Paul McGinley believes commissioner Jay Monahan faces a “real problem” to persuade PGA Tour loyalists they are not the losers in golf’s peace deal.
Players reacted with shock and a sense of betrayal at the proposed merger of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour’s commercial operations with those of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf.
Rory McIlroy, whose previously close friendship with Sergio Garcia broke down after the Spaniard joined LIV, admitted he felt like “a sacrificial lamb” after being the most prominent supporter of the PGA Tour, only to see it join forces with an entity he “still hates”.
Monahan faced calls to resign at a heated players’ meeting on Tuesday and McGinley believes he faces a huge task to win over the players who, in some cases, turned down massive payouts to remain loyal to the PGA Tour.
“He’s obviously in a very tricky position,” former Ryder Cup captain McGinley told Sky Sports News.
“He’s got his players to back him, he’s been very, very strong anti-LIV, he’s been very, very strong trying to build up the PGA Tour. A lot of players have not gone over to LIV because of his persuasion and now all of a sudden there’s a deal done and these guys look like they’re isolated.
“And that’s the issue I have with the statement that came out a couple of days ago.
“When a deal is done in the City they make sure that both sides are the winners. And when this was announced this doesn’t look like there were two sides that were winners here.
“It may look like the LIV guys that went over there and took the money are now coming back in and they’re the winners.
“They’ve been very giddy on social media and they look like they’re the smartest guys in the room now because they went over there and that really isolates the PGA Tour players who remained loyal.
“I think that’s where there’s a disconnect for Jay and that’s where he’s got a real problem.
“The release sounded, and the optics of it were, there were winners and losers and the PGA Tour players looked like they came out on the wrong end of that. That’s why there’s so much angst among them at the moment.”
It has been reported the merger will face scrutiny from anti-trust regulators in both the United States and Europe, with Monahan openly admitting that a competitor had been “taken off the board”.
And McGinley believes there is no guarantee the deal will go ahead as planned.
“The work only starts now, there’s so many complexities here if there is going to be this merger,” he added.
“There’s so much to entangle here. How are you going to bring the guys from LIV back in, how are you going to make it equitable for the guys who remained loyal to the tours? What’s the schedule going to look like?
“It looks like a huge amount of complexity. This is far from over or a fait accompli. I think there’s so much that has to happen before we get to even a stage where there’s a kind of equilibrium, never mind anything put in place.
“The players will be looking at what’s in it for me, how much prize money am I going to get, what’s my job security?
“The players in Europe are going to think that I’m glad we have this strategic alliance (with the PGA Tour) in place, that puts us at the top table and gives us access to these incredible amounts of funds.
“Everything is open and on the table. I think the LIV events are very, very complex to integrate back in again because the players own equity in these teams.
“So if you’re going to have the likes of Rory McIlroy playing in these team events, where the other players are benefiting because they have equity and he doesn’t, how do you make that right?”
PGA Championship: Scheffler unsure if arrest a factor after 'hectic' weekend
Scottie Scheffler is unsure whether his arrest on Friday was a factor after a disappointing Saturday led to him finishing tied for eighth at a "hectic" PGA Championship.
On Friday, world number one Scheffler was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club ahead of his second round.
It subsequently emerged that he faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Scheffler shot a five-under 66 in the delayed second round, one stroke better than his first round, but a two-over 73 on Saturday all but ended his hopes of back-to-back major wins.
Xander Schauffele ultimately claimed his first major title at 21 under, eight shots ahead of Scheffler.
Speaking after Sunday's final round, in which a run of seven birdies in 10 holes helped him card a 65, Scheffler said he was proud of the way he finished the event.
"I think 'hectic' would probably be a good description," Scheffler said. "I'm fairly tired, definitely a lot more tired than I have been finishing some other tournaments.
"I'm proud of today how we went out there and fought. I got off to a slow start and I was able to get some momentum and post a good round.
"Yesterday obviously was quite frustrating and a bit of a different day, but overall proud of how I fought this week. Was fortunate to be out here competing, doing what I love."
Asked whether his arrest had an impact on his performance, Scheffler said: "It's hard to tell. I think I would attribute it mostly to a bad day.
"I think when you come out here to compete, you're doing what you can throughout the course of the round to post a score and I wasn't able to get that done yesterday.
"Did I feel like myself? Absolutely not. Was my warm-up the way it usually is and the distractions the way they normally are? Absolutely not.
"I got arrested Friday morning and I showed up here and played a good round of golf. So I've been good throughout my career at leaving the off-course distractions at home and keeping a pretty quiet personal life.
"I'm not going to sit here and say that I played poorly yesterday because of what happened on Friday. I just had a bad day out on the course and was proud of how I came out here and bounced back today."
PGA Championship: McIlroy 'feeling good' about game despite wait for elusive fifth major
Rory McIlroy feels positive about his game despite a continued wait to win an elusive fifth major championship.
Xander Schauffele secured a maiden major victory by winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla, which was the venue for McIlroy's last major triumph in 2014.
McIlroy finished in a tie for 12th place and has often come close, recording 20 top-10 finishes in majors since winning his last, which is more than any other player during that span.
He had won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Wells Fargo Championship coming into the second major of 2024 and, despite falling short, still feels things are trending in the right direction with the U.S. Open and The Open Championship to come this year.
Asked about the state of his game, McIlroy said: "I'm feeling good about that.
"I have been on a big stretch of golf here. I think this was my sixth event in seven weeks. I've got a week off and then I'm playing another four in a row.
"I'm feeling good about my game. I feel like things are sort of clicking more, especially after the win in New Orleans.
"Obviously played well last week in Charlotte. Have a week here to sort of reset and try to get going again."
McIlroy was in contention for glory after carding a five-under 66 on the first day at Valhalla.
But he ultimately finished nine strokes behind Schauffele, as a difficult 71 on day two was followed up with creditable scores of 68 and 67 over the weekend’s play.
McIlroy looked poised for another top-10 finish before finding the water twice on Sunday, but still emerged at four under for the day with seven birdies and three bogeys in an up-and-down final round.
He continued: "Obviously I started the week well, and then I've obviously played decent over the weekend.
"That six-hole stretch on the back nine [on Saturday], not being able to hole any putts, I'll probably rue that.
"Then the 71 on Friday, as well, was obviously not what I was looking for. Obviously put myself too far back.
"Overall I am playing solid, game is in good shape, and I've got a week off and then another busy stretch coming up."
PGA Championship: Schauffele 'captured the moment' with maiden major victory
Xander Schauffele says that he captured the moment during his PGA Championship win after handling the big moments better than he had in the past.
Schauffele won his maiden major victory with a dramatic one-shot win at Valhalla, Kentucky on Sunday, making history as he finished 21 under, the lowest 72-hole score in men’s major history.
He held off late challenges from Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland to secure the Wanamaker Trophy after carding a 65 on the final day.
"It feels amazing," Schauffele told reporters after his win.
"Winning, I said it earlier, is a result. This is awesome, it's super sweet, but when I break it down, I'm really proud of how I handled certain moments on the course today, different from the past."
"I was pretty nervous. I don't really remember it [the birdie putt] lipping in, I just heard everyone roaring and I looked up to the sky in relief.
"I really did not want to go into a play-off with Bryson. Going up 18 with his length, it's not something that I was going to have a whole lot of fun with.
"I was able to capture that moment there... I just kept telling myself I need to earn this, earn this and be in the moment, and I was able to do that."
Despite lifting the trophy, Schauffele believes that he still has work to do to reach Scottie Scheffler.
The world number one had a turbulent week, which saw him arrested ahead of the second round on Friday, and he finished joint-eighth.
"All of us are climbing this massive mountain and at the top of the mountain is Scottie Scheffler," Schauffele added. "I won this today, but I'm still not that close to Scottie Scheffler in the big scheme of things.
"I got one good hook up there in the mountain up on that cliff, and I'm still climbing. I might have a beer up there on that side of the hill there and enjoy this, but it's not that hard to chase when someone is so far ahead of you."
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