When the PGA Tour sent an email to its members late Tuesday informing them that they had been denied a conflicting-event release to compete in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event in London the same week as the Tour’s RBC Canadian Open, it was bound to spark discussion at this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson.
Tyler Dennis, the Tour’s senior vice president and chief of operation, wrote, “As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA Tour and its players.”
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, said he had a busy night at home, woke up early and played his pro am, and hadn’t had much time to comprehend the Tour’s decision, but he initially supported it.
In his pre-tournament news conference ahead of the AT&T Byron Nelson in his hometown of Dallas, he commented, “I kind of figured that would happen.”
“If you’re a member of our Tour and you’re participating in something that may be a competitor series to the PGA Tour, it’s obviously not something we want our membership to do because it’s going to affect the tournament that we have opposite that, and I’m sure that’s why they weren’t released.” Because if we send 15 people over there to play, it will be detrimental to the RBC and the Canadian Open.”
Last year’s Rookie of the Year and a member of the Tour’s Player Advisory Council, Will Zalatoris, has been involved in behind-closed-doors discussions and fully supports Commissioner Jay Monahan’s decision.
Zalatoris stated, “I thought that was the ideal response.” “Because we’re in a great spot, the Tour is in the best place it’s ever been, and it’s only going to get better, so why would we want to, why would we encourage our players to get releases for those events when we have all these sponsors involved with the Tour and are only making it better and better?”
We’re attempting to advertise our finest product, and if you want to be a part of something that’s only becoming better, you can’t have it both ways. You have a choice, believe it or not. You are free to go if you like, but it is what it is.”
Justin Thomas has made it apparent that winning tournaments and leaving a legacy in the game are more important to him than merely increasing his bank account.
“I’m hoping it would put people off going over there,” he remarked. “I think Jay made it pretty apparent from the beginning what would happen, or else a lot of people are probably thinking, ‘I can’t believe you did this,’ or ‘Wow, you went through with it.'” But, after all, this is exactly what he predicted all along. And, yes, it’s one of those things where he just doesn’t want to be on the competitive tour, chevaliering back and forth.
It’s almost like, “Look, if you want to go, go.” There have been plenty of guys who have been proponents of it and have constantly promoted it, as well as guys behind the scenes who have said, “I’m going, I’m doing this.” And my entire situation is, like, just go. Stop going back and forth, otherwise if you say you’re going to do something, it’s as if you have the right to do whatever you want, you know what I mean?
“For example, if I wanted to go on that tour, I could go on that tour.” But, as I’ve stated, I’m committed to the PGA Tour, and I believe there’s a lot of room for me to break records, make history, and do a lot of things on the PGA Tour that I want to do. And there may be people who want to make that shift, and it’s as if you’re allowed to make that decision because you’re a human person.”
Former European Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley, who spent the majority of his career on the DP World Tour and has worked with several of the European players rumored to joining the LIV series (including Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, among others), adds a Euro-centric perspective. He joined Scheffler, Thomas, and Zalatoris in supporting the established tours, which signed a strategic agreement in 2020 and have been said to be exploring a stronger relationship to stave off the Saudi threat, in an interview with SiriusXM on Wednesday.
McGinley stated, “I’m not going to make this personal; they’re all my pals.” “But I’m a traditionalist, and I’m very much aligned with the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, and the major championships in terms of preserving and strengthening the status quo that we have now, which is that we have both European and PGA Tours every week.” So that’s something I’d like to improve. I believe we have some parallels between the two tours and are working to improve that, um, globe schedule. I know there have been some behind-the-scenes discussions about those two large tours merging and working more jointly in the future.”
LIV Golf has been boasting high payouts and guaranteed money to entice players to participate its events, which received a $2 billion infusion on Tuesday.
“I can see and comprehend where the guys are coming from to some extent. I mean, the amount of money that has been put on the table is amazing, huge. And an opportunity to make so much money so late in their careers,” McGinley said. “I understand the allure they’ve been provided and why they’d be interested in it in a number of ways.” But it is not, in my opinion, the side of the fence that I am on.”
“I’m definitely thinking up the benefits and disadvantages of making a step like this,” one pro who shares time on both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour told correspondent Eamon Lynch on the condition of anonymity. What Jay [Monahan] determines is a crucial element of that. I’ve been asking the PGA Tour for permission to play an international ‘tour’ tournament since I initially got my card several years ago. If the PGA Tour didn’t want to be a part of it, I understand the basic design of this LIV tour was damaging. The events are being organized in the short term to be as non-conflicting as possible, which is tough to do.
Conflicting events are something we always deal with as players who play many tours, and I don’t see how the LIV tour will be any different until it’s 48 guys locked in for 14 events a season.”
