Top exec rebukes LIV Golf, but seeks civility at PGA Championship
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This week’s showdown at Oak Hill and the other Majors is the only place where LIV and PGA stars battle for bragging rights.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK – PGA of America chief executive Seth Waugh has fanned the flames of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf civil war, even as he called for civility at this week’s PGA Championship.
He told The Times of London that players who left the PGA Tour for Saudi-backed LIV have “disappeared” and the breakaway series has no viable survival plan.
After LIV lured top PGA Tour talent with record US$25 million (S$33.4 million) purses, the PGA banned LIV players and restructured its schedule to have “designated events” with larger purses and limited fields to reward top stars.
That has left this week’s showdown at Oak Hill and the other Majors as the only place where LIV and PGA stars battle for bragging rights, with somewhat of a truce being called in April at Augusta National, where LIV had three of the top-six finishers.
“The good news is the Masters went first and set the stage for, frankly, civility,” Waugh said. “That’s the tone we want – nobody died, right?“
Waugh, however, ripped into LIV Golf, declaring such stars as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson diminished after leaving the tour.
“I don’t think division is good for the game,” he added. “Hopefully, it’s good for those individuals that have made whatever decisions they have, but the game has moved on. It has amplified those who have stayed and the ones who have left have largely disappeared from the landscape – in terms of an exposure perspective.”
Waugh also called the idea that fans will support LIV’s team format “flawed” and said: “I don’t think people really care about it and I don’t see how it’s a survivable business model.
“They can fund it for as long as they want to but, no matter how much money you have, at some point, burning it doesn’t feel very good. I don’t see they are accomplishing much.”
LIV Golf and the PGA Tour have taken their fight to court but a trial is at least a year away.
In the meantime, the Majors have kept their qualifying criteria and remain open to LIV talent, but the fact the Saudi-backed events are not awarded ranking points could slowly trim LIV players from the Majors.
Waugh, also a governing board member for the Official World Golf Ranking, said he has problems with awarding points for LIV events, citing relegation and promotion plus the impact of team events. AFP
