In February 2022, Adam Scott admitted to listening to LIV Golf’s pitch, telling the media at Riviera ahead of the Genesis Invitational, “I think the schedule they’re proposing is very appealing to probably most golfers. Depending what your goals are in golf, I think the schedule is very appealing. From that side of things, I would consider doing that, for sure. From a lifestyle side of things, yes.”
But Scott never went to the Saudi-backed circuit, instead taking a leadership role on the tour’s Player Advisory Council in hopes of changing professional golf for the better.
So it’s fair to wonder how the Queenslander is feeling following the surprise announcement that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backer, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, are planning to form a new entity together. Speaking to the media ahead of this week’s Travelers Championship, the former Masters champ calmly spoke about the “emotional” response some players had to the news.
“I think as far as the deal goes, I’m happy to wait and see how the deal points are worked out and see whether that really suits as a whole,” Scott explained. “Of course I have some emotional—I’m caught up emotionally because I stayed on the PGA Tour and this looks, it was put to us that if we left we were never coming back, and it seems there is going to be pathways back. You know, eventually we’ll find out if that’s the best for the game and how we feel. So I have some emotions about that, but kind of time often plays a big part in these things so see how it advances.”
Scott clarified he never felt “angry” about the proposed deal, although did say last week’s US Open felt like a respite of sorts from the drama.
“Even though we were all there and the same players are there, it wasn’t a PGA Tour event. It was run by the USGA and felt like a break,” Scott said. “We’re straight back into it with player meetings here this week. I think that’s like what I said before, just when you’re very surprised, some emotions are stirred up, and I think you can’t help but feel—you can’t help but feel left in the dark even though I don’t expect to run the PGA Tour and them to run everything by me. It was just sooner than maybe anybody thought. That’s all.”
Scott did say that Tuesday’s players’ meeting with PGA Tour officials went better than a similar meeting at the RBC Canadian Open two weeks ago, although there are a lot of questions that currently don’t have answers. To Scott, those answers will come in time.
“So although that seems fairly simple, I think the deal sounds quite complex and this could take a long time,” Scott said. “I think hopefully everyone is cooling down and as things go along, there is transparency to the players and those questions get answered.
“And then, you know, I think it will be evaluated whether it’s a good deal for the PGA Tour and its players and the game of golf moving forward.”
