ATLANTA — The PGA Tour is ending its FedEx Cup season at the end of August for a good reason — to avoid competing against the NFL. Of course, there are still a number of events in the fall, but most top players skip most, if not all, of those tournaments. That leaves the last four months of the year ripe for other options, including a possible international series that would bring top players together through a merger of the PGA Tour and the LIV Golf League.
No one knows if that’s a serious proposal as the Tour continues negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which funds LIV Golf; the two sides have not commented on their talks. But if Xander Schauffele’s feelings about such an initiative are representative of his colleagues as a whole, it’s a long shot.
“It sounds terrible right now,” Schauffele said Tuesday at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. “My brother’s bachelor party next week sounds terrible, too. I’m at a point where I’m trying to get across the finish line and play really good golf so I can have fun.”
Both Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler, the only man ahead of Xander in the world rankings, indicated fatigue is setting in as the long season comes to a close this week. They are looking forward to some time off before the season resumes in January in Hawaii. Schauffele couldn’t imagine how there could be any more golf to play in these later months.
“I haven’t really given much thought to how I would feel competing in a series overseas in November or December or even October. I’m going to Japan to play in the Zozo (in late October),” said Schauffele, whose mother grew up in Japan. “That’s the only event I’ll be competing in this offseason or, I guess, this fall season. … I look forward to my trip to Japan. I always do. It’s a warm and comfortable place for me.
“But arranging several events one after the other would probably be difficult.”
