“Are we signing with the PIF?” – Matt Fitzpatrick says he ‘doesn’t know what’s going on' with the PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal

The controversial PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger announcement is the big news coming into this week’s US Open 2023. Throughout the weekend, several golfers have shared their take on the matter. Days after the big announcement, defending US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick has come out to state that he ‘doesn’t know what’s going on’ with the PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal.

Fitzpatrick was speaking to the media when he opened up about his take on the PGA-LIV deal. The golfer, who was given the option of passing on the question, gave a candid reply explaining that he is still in the dark regarding the situation.

Being one of the first to attend Monday’s press conference at the Los Angeles Country Club, Fitzpatrick asked if the PGA Tour was signing with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns LIV Golf, or not. He dubbed the PGA Tour-LIV Golf situation as ‘confusing.’

Matt Fitzpatrick said:

“I seem to remember just last year just thinking about the tournament, just the U.S. Open. It was obviously different because I had the tie to the golf course and the history there, so probably was easier for me to mentally focus on that and be in a better place than obviously all this confusion that’s going on this week.

"I just don’t know what’s going on. I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on. Are we signing with the PIF? Are we not signing with the PIF? I have no idea. Even though I guess it is confusing, it’s pretty clear that nobody knows what’s going on apart from about four people in the world.”

Interestingly, Fitzpatrick also almost replied to a problematic media query on whether he should be ‘compensated for not going to LIV?’ The defending US Open champion jumped in by stating that he’ll answer it. However, the golfer eventually decided to pass on the question with an uncomfortable laugh.

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Cameron Smith is not amused by the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger

Matt Fitzpatrick isn’t the only player who complained about the confusion regarding the future of golf. LIV Golf star Cameron Smith is one of the big names who admitted to being left in the dark about the PGA Tour-LIV merger.

Opening up about his reaction to the move, the Aussie noted that he received a call from Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi’s PIF, who tried to explain the deal.

Smith revealed that he received the call last Tuesday just 10 minutes before Al-Rumayyan appeared on CNBC with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. The golfer didn’t seem amused with the move.

Speaking to the media about the merger on Monday, Cam Smith said:

“I think he was probably calling a few different players, so the call was kind of short and sweet. Didn’t really explain much, but just kind of explained what was going to happen on that day, and there was still a lot of stuff to work out.”

With the US Open being played this week amid the confusion regarding the merger, it’ll be interesting to see how the golfers react in the coming days.