Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Former world No.1 Adam Scott has waded in on the future of LIV Golf players whose careers are up in the air following the liquidation of the PGA Tour’s rival body.
The end of LIV Golf is to be sorted out in a New Jersey bankruptcy court with the next hearing in just over two weeks.
The future of LIV players, including Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie, are at stake as the PGA is yet to decide on their futures.
Scott, who is currently in the Middle East where he is in contention at the Abu Dhabi Championship, has made his thoughts clear on how the PGA should proceed with LIV players.
“I think the fairest thing is that they all re-establish themselves in the system they want to go to,” he said in an interview with Today’s Golfer.
“They left and gave up those privileges. I think they should re-qualify themselves, ideally.
“That’s how I would see it. That seems logical and sensible.”
However, any decision still seems miles away with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp previously scheduling a virtual news conference November 17 after their board meeting.
The topic is to be more details of the new competitive model for 2028, not how, when or why to bring back players from LIV.
So how long Jon Rahm’s only option is the European tour or what becomes of Bryson DeChambeau are topics not likely to be discussed, much less decided.
Rolapp is big on meritocracy and has not been willing to discuss the return of LIV players until they are relieved of their contracts.
LIV said Wednesday in a bankruptcy hearing it would not go forward with a new version and instead begin the process of shuttering operations.
The same day, the judge approved Rahm’s separation from LIV Golf. He’s officially free and clear.
“I have yet to have a discussion with the PGA Tour to see if there’s any path back for next year,” Rahm said this week in Abu Dhabi, where he shares the 36-hole lead.
Rahm and DeChambeau are the two biggest names. Often overlooked is Dustin Johnson, a former world No.1 and two-time major champion and the one guy PGA Tour players said they missed.
Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, a four-time Ryder Cup player, have status on the European tour. DeChambeau and Smith, who won the British Open at St Andrews in 2022, also have access to membership as major champions in the last five years.
They must decide in the next 10 days.
The PGA Tour currently has a one-year ban from a player’s last LIV appearance, so that would be lifted on August 24, 2027, assuming there are no other disciplinary matters. That could include being part of the group that sued the tour.
with AAP
