among the questions now is how imperative is the need to keep stuffing tournament purses higher and higher if LIV’s existential threat is gone.
The other question centers around what happens with Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau should LIV not make it to 2027.
Rahm sounded consigned to his future with LIV this week, confirming that his contract stretches beyond next year and he intends to honor it because, to paraphrase his words, the lawyers did a good job drafting the contract.
He has made peace with the DP World Tour after their long standoff and that’s good for all sides, even if it cost Rahm a portion of his LIV signing bonus to get back in the tour’s good graces.
As for DeChambeau, there are times when he would be better off staying quiet and letting his YouTube presence speak for him.
After admitting he was shocked by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulling its financial backing after this year, DeChambeau suggested the PGA Tour has its own problems, telling ESPN the tour “isn’t doing great either.”
Yes, the tour is restructuring as part of its new for-profit model but its television ratings are up (12 percent on CBS Sports telecasts this year) and its trend line remains pointing upward.
DeChambeau has suggested that should LIV fail, he might focus on his YouTube channel rather than accept whatever deal the PGA Tour might offer him, which would probably be significantly more expensive than the opportunity he turned down in January when Brooks Koepka rejoined the tour.
Here’s the catch: The PGA Tour doesn’t need DeChambeau. If he returned it would benefit the tour but it’s fine without him, no matter how much DeChambeau believes he is the game’s preeminent needle mover.
Consider LIV’s anemic television ratings. DeChambeau has not drawn eyeballs to the telecasts. He’s an internet star but he’s not Taylor Swift. And, should he eventually return to the PGA Tour, he won’t get the same reception Koepka has received.
It’s possible DeChambeau or Rahm could win the PGA Championship next week but then they will head off to South Korea for LIV’s next event while the PGA Tour goes to Texas.
Two tours. Two paths. Two very different vibes.