Others are sure to follow after seeing Schwartzel win more money in three days than he had in the previous four years. event in Portland, Oregon, starting on June 30.Īnd, of course, it was Phil Mickelson who led the way, even after using a derogatory expletive to describe the Saudis and acknowledging they have a “horrible record on human rights.” Major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed are coming aboard, too, planning to make their debuts at LIV's first U.S. 1 Dustin Johnson caught everyone off guard by joining the upstart tour. It was Schwartzel’s first victory on any tour in more than six years.Īll snickering aside over the quality of its players, LIV Golf has made some surprising inroads into the PGA Tour’s talent base. 125 in the world ranking) held on for a one-stroke victory over fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis (ranked 134th). There was certainly no denying the field in Canada was much more impressive than the one in England, where Charl Schwartzel (the 2011 Masters champion and No. Of course, McIlroy’s glowing assessment of the PGA Tour event was meant to imply that LIV Golf’s inaugural, 54-hole tournament - which featured shotgun starts, no cut, neon-colored scoreboards, a team competition, and a staggering $4.75 million prize to the winner - was lacking all the elements that really mattered. You had everything this week to have a really top-class golf event. It had the cast of players that you would want to be up there. “I think it had all the ingredients,” McIlroy said. Rory McIlroy took plenty of not-so-subtle jabs at LIV Golf after his victory Sunday in a compelling Canadian Open, having held off two more of the world’s top-ranked players in Thomas and Tony Finau. The new tour has faced plenty of scorn from those who view it as a second-rate organization for over-the-hill and never-were players looking to cash in on riches beyond their wildest dreams. LIV Golf launched this past week with a three-day tournament outside London, presenting itself as an exciting new alternative to the staid ol’ game - as long as everyone is willing to ignore those who are writing the enormous checks.įor now, the PGA Tour seems to have the clear upper hand, with nearly all the top players staying put, far more exposure through its lucrative television deals, and longstanding history as the prime destination for any pro golfer. "The fact that things like that could potentially get hurt because of some of the people that are leaving, and if more go, it’s just sad. “I grew up my entire life wanting to play the PGA Tour, wanting to break records, make history, play Presidents Cups, play Ryder Cups," he went on. “I tossed and turned and lost a lot of sleep last week thinking about what could potentially happen,” said Justin Thomas, who has stuck with the PGA Tour but conceded Monday to fretting about the game's future. It's hard to see how golf emerges in a stronger position from its own civil war. The NHL endured plenty of harsh blows while fending off the World Hockey Association. The NBA’s growth was undoubtedly stifled by its nearly decades-long challenge from the American Basketball Association. Ind圜ar is still struggling to overcome an ugly rebellion from the 1990s. If history is any indication, there are unlikely to be any real winners in this battle of the links. Golf is in the early days of a bitter showdown between the established PGA Tour and an upstart series backed by the repressive Saudi regime, which hopes that throwing around billions will help people forget about its appalling human rights record.
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