As the golfing ‘civil war’ between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour remains ongoing, two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler has his thoughts on who could be to blame.
A framework agreement for a combination of the PGA Tour with the Saudi PIF was announced back in 2023. Yet, it’s nearly two years later and the sides don’t appear much closer to a deal than they were back then.
US President Donald Trump appears to have inserted himself into the negotiations as something of a middle-man – hosting multiple meetings at the White House between leaders and players on the two warring golf circuits to come to something of a solution.
But speaking with reporters on a media call on Wednesday, Scheffler says he misses competing against some of the players who defected to the Saudi-backed golf tour.
‘I definitely miss the competition,’ Scheffler said, according to Golf.com. ‘They got some pretty good players on their tour.
‘I still think the PGA Tour has by far the best players in the world. The depth of our fields and the competition that we have is still hands down the best competition that there is in the game of golf. That’s why I’m still playing on the Tour.
Scottie Scheffler pointed the finger at LIV Golfers as to why golf’s ‘civil war’ hasn’t ended yet
Talks between the two sides haven’t progressed much, despite help from President Trump
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said reunification is ‘very real’ but details are limited
‘I love the competition. I wish some of those guys had stayed, but at the end of the day, they made their choice. They knew the consequences of that decision, and I’m not here to change their minds. I hold no ill will toward any of those guys that left.
‘They did what they wanted to do, and I can’t control their life. I’m not going to sit here and say they should have done something differently. They made their choice.
‘If we want to figure out why the game of golf is not back together, go ask those guys. Go to wherever they are playing this week and figure out when the game is going to come back together.’
Scheffler is not set to take part in this week’s Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course in Florida.
Last week, he finished tied for 20th after shooting four-under at the Players Championship as he watched Rory McIlroy win a playoff on Monday to claim the title Scheffler won last year.
During that tournament, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan told reporters that he ‘wants to see the game reunified’.
He added that Trump’s involvement in the negotiations has ‘made the prospect of reunification very real’.
But Monahan also said that any details on where the talks were at the moment are limited.
