Martin Slumbers, the outgoing R&A chief executive, has told the male professional game that the continuing split is damaging the sport and has warned that dwindling viewing figures will only improve when the emphasis is not on money.

Like the majority in golf, Slumbers was disappointed by The Telegraph’s recent revelation that the US Ryder Cup team will break with nearly 100 years of tradition by paying its players directly from next year, but believes it is symptomatic of the obsession with dollars that has raged since the Saudis set up the LIV Golf series three years ago.

Negotiations between the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund and the PGA Tour to unify the game are dragging on and Slumbers thinks it is imperative they reach a hasty solution.

“The divisive position that we have in the professional game has been very damaging for golf,” he told Telegraph Sport. “It’s been damaging in terms of our reputation as a sport. I was hoping that we’d have had peace by now, because we need to get some stability. We need to see the game become financially sustainable, because it cannot carry on like this.

‘We need to stop talking as much about money and get back to the values of the sport’

“If it is to have a long-term future, we need to stop talking as much about money – everything in golf seems to be dominated by money – and get back to being about values of the sport. If we do that, I think the general public will start to watch it again.

“Look the public are watching certain events – some viewing figures are up. But, as we know, a lot of them are down and I think that has a lot to do with that whole concept of constantly talking about money. Unfortunately, the male professional game has become delinked from the fan.

“If I look at the Ryder Cup purely as a golf fan, then week in, week out the pros are in a business, playing for money and for ranking points. But once every couple of years, they have the honour to play for their country or continent and, in a way, say thank you to the fans who’ve supported them.