Ernie Els gives his honest thoughts on playing in LIV Golf with Jon Rahm and Co.

Ernie Els spoke out about the ongoing PGA Tour and LIV Golf conflicts. Despite never receiving an offer to make the switch from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, he revealed that he would never consider playing in the league alongside Jon Rahm and others.

Four-time Major winner Ernie Els spoke in an interview with Yellowhammer News regarding the situation between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-based LIV Golf League.

Els said that he would never consider joining the league even if LIV Golf extended him a deal to leave the PGA Tour:

"No, I’ve not had an offer, but I wouldn’t have said yes anyway. Listen, I know some of the Saudi guys; they genuinely love the game of golf. But the LIV current format is not proper golf. It wouldn’t have been for me, whatever stage of my career I was at."

Several PGA Tour golfers are not big fans of the LIV Golf as it only plays a 54-hole tournament format, which isn't enough holes to qualify and count towards the player's Official World Golf Rankings. A tournament should be played for 72 holes to qualify as a counting Official World Golf Rankings tournament and issue points to players, which the PGA Tour obliges by.

LIV Golf's Legion XIII captain and player Jon Rahm had previously spoken out about the issue and urged LIV Golf to expand to a 72-hole format so players could obtain points, raise their rankings, and participate in Golf's big events like the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup does not allow players without Official World Golf Rankings to participate.

Speaking about the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's finance Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Ernie Els told said:

"Obviously, I hope they can work out their differences, because this mess is not good for our sport. We’ll have to see. ... But the fact remains, to my mind, the LIV golf format doesn’t work, not in the way they’re playing at the moment. Maybe there’s a place for team golf within the global schedule – maybe put some teams together, play a two-month happy season, so to speak. But the rest of the year, let’s play real golf."

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LIV Golf's PIF and PGA Tour Merger

The ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf's primary funder Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund have sparked many conversations in the industry and have created great tensions between and among the players of both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

News about the merger emerged in 2023. The PGA Tour's policy board received a $3 billion cash injection into the tour but believed that additional investment from the Public Investment Fund was required to further elevate things.

PGA Tour's commissioner Jay Monahan made an announcement to give an update on the merger negotiations and clear the tension and air:

"We are making progress in our negotiations with the PIF and are working as a collective - the player directors, our board and Tour management - to remain open-minded to all avenues that advance the Tour in the best interest of our players, our partners and, most importantly, our fans."