By Sam Reeves

We are 3 days removed from Scottie Scheffler’s 3rd career Major title at the 107th PGA Championship played at Quail Hollow Golf Club. It sounds a bit repetitive talking about Scottie Scheffler and winning tournaments, but it’s good for golf! Golf has a history of hot streaks by players who, in turn, bring interest to the game. So many greats have had stretches of incredible seasons and ultimately turned that into Hall of Fame careers. You get people tuning in to see if the world number one can win again, and then on the flip side, you have people tuning in to see who may dethrone them, which makes for some very compelling golf.

It’s been a few years now that LIV Golf has been around, and contrary to popular belief, it’s still going strong. Have I watched any LIV events myself? No. It doesn’t seem like many people have, but that was basically because broadcasts weren’t widely available. LIV Golf still has players who can draw an audience. Most notably, Bryson DeChambeau, who just keeps showing up on leaderboards at the majors. If he isn’t winning U.S. Opens, he’s finishing top 5 in all the other majors. The man is still very good at golf, even if he isn’t playing on the PGA Tour currently. LIV Golf still has big names in Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Tyrell Hatton, Joaquín Niemann, and well, Phil Mickelson.

As some know, those on the LIV tour are not seen as equal to those on the PGA Tour since jumping ship. Even the OWGR (Official World Golf Rankings) doesn’t see LIV event victories as enough to award players points. Are there players on LIV who are just getting a bag and are mid- to bottom-tier players? Absolutely. Even some team captains, like Bubba Watson, almost didn’t get retained by LIV Golf because of poor performance. Just because they are on the “other” tour doesn’t mean that they can’t compete, as we’ve seen from not only this past weekend’s PGA Championship but all the previous majors over the last three years.

I am not advocating for LIV Golf at all in this article. I think the model is a good idea, but the financial backing partners are not the kind of people you want to have as business partners, historically. What does need to be looked into, though, is the PGA Tour’s viewer numbers when the LIV players are in the same field, which right now is only the 4 major championships. The PGA and LIV players, fans, and some tour officials want a unified league again, but that doesn’t look to be possible for the foreseeable future. So what does the golf world need to do? Embrace the current chaos and turn it into content and profit.

My millions of readers are probably asking themselves, “Sam, HOW CAN THEY DO IT?” Well, there is no need to shout; I am right here to tell you. We already had a mini preview of what they can do when Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler teamed up to take on Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau in a modified match play format that I thought was a lot of fun! I mean, Scottie and Rory ran away with it very quickly, but that’s not the point. The Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup currently allow LIV players on the teams if they are picked by the captains or qualify on points. Which is great; you always want the best players on those teams, respectively. This has been pitched before, but to make it a reality would bring in all the ratings for golf: PGA vs LIV in a Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup format.

Yes, a 3-day team event that pits the top 12 from the PGA Tour and the top 12 from the LIV Tour in a battle for the title. Four-ball, foursomes, and match play to decide a winner every year. Would it be difficult scheduling with the current tours’ respective schedules? It would be a nightmare. BUT, think of the RATINGS. Look, the golf world is tired of the LIV vs PGA nonsense; we just want the best golfers in the world in the same field more than 4 times a year. If you can get a big event like this together, even one time, it will definitely start the healing process for professional golf. It will be competitive and incredibly high level.

If that is too much to plan, invite LIV to TGL! TGL is the indoor simulator league started by TMRW Sports, founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Teams of three compete in an alternate shot and match play set across 15 holes. The inaugural season was a huge success, and they have already added another team to start in 2027 with the Motor City Golf Club. Give the LIV guys a few teams; let them put their skills to the test against the PGA players who have been doing it already. They play TGL on Mondays and Tuesdays, so it works for the schedule. I think that’s the route they can take right now without any major shifts or overhauls to any current operations.

This is all to say I want golf unified again so the fields are stronger every week and we get to see the top talent compete. As a big golf fan, I do find myself missing some of the top names that are no longer on the PGA Tour. Hopefully, the negotiations and PIF are figured out soon, but until that gets sorted out, we’ll just have to settle for the majors. Until next time, grip it and rip it.