Former European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington has revealed that he does not believe that a deal will be reached to merge the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia is currently trying to negotiate a deal with the American-based PGA Tour in an attempt to combine the two circuits.
But Harrington does not believe that merging the two is possible and is wary that some players don’t actually want to play outside of the United States as they would be expected to if PIF are able to get a deal over the line.
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Speaking ahead of the 2024 Open Championship, an event which he thinks he can win for the third time, Harrington explained: "I have always been an advocate of two strong tours. I liked when Europe was very strong and that sort of rivalry and competition.
“We went over there in the early 2000s, late 90s we were winning for Europe, you see that with the LIV players, they all congratulate each other when they come back.
"They have a chip on their shoulder and a point to prove when they come out and it adds to the majors in golf."
Harrington went on to raise concerns about how the timings of the merger would work and believes that some stars will dip in and out of the respective tours so that they are only participating in events which they want to rather than travelling around the world to compete.
He continued: “They are never going to merge those two tours there's not enough time for two tours like that. Players don't necessarily want to play that much or play outside the States it's not going to happen an actual merger.
"What they need is an agreement where they can have a crossover between the two tours a bit like the old days with the PGA Tour and European Tour when there was a bit of a rivalry."
Harrington’s comments are likely to ring true with plenty of players given his experience on the course and so it remains to be seen whether his advice is taken onboard by those in charge of negotiations or whether those involved in the merger are determined to prove their doubters wrong by making the arrangement a success – if they can reach an agreement.
