Viktor Hovland stance on reuniting with LIV Golf stars speaks volumes about what PGA Tour must do

Viktor Hovland has admitted he is glad to be reunited with LIV Golf’s players, confessing he’s even missed a couple of them.

The Norwegian has spoken honestly about LIV in the past, saying that joining the breakaway tour wouldn’t make him a better golfer. But he’s not been bitter towards any of his former colleagues who have defected to the Saudi breakaway league.

Like many PGA Tour stars, Hovland has been joined by a cast of LIV players this week at the Masters. When asked if there was a bit of camaraderie between the two parties, Hovland replied: “Yeah, a little bit. I didn’t get to see a whole lot of guys yesterday.

“I saw a couple, and it was nice to chat a little bit. But obviously, I’m busy doing my preparations and they’re busy doing their preparations.

“But there are certainly a couple of the guys out there that I miss and I think it’s good that we get to meet and get to play against each other again. Hopefully, everyone at home will enjoy seeing everyone kind of play against each other.”

Hovland’s stance on having the best players in the world compete against each other is one shared by Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman has U-turned since a merger was announced between the two organisations.

Speaking earlier this year, he said: “I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties. It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game. That’s my opinion of it. So to me, the faster that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible, I think, is great for golf.”

Viktor Hovland at the Masters

Very little has progressed since Jay Monahan and Yasir Al Rumayyan sat down to announce a truce between the two warring parties. And the divide has only been further widened by Jon Rahm’s shock departure to the Saudi breakaway league.

A meeting between the pair took place in the Bahamas last month, with even Tiger Woods in attendance. Monahan shared an update with the PGA’s players but stopped short of offering any real detail.

“The conversation throughout was constructive and represents an important part of our due diligence process in selecting potential investors for PGA Tour Enterprises,” Monahan penned in the email. “This mirrors the approach we employed earlier this year as we evaluated an investment offer from the Strategic Sports Group. During the session, Yasir had a chance to introduce himself to our player directors and talk through his vision, priorities and motivations for investing in professional golf.”

Should the PGA Tour not accelerate its plans for a merger, Hovland and McIlroy’s sentiments for the best players in the world to compete against each other become increasingly at risk. And LIV has shown in the past it’s not afraid to throw more money at players to increase its appeal.