World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has made his stance clear in the ongoing saga surrounding professional golf’s divide: if the sport is to be reunited, it’s the responsibility of the LIV Golf players to make the first move.
In recent comments following the PGA Championship, Scheffler didn’t mince words about where he believes the burden lies. “They’re the ones who left,” he said firmly. “They made their decision to go to LIV. If we’re going to find a way to bring everything back together, it’s going to have to start with them.”
Scheffler’s remarks reflect a sentiment shared by many in the PGA Tour locker room. Since LIV Golf’s controversial emergence in 2022, the sport has experienced a deep and public rift. Players like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka left for LIV’s lucrative contracts, shaking the foundations of professional golf’s traditional structures.
While Scheffler stopped short of outright condemning LIV players, his message was clear: reconciliation doesn’t come without accountability.
“I have no problem with guys making decisions for themselves and their families,” he continued. “But actions have consequences. You can’t expect to walk away, sue the Tour, take a different path, and then act like everything’s supposed to be normal.”
The golfing world has been in a state of flux ever since LIV Golf launched its breakaway series, funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Tensions intensified when antitrust lawsuits were filed, and even after tentative merger talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and PIF emerged in mid-2023, the process of unification has been slow and fractious.
For Scheffler, who has been a steady voice of traditionalism and integrity throughout his meteoric rise, the priorities remain simple: protect the integrity of the sport, respect those who stayed, and maintain competitive standards.
“I’ve worked hard to be where I am. I stayed because I believe in the Tour, in its history, and in the competition it brings every week,” he said. “If guys want to come back, that conversation needs to happen. But don’t pretend like the PGA Tour is the one that split golf. That didn’t come from us.”
With golf’s leadership still navigating an uncertain path forward and major tournaments increasingly populated by players from both sides, pressure is mounting on governing bodies to find common ground. But if Scheffler’s comments are any indication, unity won’t come without honest reflection—and responsibility—from the defectors.
Until then, the divide remains, with the game’s biggest names offering starkly different visions for golf’s future.
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