LIV Golf, its commissioner Greg Norman and its players have been pining for months, if not going on years now, about their exclusion from major championships -- at least on the basis of what unfolds in LIV Golf events.
For his part, Billy Horschel believes the PGA Tour could actually stand out against the four men's major championships by inviting some LIV Golf players to compete in The Players.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Horschel said, "I did have a conversation with [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] about a year and a half ago about if the majors were going to let the guys that went to LIV, shouldn't we maybe let them in? If we see ourselves as a fifth major, which I believe we are, shouldn't we, maybe put out a little bit of olive branch?"
The conversation around The Players Championship being the fifth major (of four) has calmed down in recent years, with more people seemingly appreciating The Players' unique position as the best tournament in the world that isn't a major championship.
One of the big reasons for that appreciation is The Players being able to boast for years that it had the best field of the year. Every player in the top 50 in the world was invited, and the remaining 94 players in the field were basically the next-best available players to compete at TPC Sawgrass. With the likes of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and 2022 winner Cam Smith not eligible to compete in PGA Tour events, there's a sense that heralding The Players as the best field of the year feels hollow. Horschel believes those players need to be at least invited to Sawgrass to compete. Monahan didn't and doesn't agree.
Horschel added, "We had a great conversation about that and I understood his side of it and the PGA Tour side, but I think personally it's tough to say that we don't have all the best players in the world here. Take out the world rankings, take out everything. Everyone knows by the eyeballs test who the best players are in the world and I think, hopefully, a year from now we will have all the best players back here again playing."
Monahan said on Tuesday that the negotiation process with LIV Golf and its owner, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, will take significantly longer than perhaps expected initially in the wake of the June 6 announced framework accord between the parties. It's more likely any detente would start no sooner than 2026.
