Golf
‘I could get in trouble answering…’ Jordan Spieth on LIV Golf pros returning (?!) to PGA Tour
Jordan Spieth has confirmed ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf‘s bankrollers, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), remain ‘very active’ – but that’s about all he could say on the subject ahead of the John Deere Classic.
Rumours have been swirling in recent weeks that the PGA Tour and PIF have already signed off on their future commercial agreement, but as of yet, there has been no official confirmation.
It is anticipated by many that a deal could also pave the way for some form of unification in the professional game once more.
While one reporter tried his best to get as much information out of Spieth, who sits on the PGA Tour policy board at the moment, the three-time major champion was not yet prepared to provide the very latest update.
If Spieth did reveal what he knows then he admitted he could end up in hot water, especially when asked whether LIV Golf players could find a way back to the PGA Tour.
As it stands, all LIV Golf players that remain PGA Tour members such as Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, are still suspended by the circuit until further notice.
But things could change soon.
Scroll below to check out the exchange between a reporter and Spieth ahead of the John Deere Classic…
Q. You’re on the policy board through the end of the year. Can you give us an idea where these negotiations are? Do you see them coming to some kind of resolution by the end of your term on the board? If so, what happens to LIV players that want to come back over? What’s the best way to bring them back into the fold?
JORDAN SPIETH: That’s an extremely loaded question that I could get in a lot of trouble answering. I’ll just say things of that nature take a little bit of time, but they’re very active. That’s about as far as I can go for you.
Q. Would you like to see it finish sooner than later?
JORDAN SPIETH: I would like to see it done right for everyone. So the timing is the timing. Obviously if anything can be done right and done sooner, that’s great. But I would rather see it done correctly and done the right way for golf going forward for the longest amount of time, regardless how long that takes to get there, yeah.
Spieth is a 25/1 shot to win the John Deere Classic this week.
The former World No.1 is winless on the PGA Tour since the RBC Heritage in April 2022.
The John Deere Classic is close to Spieth’s heart having won his first PGA Tour title here back in 2013. He also won it again in 2015.
Only two players have ever won the John Deere Classic three times – Steve Stricker and DA Weibring.
Sepp Straka is the defending champion following his two-shot victory 12 months ago.
Straka admitted to not being much of a fan of ‘small events’ on the eve of his title defence.