Irish Examiner view: LIV Golf Series has utterly changed the game

For the sake of the golf-loving Irish public, let’s hope there's still room for the European Tour.

Major winner and former Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington says LIV and the US PGA are too big to fail, but fears three tours into two won’t go.

As the great and the good prepare to hit the fairways for what promises to be a momentous week for Irish golf, there are growing concerns about the future of the game.

The Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series and its bottomless pit of cash — dubbed by some as “blood money” — has split the game in two.

No one on either side of the divide knows how this will end, but what’s certain is that it’s not going to be pretty and the game as we know it will never be the same again.

A lot has to play out yet before both sides see sense and sit down around the negotiating table, but the European Tour could be the meat in the sandwich.

Major winner and former Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington says LIV and the US PGA are too big to fail, but fears three tours into two won’t go.

“I feel for the European Tour because there’s definitely room for two tours, there’s no doubt about it, but is there room for more?” he said.

For the sake of the golf-loving Irish public, let’s hope so.