Rory’s view of union, Ryder Cup lessons

In an interview with Scotland, Rory McIlroy said it is likely that LIV players and PGA Tour players will carry “doing their thing for the foreseeable future.” The interview followed some interesting pairings at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where McIlroy played PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. What do you think of McIlroy’s rating?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): It comes as confirmation of what has seemed obvious for a while now: the two are moving in separate orbits, with little intention of overlapping except for the occasional major and televised event. The tour, it seems, is comfortable enough with its private infusion of cash that it can keep going for now. And LIV, which doesn’t need the money and likely never will, can do the same. None of this is particularly good news for the fans, but they’ve never been treated as a top priority in any of these anyway.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Bad news for those who want to see a unified professional game in the near future. Here’s to hoping things can be sorted out sooner rather than later. Every year that goes by with a broken game does more damage – and the fans are the biggest losers.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): It’s impossible to narrow down these two answers, so let’s talk about the process. As I understand it, PIF Saudi’s involvement with the PGA Tour would begin with an investment in PGA Tour Enterprises, the Tour’s new for-profit arm. Then, with gradual approval from the Department of Justice, things could (theoretically, depending on the cooperation of a few important parties) eventually move in the direction of the merger. But yeah, we’re not on the verge of a solution, I don’t think.

The next Ryder Cup may be almost a year away, but you wouldn’t know it at this week’s press conference with captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald. One of the most surprising learnings was that Donald was in contact with European legend and golfer Sergio Garcia. who is apparently considering rejoining the DP World Tour in hopes of being able to play Bethpage next fall. Use your glass ball, will Garcia and other LIV players like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton be on the European team next September?

Meaning: Rory McIlroy said he hopes Rahm will qualify, and you have to bet enough other powerful voices in the game feel the same way that will happen. We should all hope it will. It makes for better competition, and if nothing else, golf fans deserve a few days of Sergio Garcia playing in front of hostile New York crowds — assuming The Donald considers the state of Sergio’s game — or his Ryder Cup history — sufficient justification for the choice.

Melts: Hatton and Rahm should be in the squad for the Euros to field their most competitive team, but I’m not so sold on Segio. He is still playing good golf, but as the European team showed last summer, they have plenty of young talent to rely on. Maybe he will be part of the team as an assistant captain?

Dethier: Rahm will be there. Hatton will be there. Sergio has played pretty well at LIV (and played well at Pinehurst) so it’s not out of the question. Not sure which other LIV pros would be competing on the European side – Paul Casey? Richard Bland?!? – but to the point of Sens, if Garcia was annoyed with unruly crowds in the open championship qualifying this summer, Bethpage would be a fascinating cauldron to throw it into…

Speaking about the Ryder Cup, US captain Keegan Bradley, who used to sneak into Bethpage Black while in college, said he expects the New York crowd to cheer “proudly and loudly.” He said he wants it to be a tough place to play for both teams, but “nobody on either team wants it to get uncomfortable or weird out there.” What vibe do you expect on Long Island?

Meaning: Sorry, but that’s like saying, we’re going to have a rabbit convention in a pit of pythons, but we really hope there are no injuries or hurt feelings.

Melts: It will be turbulent and hostile to the Euro. New York sports fans aren’t particularly kind to opposing teams, and the Ryder Cup will be no different. Expect plenty of jeers and squeals from outside the ropes – and a few ejections, too.

Dethier: I expect the atmosphere to become uncomfortable AND strange. As we saw last fall, European fans don’t have much content — but they definitely have more than their Long Island counterparts. It will be glorious and, at least some times, over the top.

Nearly two weeks after the event ended, we’re still hearing about the Tom Kim Curse controversy from the Presidents Cup. this time, American team member Wyndham Clark offered his take on the events on “The Loop” podcast. Is that history or is this helping to legitimize the rivalry in the Presidents Cup?

Meaning: It’s trivial, trivial, which in today’s world makes it headlines. But he could only legitimize a ‘rivalry’ if there was a rivalry to begin with. This cannot be the case when one side almost always beats the other. The Presidents Cup is not a rivalry. It’s an abusive relationship.

Melts: It feels like a bit of a burger. In sports, sometimes there’s a bit of trash talk – and that’s okay! There is no need to revisit the smallest dispute.

Dethier: I think it’s a story only because it’s clear that both sides still feel something about it. That will, in some ways, be the lasting legacy of this year’s Presidents Cup — heightened excitement on both sides. There may be no bad blood, but things were a little tense leaving Montreal. This is not a bad thing.

The PGA Tour was visited Black Desert Resort in Irvins, Utah – not far from Zion National Park – for the inaugural Black Desert Championship this week where tktkt did just that. Should the PGA Tour seek more of these unique venues in exotic locations?

Meaning: Of course. In moderation. Variety is good, especially when it provides a departure from the cookie-cutter courses that have become so common on Tour. And if it gets more people to visit Zion, so much the better. What a park!

Melts: The photos and videos I saw were pretty sweet and it’s nice to see the tour visiting some unconventional places. I wouldn’t mind seeing more variety in the places the Tour goes. Lord knows there are some tournaments on the calendar that could use a change.

Dethier: I don’t think the Tour needs to specifically go after exotic locations, but some outside-the-box thinking is more than welcome. And I think this week’s stop in Utah was a pretty perfect choice for a fall event; it looked and played brilliantly and felt distinctly different from a garden-variety country club. I expect relatively dismal ratings, but I hope that once Cowboys-Lions was a blowout, some of you turned to the Golf Channel to see the red cliffs and epic views of the Black Desert (and one of golf’s hottest players, Matt McCarthy). Now, if only we could stop the tour in Boston, Chicago, and Seattle…