Jack Nicklaus makes surprising LIV admission and doubles down on Tiger claim

Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus says LIV Golf has been a 'powerful addition' to the men's game and impacted the sport 'a lot more than we thought it was going to'. 

Nicklaus made the comments in an interview with NBC. 

Elsewhere, the Golden Bear, now 83 years old, revealed when he spoke to the PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan in recent weeks he didn't ask what the latest was with regard to the negotiations with Saudi Arabia's PIF. 

Monahan shocked the world of sport when he appeared alongside LIV supremo Yasir Al-Rummayan on 6 June 2023 and essentially announced peace with their once bitter rival. 

The commissioner came under heavy fire from his own members and some called for his resignation. 

Since then the established tours have been locked in talks to try and navigate a pathway forwards. 

Nicklaus argued that, despite entering into talks with LIV and by extension the Saudis, Monahan has done 'everything in the best interest of the game'. 

He explained: "I talked to Jay [Monahan] about three weeks ago. We were talking, and I said, 'Jay, don't tell me what you're doing. I don't want to know because Rich Lerner [NBC host] is going to ask me a question about it, and if I don't know, then I don’t have to answer the question.' 

"So, I don't really know where they’re going. I hope that they get this thing together all in the best interest of the game of golf.

"The LIV thing has been a powerful addition to the game, probably impacted a lot more than we thought it was going to, but it has, and it probably will continue to do so."

Of Monahan, he said: "I know Jay's taken a beating, but I've always been in full support of Jay. Everything Jay's done has been in the best interest of golf and the Tour."

Nicklaus' comments come in the same week Rory McIlroy called for a 'world tour'. 

The Northern Irishman, who no longer sits on the PGA Tour's policy board, believes there is an 'untapped commercial opportunity out there'. 

McIlroy said: ""My dream scenario is a world tour, with the proviso that corporate America has to remain a big part of it all. Saudi Arabia, too. That's just basic economics.

"But there is an untapped commercial opportunity out there," he continued.

"Investors always want to make a return on their money. Revenues at the PGA Tour right now are about $2.3bn (£1.8bn).

"So how do we get that number up to four or six? To me, it is by looking outward. They need to think internationally and spread their wings a bit. I've been banging that drum for a while."

As for Nicklaus, he also doubled down on his previous claim that he believes Tiger Woods will play senior tournament golf. 

He still thinks its too late for Woods, now 48, to catch his haul of 18 majors. 

"If he remained healthy I think he would've gotten it, but he didn't remain healthy," he said. "I feel bad for him."

Read more:

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• Exploring Tiger Woods' options after just ending it with Nike