It was a war we were going to lose, claims DP World Tour player of shock merger

As the golfing world waits to discover what the landscape is going to look like if its future is indeed to be shaped with the Saudis sitting together at the top table with golf’s two main tours, DP World Tour players have spoken about the announcement that seemingly ended the game’s much-publicised civil war.

Romain Langasque putts on the ninth green during day one of the BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried in Germany. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

This week’s BMW International Open in Munich is the circuit’s first full-field event since it was outlined a fortnight ago that a commercial entity has been formed between the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Two of the leading figures in the partnership - PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan – along with LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman have been summoned to attend a United States Senate hearing, but that won’t take place until next month and, along with everyone else, the players are still in the dark about what exactly is going to unfold.

“To be honest, I think it’s impossible to say,” said former Scottish Open champion Edoardo Molinari, speaking to The Scotsman at Golfclub München Eichenried, where, in a sweltering heat, he’d just shot a six-under-par 66 to share the lead with Frenchman Adrien Saddier and Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino.

Edoardo Molinari opened with a six-under-par 66 to share the lead in the BMW International Open in Munich. Picture: Stefan Heigl

“We know very little. No-one knows, by the looks of things, and it is difficult to understand how they are going to bring everyone back together after what has happened in the last couple of years.”

By that, of course, the Italian was referring to the divide that had been created by the arrival of LIV Golf as a rival circuit to the traditional tours last year and the punishments handed out by both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to players who broke regulations.

“I think someone will get the short end of the stick, for sure,” added Molinari, one of Luke Donald’s vice captains for the Ryder Cup in Rome in September. “But, as long as golf is in a better place and we can get some more tournaments, not just the majors, where everyone can play together, then hopefully relationships and friendships that might have been a little bit broken hopefully can be fixed in time.”

Frenchman Romain Langasque, another player who started promisingly in Bavaria with a 67, also shared his views on what is probably the biggest talking point in the game’s history after Monahan, in particular, had strongly condemned the Saudi backing of LIV Golf and had even mentioned the 9/11 atrocities in that stance.

Scott Jamieson opened with a four-under 68 to sit handily-placed at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

“I think the divide in golf was such a bad thing for us,” said Langasque, expanding on a comment he’d posted on social media after the commercial merger was announced. “Honestly, I think we couldn’t fight against them because they have the biggest thing we need here - the money and they have as much money as they want.

“I am sure it was a war we were going to lose and that the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, unfortunately, didn’t have any solution and I think we were running out of money because of the law process (no longer an issue after all litigation cases were immediately dropped), because of the elevated events (new $20m events on the PGA Tour), because of the money they gave to the DP World Tour (through an initial stake in European Tour Productions and a subsequent forming of a Strategic Alliance). Unfortunately, I think it was the only solution we had if we didn’t want to go down instead of going up.”

What did Scott Jamieson, who is sitting handily-placed in Germany after an opening 68, which had been bogey-free until a “disappointing” bogey to finish, think about the sensational twist in the tale? “Jeez, I was on a plane when the news broke and I assumed when I landed that there would be a bunch of details and information but, of course, that wasn’t the case,” he said.

“But I honestly don’t think anything will change for us. Our prize funds were already guaranteed to increase a little bit every year for the next few years. I’d love to be playing for more money obviously, but you can only really play for what you can generate and some might argue that our purses are already over-inflated considering the quality of the fields we have attracted in the last few years.

“Obviously given the situation, we have lost some of our big stars, which is what drives ticket sales and sponsorship. So I think we have been really lucky to be playing for what we have last year and this year, but that was recognised and that’s why they did the deal with the PGA Tour.”

On a day when Ryder Cup contender Yannik Paul was forced into a gut-wrenching withdrawal before teeing off in front of his home fans due to a back injury, Molinari upstaged Victor Perez, another player in the running for Rome, and recent European Open winner Tom McKibbin in one of the main groups.

“I’m a little bit disappointed, to be honest, as I felt I hit the ball fantastic from tee to green and my putting again wasn’t good at all, but you can’t complain too much with a six under, so I’ll take it, move on and try to improve the putting,” said a smiling Molinari.

Helped by holing a “couple of really long ones early on”, Jamieson led the way among the Scots, with Connor Syme carding his two-under 70 just before play was stopped for the day as a fierce thunderstorm swept in from the west.

Calum Hill, who sits on one under playing his last hole, is among those facing an early rise on Friday, but Ewen Ferguson shot his 71 in the morning wave while Bob MacIntyre and Stephen Gallacher had both signed for battling 72s before the action was halted.