Patrick Cantlay admits golf fans are the real losers as PGA-LIV saga drags on

The two parties announced a framework agreement back in June and gave themselves a deadline of 31 December 2023 to reach an agreement on combining commercial operations under a unified banner titled PGA Tour Enterprises.

However, that deadline was delayed to an unspecified date in 2024 after little progress was made , with the PGA Tour saying they were "working to extend negotiations into next year based on the progress we have made to date".

As a PGA Tour Policy Board member, Cantlay acknowledged the frustration with the protracted negotiations but admitted he had little good news to share ahead of the PGA Tour's season-opening event in Hawaii.

"I feel for the fan," he told AFP. "There has been a ton of confusion not only for players out on tour in the last year or two, but I can only imagine for the fan at home.

"I think the fan is rooting for the attention to go back squarely onto golf and squarely onto the tournaments that are being played and to forget all of this political non-golf talk, which has consumed a lot of the energy over the last couple years."

Cantlay is optimistic that the PGA Tour's upcoming series of exclusive tournaments, featuring increased prize money and reduced participant fields, will provide a temporary solution while negotiations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, LIV Golf and PGA Tour stars will continue to compete against each other in the majors.

"I hope with having more of the best players play the same weeks, they know exactly which weeks are important to us players and they get to see a lot more tournaments where the best players on tour are competing against each other down the stretch on Sunday," Cantlay said.

Fellow PGA Tour pro Xander Schauffele also said he hoped for a swift resolution for the sake of fans, players and sponsors.

"I think everyone wants to see that puzzle sort of whole without missing pieces. The product is probably better if all together than sort of split up," he said.

"I'm sure there's some smart people out there that have some ideas on how to do it correctly. I'm not one of them.

"You just need someone that's really smart that's going to create a fair pathway back for everyone to play again."

Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa was even more blunt in his wish for a swift resolution.

"At this point, I think just deals need to be made and we all need to get back to playing golf," he said.

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