Any PIF deal seems dead in the water
Tour CEO Rolapp indicates he has bigger priorities than LIV; Stray Shots' Ryder picks
Brian Rolapp delivers his priorities at East Lake … and it’s not LIV (Daily Drive)
“You’re dead to me.”
It’s a line heard in numerous movies, but with its origins in Old English, it simply means “we’re through.”
On Wednesday, in his first press conference to the assembled media at the Tour Championship, newly minted PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp was asked about possible talks between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund/LIV Golf.
While his response offered little information, it stated that Rolapp had only been in the job for three weeks and his focus had been elsewhere.
Fair enough, a 0-2 thrown away pitch.
But then the dagger to the heart of deal-brokers came with the following answer to a question: Is LIV Golf a priority?
“I think my primary focus is going to be on strengthening the tour, and a blank sheet of paper means a blank sheet of paper,” Rolapp said. “Whatever does that, I’ll pursue aggressively. That’s how I view it.”
If that doesn’t mean LIV is dead to him, I’m not sure what does.
The new CEO has different priorities than the previous golf executives who have worked at the PGA Tour.
That sleepy new spaceship-like headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., will likely turn into a Manhattan-type headquarters. With Rolapp earning his chops at the NFL, his focus will be on developing the PGA Tour into a sports juggernaut, attracting not only golf fans, but sports fans.
So realistically, how does a deal with LIV, which has three or four players that generate interest, make any sense?
It doesn’t.
Rolapp has made it clear that he is focused on building and growing the PGA Tour, and that focus does not seem to have LIV as part of that equation.
So, what does this mean for LIV?
By any measure, LIV has underdelivered. Partly because the league still seems unsure of the endgame, and also because it lacks clarity. LIV is uncertain of the correct path to take.
When both sides were fighting in Federal Court, LIV seemed to have some momentum, but once the lawsuits were shut down by mutual agreement and the discussion was around competition, it’s been all PGA Tour focus.
Nobody cares if LIV players get world ranking points, except for Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Tyrrell Hatton. The important LIV players get into the majors; the rest are of little consequence.
So where do they go from here?
LIV CEO Scott O’Neill recently said he knew Rolapp and that both were members of the Mormon Church. It seems Rolapp is not bound by religious affiliation, and O’Neill will need to explore other avenues to convince Rolapp to get interested in making a deal.