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. Fellow American Pat Perez was also confirmed for the second event.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. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said the "same fate holds true" for any players who compete in future LIV events, with Reed and Bryson DeChambeau set to contest the second event in Oregon starting at the end of the month. "For 27 years there's been a lot of obstacles put in our path, a lot of dreams have tried to be squashed, but they couldn't squash us and golf was always going to be the force for good out of all this."Įarlier, US golfer Reed became the latest PGA Tour member to join the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway circuit, with the 17 competing in the first event this week suspended by the Tour shortly after play started in St Albans on Thursday. LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, who attempted to set up a world tour in 1994, said: "The evolution of the game of golf is alive and LIV is alive. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could play for so much money in golf. "Honestly, I'm relieved," said Schwartzel, who led by five shots with seven holes to play before a double bogey on the 12th set up a nervy finish. The 37-year-old former Masters champion received a winner's cheque of $4 million and also won $750,000 for being part of the winning team in the 54-hole, three-day event.
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