As the sport struggles for stability, Scott's got plenty on his plate

HONOLULU — Adam Scott made it back to Kapalua and returned to the top 20 in the world rankings, but it's a wonder how he managed with so much on his plate. This coincided with his first full year on the PGA Tour board, and it was a lot.

The new PGA Tour Enterprises received $1.5 billion in funding from Strategic Sports Group and created a plan for players to receive equity shares. The first big change in eligibility in more than 40 years resulted in only 100 players from the FedEx Cup keeping their cards this year, and field sizes will shrink in 2026.

All the while, the affable Australian is part of the PGA Tour Enterprises transaction subcommittee with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, which is negotiating with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf to become a minority investor.

And how's that going?

"Same as always. It sucks," Scott said in a hallway below the clubhouse at Kapalua, more matter-of-fact than showing any level of irritation. "It's not worth talking about. Obviously, it's so complex, and when the government department (Justice) is involved, I think we sit and just wait for them."

He laughed when he added: "If the PGA Tour is their priority, we've got problems."

By all accounts, the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund are closer than ever to an agreement, and it would not be surprising if a deal was announced before The Players Championship in March, but much depends on the United States Justice Department, with which the tour has been in touch through every step of the negotiations.

Further muddying the issue is the transfer of power at the White House in two weeks. Beyond that is perhaps the biggest question for golf fans: Even if the PGA Tour strikes a deal with PIF, what does that mean for the great divide in golf? What becomes of LIV?

"Soon there should be more movement," Scott said. "But it's very difficult to bring all of this together, certainly from a competition layout. It's a lot. Someone has to compromise their product. I don't like the sound of that generally. Who's going to do it? Everyone a little bit? That's not good. Someone a lot? That person is not going to be happy.

"It's really a tricky one."

LIV starts its fourth season next month in Saudi Arabia. It filled out its 14-tournament schedule on Tuesday by adding stops at Trump National Doral Miami, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, Chapultepec in Mexico City and a course in Michigan that opened only last year.

Sports Business Journal, and most recently The Daily Telegraph, have reported on advanced negotiations for LIV to get a TV deal with Fox, although the network might need more than 14 tournaments to make it worthwhile. IMG owns the international media rights to the Asian Tour, in which LIV has invested heavily, creating the International Series. Bryson DeChambeau will be among those playing in India later this month.

Next on the plate of the PGA Tour is deciding what to do about the format for determining the FedEx Cup champion, and if the Tour Championship needs another facelift.

The wheels started turning back in August, much of it driven by television, to find a more compelling end to the season. Scott, it should be noted, in 2006, was the last winner of the Tour Championship before the FedEx Cup era began.

He liked how it was then — the best 30 players on the PGA Tour for the season, no one sneaking their way into East Lake by having one big week at just the right time. He refers to the Tour Championship as a "legacy" tournament that has "gotten lost in the wash".

One of the early ideas was to crown the regular-season champion after the first FedEx Cup playoff event, and that player and the BMW Championship winner would get byes in a match play format at East Lake. The course would be filled on the weekend with those who were eliminated playing for positions all the way down to 30th place.

Competition without real consequence is a tough sell.

Gaining traction is the idea of returning to the Tour Championship, which would start Wednesday, and the top finishers advancing to a final day to play for all $25 million.

Regardless, players seem to be divided on what would, or wouldn't, work. The board is involved — Patrick Cantlay, also a player director on the board, confirmed that "we've kicked around some ideas", but nothing definitive.

Scott ultimately will have a say, as any change requires board approval. His plate is getting fuller, even as he chases more goals in golf he feels he hasn't met.

He turns 45 in July. It would be easy to wish he had never signed up for this, except that he felt a sense of duty, and is proud of what the players on the board have done — not so much specific line items, but the process and representation.

"The six guys fight like hell for the player groups — all of them," Scott said. "I really think it's a fairly well balanced group of guys that had a lot of disagreements about stuff, but really came to a consensus on all of it.

"We reminded each other of what we're here to do. We're not here to run the business. We're here to make sure the membership has the best chance. I think they've done a good job."

Agencies via Xinhua