Harrington: Golf needs outside mediator to resolve civil war

Padraig Harrington believes that an independent mediator could be required to broker a deal between the PGA Tour and LIV faction and mend the deepening rift in the sport.

On one of those increasingly rare weeks when the world's leading players all gather together for the second major of the year, the USPGA Championship at Valhalla, the sport of professional golf remains fractured.

With PGA Tour viewing figures having plummetted to an alarming degree in 2024 - by roughly 20% according to Paul McGinley - and the LIV Tour still attracting derisory audiences, there is anxiety among some leading players and pundits that a deal must be found.

However, the prospect appears more remote than ever with PGA Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne - supposedly the conduit between the PGA Tour and PiF - stepping down on Monday, saying that "no meaningful progress" had been made towards a new arrangement.

Harrington, still a member of the PGA Tour and seniors tour, though less vituperative about the LIV defectors than some of his peers, feels it's time for a strong outside voice to be brought in to rope the two sides together.

"I'm kind of frustrated," Harrington told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen in Kentucky.

"At times, I felt I knew what the situation was. But it seems to change so much. It's hard to get a handle on it.

"I honestly think at this stage, we kind of need an independent adjudicator to come in and tell everybody what's what.

"It doesn't seem to be good for golf, the fracture. The PGA Tour is missing some of the guys who we didn't think we'd miss.

"Somebody needs to come in and tell us what to do. We need a mediator to sort it out.

"Look, I can come along and have good ideas - maybe there should be four invites for a PGA Tour team every week