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Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson want PGA Tour-LIV Golf settled

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April 12, 2024

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Jack Nicklaus poses for a photograph alongside Tom Watson and Gary Player before the first round of the Masters Tournament after the 2024 ceremonial tee shot. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jack Nicklaus, Gary Participant and Tom Watson wish to see the PGA Tour-LIV Golf dispute get settled.

Talking throughout a joint press convention after the three legends hit the ceremonial tee pictures to the 88^th version of the Masters, Watson shared a particular second throughout the Champions Dinner, which introduced collectively 33 of the previous winners – seven of them members of LIV – of their Inexperienced Jackets and Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership Chairman Fred Ridley, on Tuesday night.

“We had been sitting down and we had been having nice tales about Seve Ballesteros and other people had been laughing and speaking. I mentioned to Mr. Ridley, I mentioned, ‘Do you thoughts if I say one thing about being right here along with all people?’ He mentioned, ‘Please do.’

“And I bought up and I mentioned – I’m wanting across the room, and I’m seeing only a great expertise all people is having. They’re jovial. They’re having a good time. They’re laughing. I mentioned, ‘Ain’t it good to be collectively once more?’ ” Watson recalled.

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He added that he hoped the gamers would take it upon themselves to achieve a decision, sooner relatively than later.

“We now have to do one thing,” Watson mentioned. “Everyone knows it’s a tough state of affairs for skilled golf proper now. The gamers actually type of have management I feel in a way. What do they wish to do? We’ll see the place it goes. We don’t have the knowledge or the solutions. I don’t assume the PGA Tour or the LIV Tour actually have a solution proper now. However I feel on this room, I do know the three of us wish to get collectively. We wish to get collectively like we had been at that Champions Dinner, blissful, the very best gamers taking part in in opposition to one another. The underside line: that’s what we would like in skilled golf, and proper now, we don’t have it.”

Nicklaus echoed that sentiment and positioned his belief in PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to prepared the ground.

“The perfect final result is the very best gamers play in opposition to one another on a regular basis. That’s what I really feel about it. And the way it’s going, I don’t know, I don’t wish to be aware of it,” Nicklaus mentioned. “I talked to Jay not very way back, and I mentioned, ‘Jay, don’t inform me what’s happening as a result of I don’t wish to must mislead the press and people who ask me questions.’ I mentioned, ‘How are you doing?’ He mentioned, ‘We’re doing high quality.’ I mentioned, “OK, that’s all I wish to know.’ If Jay thinks we’re doing high quality, we’ll get there, I feel we’ll get there. And I definitely hope that occurs, the earlier the higher.”

Participant touched on how that division in golf and a focus on the greed within the recreation has turned off the general public. However he additionally famous that the gamers who had stayed loyal to the PGA Tour wanted to be compensated in a roundabout way (which they are going to be by way of the infusion of capital into the Tour’s new for-profit arm from personal fairness funding.)

“Anytime in any enterprise in any way, not solely within the golf enterprise, there’s confrontation, it’s unhealthy. You’ve bought to get collectively and are available to an answer. When you can not, it’s not good. The general public don’t prefer it, and we as professionals don’t prefer it, both,” Participant mentioned. “But it surely’s an enormous drawback as a result of they paid all these guys to affix the LIV Tour fortunes, I imply, past one’s comprehension and the gamers that had been loyal, three of us and others. Now these guys come again and play, I actually consider the gamers, that if they’re loyal, ought to be compensated in a roundabout way or one other. In any other case, there’s going to be dissension.”