Fact or Fiction: A PGA Tour-LIV Golf ‘Cup’ Needs to Happen

The SI Golf staff debates the idea of a rival league exhibition, a rebooted Skins Game and if the Ryder Cup pay-for-play issue will cool off.

Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka would be headliners in future PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf events. / Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where a dozen golf balls are always an acceptable holiday gift.

Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.

Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.

Bryson DeChambeau suggested that the two-on-two PGA Tour/LIV Golf Showdown this week could grow into a full Ryder Cup-style affair next year. The two leagues would be wise to help make this happen.

Bob Harig: FICTION. They would be far better off directing their energies toward official competitions that include all of these players. Another one-off event among the parties is likely in the works anyway. Getting LIV players eligible for the Presidents Cup—which is not going away—would be another avenue to explore as soon as possible.

Jeff Ritter: FACT. Bob’s right that the better outcome would be a series of Tour events that bring everyone back together plus folding LIV into existing team events. But what if those things, you know … don’t happen? DeChambeau’s idea would be better than nothing. In fact let’s just call it the “Better Than Nothing Cup.”

John Schwarb: FICTION. Interest in this kind of event was high with fans two years ago but the continued dragging of negotiations has cooled so many things around the pro game. Now everyone just wants all the top players together at meaningful events more often than four weeks a year. And the PGA Tour would have little to gain and a lot to lose; instead it should open the Presidents Cup to LIV players.  

The Skins Game, once a popular Thanksgiving-week event on the golf calendar before being put down in 2008, will return next year on Black Friday. In a feature on the history of the event, Curtis Strange told Sports Illustrated: “It was a great show while it lasted. Those sequels never work, do they?” He’s right, this reboot will be a tough sell.

Bob Harig: FACT. Unless they are playing for their own money—which is what true skins is all about—it is hard to see another golf event in a calendar full of them having huge impact.

Jeff Ritter: FACT. It’s a tough sell because it lands in the heart of a silly season already stuffed with matches and other alternate-format events. It’ll also be up against the NFL, so it won’t be easy. I expect the team bringing this together has ideas on how to make the Skins reboot stand out from the crowd, and I’m interested to see what they are.

John Schwarb: FACT. The best versions of the Skins Game were popular because the money was significant enough to be a novelty, the players were beloved and the sports TV world wasn’t as saturated. This strikes me as very much an uphill battle, though who knows what the pro golf landscape will look like in 11 months and which players could emerge as stars capable of carrying this.  

The PGA of America finally spoke on the Ryder Cup pay-for-play issue, confirming that U.S. players will receive $500,000 with $300,000 designated to a charity of their choosing. This should put the issue to rest with no further discussion come next September.

Bob Harig: FICTION. The issue is not going away. American players are getting a “stipend” while the Europeans are not. Good luck with that.

Jeff Ritter: FICTION. I for one am excited to see how nicely Patrick Cantlay’s hat fits at Bethpage Black.

John Schwarb: NEUTRAL. Not if the U.S. falls behind early on home soil. And we’ll see if the European team chooses to make this a talking point in the run-up to the matches.