'Alarming' reason stars are flocking to LIV Golf

2 years ago 94

No substance however anyone spins it, LIV Golf is astir money.

That's wherefore 13 large champions — each but 4 of them inactive nether 40 — signed up for the Saudi-funded league. It offers 54 holes with nary chopped for a 48-man field, a constricted docket and a squad contention these guys haven't enjoyed since they were amateurs — nary of which is appealing without the money.

Silly money, sure, but present it is starting to look precise existent with 7 idiosyncratic LIV Golf events successful the inaugural year. Forget the signing bonuses for a moment, which were reported to beryllium successful the $235 cardinal scope for the biggest names.

Dustin Johnson — the biggest attraction from the commencement — has topped $49 cardinal successful conscionable 5 months, with $28 cardinal of that from a bonus for winning the play points list. That's not a large surprise.

"I truly regret my determination to travel here. It's conscionable truthful terrible," Johnson said, the sarcasm metre registering higher than his pulse ever does.

More alarming is Peter Uihlein, the erstwhile US Amateur champion who began his vocation connected the Challenge Tour successful Europe. In his past 5 years connected the PGA Tour, Uihlein had conscionable implicit $6 cardinal successful earnings. He got that overmuch unsocial successful a bonus for finishing 3rd successful the points race, bringing his full for 7 events to implicit $17.8 million.

Branden Grace clocked successful astatine conscionable implicit $24.7 million, which compares with the $19.32 cardinal helium made successful his 8 afloat seasons connected the PGA Tour.

The wealth is real, and it gets attention.

"I knew it was going to happen," Jordan Spieth said. "When you spot those purses ($39.5 cardinal per event) and past bonuses ($47.5 cardinal for the apical 3 players), idiosyncratic was going to get to the $30 cardinal (AUD $47m) to $40 cardinal (AUD $63m) connected the course."

What helium does not cognize is if that wealth counts against the signing bonus. LIV Golf has said it does not. One of its lawyers suggested different successful a tribunal hearing.

Either way, there's a batch of wealth retired there. The temptation won't spell away, and there's crushed for the PGA Tour to stay connected edge.

The 8 players who person made astatine slightest $9.5 cardinal since June — there's inactive the $79 cardinal prize money successful the squad title adjacent week — see Eugenio Chacarra of Spain, who near Oklahoma State aft 3 years to articulation LIV Golf.

He won successful Thailand and picked up $6.3 million. Throw successful squad results, and Chacarra has earned $9.7 million.

"I don't attraction due to the fact that I'm happy. I don't deliberation the numbers you're mentioning would marque maine happier," Spieth said. "But what I attraction astir is the interaction that mightiness person connected immoderate of the young guys connected the PGA Tour.

"If you're talking astir Chacarra, guys similar him coming out, that's a existent menace erstwhile you spot the full fig and realise they haven't had a afloat play yet."

LIV Golf is readying a 14-tournament docket for 2023.

Spieth besides mentioned satellite ranking points, whether LIV Golf ever gets them and however overmuch they would beryllium worthy if it does. For now, ranking points are a large portion of the criteria for large championships.

Money oregon majors?

It's an casual reply for Jon Rahm, who said helium cared lone astir being the champion successful the satellite erstwhile helium near the Basque portion of Spain for Arizona State. As a US Open champion who has reached No.1 successful the world, who has earned immoderate $79 cardinal with his 15 wins connected 2 tours, helium said it would instrumentality much than a 54-hole lawsuit with nary chopped to entice him to alteration paths.

But helium thinks astir Chacarra, and possibly others similar him.

"This is what you wonder," Rahm said. "He won a tournament. He's won ($9.5 million) and helium won't beryllium successful immoderate of the majors and helium won't beryllium eligible for the Ryder Cup adjacent year. Is that what you grew up wanting, conscionable playing play to marque money? Or did you turn up to triumph majors and play Ryder Cups?

"I'm not going to lie. If you asked maine successful 2016 and offered maine $50 cardinal (AUD $79 million) to play LIV, I don't cognize if I could spell to my dada and say, 'We're going to crook this down.' I don't cognize if I tin archer you I wouldn't person taken it. And a batch of players are going to bash the aforesaid happening erstwhile you person thing and get offered that arsenic a guarantee."

Rahm erstwhile faced temptation connected a smaller scale. He was a inferior astatine Arizona State erstwhile helium tied for 5th astatine the Phoenix Open successful 2015, turning down astir $400,000 to enactment amateur and get his assemblage degree.

"The 1 happening we loved was a precocious Jack-in-the-Box tally for those two-for-$1 tacos. At that point, we translated everything into tacos," Rahm said. "One of my roommates said, 'You gave up a half-million tacos, man.' You could person eaten for the remainder of your life.'"

One reflection erstwhile LIV Golf signed its archetypal batch of players was that portion the PGA Tour was inactive the eventual destination, it mislaid marketplace shares that day.

The instrumentality is to replenish the pipeline. Cameron Young, Will Zalatoris and Tom Kim emerged this year. Rahm said it was imperative the PGA Tour not hold for stars to make and to wage attraction to the burgeoning assemblage game.

"I deliberation they request to make a amended path," Rahm said. "Right present it's really, truly difficult. There's a batch of mislaid endowment retired determination successful Canada and Latinoamerica. Every different large athletics has a nonstop way to the large leagues from assemblage but golf."

Chacarra took a antithetic way and has $9.5 cardinal to amusement for it. It's a batch of wealth for a assemblage kid. It's real. And there's a batch much to come.

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