Golf legend Jack Nicklaus shared his thoughts on the current split in men’s professional golf and discussed whether LIV Golf stars should be allowed to return to the PGA Tour. Nicklaus was at The Players Championship on Thursday, laughing with Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler before they started playing. He won the event 50 years ago at Atlanta Country Club in 1974.
Nicklaus, along with Arnold Palmer, helped launch the PGA Tour in 1968 by retiring from the PGA of America. But now, at 84 years old and with 73 Tour wins, he sees a stark difference between his movement and what’s happening to LIV Golfers leaving the PGA Tour.
“We tried to do it in the best interest of the game,” Nicklaus explained of the split in 1968. “The PGA of America is the one we split from, but when we formed the Policy Board we had three PGA of America executives on So , they had a big say in things. We didn’t want to take away from them as a game, we just felt that the players should be in control of their own destiny, and that’s how it’s been now for the last 56 years.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced Tuesday that “framework agreement” talks between the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – backers of LIV Golf – are accelerating. However, heated arguments between players from different sides do not seem to be calming down.
Still, Nicklaus praised the PGA Tour amid continued pressure from LIV Golf. “I think the PGA Tour schedule is fantastic,” he said. “Now being able to play the signature tournaments as well as the tournaments they build in between, they’re building new stars, giving young people a chance to climb the ranks. I think the structure of the PGA is very good at the moment.
“We have some issues to clear up now… But I always like to see the best players in the world playing together. They do in the big leagues at the moment to some extent, some of the LIV players go there but not too many as only those who qualify for them get in.”
Nicklaus is one of a handful of golf stars to praise the Tour as talks continue with the Saudi-backed league. With little to no updates and no ending, players are getting impatient. Golf star Rory McIlroy expressed his willingness to move on, saying on Wednesday: “I want the train to speed up so we can finish this thing. We all have to move on and try to bring the game back together. .”