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The news that the Tour would partner with
Saudi-backed rival circuit LIV sent shockwaves through the sport
and many questions remain about what the future of the
professional men's game will look like.
"I'm not going to avoid the elephant in the room," Whan told
reporters at the Los Angeles Country Club on Wednesday.
"I thought last Monday was the longest day in golf. But it turns
out last Tuesday was the longest day in golf," he said,
referring to the day the news of the merger broke.
"All of us got together on Wednesday and said, gosh, all these
stories we wanted to tell, maybe it's going to be harder to tell
because media will be focused elsewhere."
Whan said he then remembered having similar concerns ahead of
last year's U.S. Open in Boston, which came on the heels of
LIV's first event.
"And following that there was player suspensions and we were
kind of depressed thinking this great country club setting here
in Boston that really deserved to be talked about wasn't going
to get its due.
"But I'm fairly certain now having lived through this deja vu
that the same thing will happen this week that happened last
year, which is once the balls go in the air the athletes take
the narrative back."
Indeed last year's U.S. Open will long be remembered for Matthew
Fitzpatrick spectacular shot from the fairway bunker on the 18th
hole that propelled him to his first major title.
"I am pretty sure when we recap 2023 we're going to be talking
about what happened on the golf course and not what happened off
the golf course," Whan said.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia
Osterman)
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