Will Zalatoris, who won his first PGA Tour title in Memphis 11 months ago.
He quipped, “Yeah… not much has happened in the past year in golf, right?” on his first visit back to TPC Southwind after that three-playoff-hole win.
Zalatoris made a joke about the announcement last month that the PGA Tour had merged with Saudi-backed LIV Golf. This news was the latest twist of a dramatic saga which began in public in October 2021.
The deal has not been finalized yet, even though the two sides who were at war have apparently reached an agreement on a “framework agreement”, ending months of litigation. The details of this framework agreement have not yet been revealed, so many people (including golfers from both sides) are in the dark as to how the deal will work.
Zalatoris said, “There is just so much uncertainty (and) this is the frustrating part.” This framework agreement is only a way to avoid litigation for now. Any lawyer or businessman will give their opinion.
But the truth is that no one can predict this.
A Senate subcommittee spent hours last Thursday grilling two PGA Tour executives about the agreement. The chairman of the subcommittee, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn. ), was one of the loudest. He claimed that the hearing wasn’t about golf. It was instead about “how a brutal and repressive regime could buy influence, indeed, even take over, a beloved American institution, simply to clean its public image.
It’s called “sportswashing.”
Will Zalatoris, winner of the FedEx St. Jude Championship 2022 at TPC Southwind Memphis in Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire).
Zalatoris acknowledged that the merger was difficult for those who remained loyal to the PGA Tour in the last year and a half. The 26-year old chooses to look at it from a broader perspective.
Will Zalatoris win after wild playoff against Sepp Straka
He said, “It’s the best thing we can do long-term. It is hard to admit but it is.” “We had a legal battle that we could no longer fight. The well will eventually run dry. “With (LIV golf), the well never runs dry.”
He suffered a back problem that continued into spring, just days after Zalatoris’ win in Memphis. He decided to undergo surgery to relieve the pain from a herniated disk.
He announced on Monday that he had begun the rehabilitation process and was targeting a return to action in October. It is expected that the PGA Tour roster and LIV Golf, which include stars like Brooks Koepka and Bryson deChambeau and Phil Mickelson, will merge not long afterwards. Zalatoris’s acceptance of the merger is heavily influenced by this.
He said that, “as much as he disagreed with the decision of some guys (to go to LIV golf), if we all get back together and compete like we used to, I think it will be better than any other time in our history.”
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
