Michael Kim Gives Players Context on LIV-PGA Tour Merger

Perspective LIV Golf and PGA Tour Connection There has reportedly been some sort of strengthening of ties following a key meeting held in New York last week.

This came after months of inactivity, but it now looks like LIV Golf Tour members will be able to attend PGA Tour events in the future. This reportedly didn’t sit well with many PGA Tour golfers, with some saying LIV golfers should be given refunds to be able to attend PGA Tour events.

End of story. It will never happen. Not in a million years. The stars who left for LIV Golf saw their cards on the table and played for guaranteed millions, more than they will probably make on the PGA Tour, and parted ways. That money is theirs and there is no way they will give it up to compete on the PGA Tour.

There has been a lot of commentary on the subject over the past few days, including Rory McIlroy “saying out loud what has been quieter” and admitting that only about half of the LIV players and half of the PGA Tour players want the merger to happen:

Rory estimates that maybe only half of the players on the PGA Tour, and half of the players on LIV, want the PGAT-PIF deal to happen photo: twitter.com/MnKrh5128X

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) September 18, 2024

PGA Tour golfer Michael Kim puts Rory McIlroy’s comments on the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger into context

Rory continued by saying he believes the tours want it to happen, and investors “certainly” want it to happen. That’s obvious, as it simply brings more centralized money into a deeply divided sport. But PGA Tour member Michael S. Kim (a Cal Bears alum) had some insight into Rory’s comments, which went viral on Xformerly known as Twitter.

Michael Kim wrote:

“Do I want a deal? My short answer is: No, but I don’t really care.”

“Whether the tour and LIV make a deal or not, it won’t affect my bottom line. It won’t change my schedule or my earnings one bit. Realistically, it’s only the top 30 golfers on the Pgatour and they’ll probably make more money after this deal.”

“You could argue that if players come back it will be better for the PGA Tour and bring more interest, but I find that hard to believe. It won’t be a big mashup, it will just be a few big prize pool events if I had to guess. How many of the guys from LIV actually affect the ratings and events? Phil, Bryson, Rahm? Will it increase ratings and earnings by more than 1%? Sure, the first few events would be cool, but after that? I could be completely wrong, but that’s my opinion. The bigger difference will be how much better the TV product is.”

“I think their decision to leave and SUE the tour has to have consequences. You may call it petty, but the guys at LIV sued the PGA Tour for the PIP money in the first place. The same PGA Tour that was the reason you got your big payday in the first place. This is just as petty in my eyes.”

Of course, these are the words of just one man on the PGA Tour. But hearing someone other than Rory McIlroy and hearing his response to Rory is important, because Kim has 1 PGA Tour win in 220 starts (100 cuts) and is much more typical of the “everyman” playing on the PGA Tour.

The top 30 PGA Tour players would certainly benefit from the LIV Golf merger, as it would bring Bryson, Brooks, Rahm, etc. back into the game and likely fuel the pools for designated Tour events. The same would not be true for the rest of the PGA Tour, who would continue to be on the outside looking in at designated events.

As for whether players outside of Phil, Bryson and Rahm would change things up after the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger, I think it’s hard to predict. There would definitely be a big boost in the first few events as fans tune in for the drama, but it’s hard to say what the ratings would look like after that.

The ratings would certainly dwarf LIV, as the PGA Tour has network TV and streaming deals that are significantly better than LIV Golf. But will they set records for the sport? It’s hard to say for sure.