PGA Tour was rocked following the introduction of LIV Golf in 2022 and at the beginning of a new year the controversial Saudi-backed circuit is showing no signs of slowing down
PGA Tour board member Webb Simpson has criticised Dustin Johnson and the players who decided to join LIV Golf.
LIV’s influence has grown since its establishment in 2022, despite the PGA’s ongoing efforts to counter its potential to dominate the sport. Dustin Johnson is one of the elite players in the game who joined LIV after leaving the PGA. The two-time major winner joined the Saudi-backed circuit in the summer of 2022, and he won four regular-season events and the Team Championship with his 4Aces GC team. In 2022, he was named the LIV Individual Champion.
In 2023, the 39-year-old managed just one LIV title, when he won a thrilling playoff to win in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Johnson seems to be quite settled in LIV, but he has come under fire from Simpson, who is still disappointed his pal and other golfers chose to swap the PGA for their rivals.
“I love Dustin (Johnson), he’s a buddy of mine,” Simpson told Golfweek. “But he had the opportunity to go down as one of the top 10 greatest players ever, and as soon as he signed his name to LIV – he still could be, but in the record books, we’ll never know.
“It’s not going to count. Things like that make me a little sad. But I’m not knocking the guys for going. I just think these young guys think about it differently, you know.” Some of LIV’s most significant selling points are the lucrative sums of money on offer and a schedule that is easier to manage for the players, both from a physical and mental perspective.
The one aspect that PGA will remain superior to LIV for some time to come, however, is its history and legacy, something that is still very important to Simpson. He also expressed his concern about greed in the sport and more sponsors could take the PGA’s money and negotiate sponsorship opportunities. “Greed is a very clear exposer. I’m not saying the guys going to LIV, they’re all greedy,” he said.
“I’m saying when these young guys, when it’s such a heavy consideration for them, I feel like this generation has missed or they don’t care about the things that other generations cared about, which is Hall of Fame, how many wins on the PGA Tour, contending in major championships. Everyone talks about the money.”
The PGA Tour Player of the Year in both 2016 (the year he won the US Open) and 2020 (the year he won at The Masters) went to Johnson, who apparently received appearance fees totaling $150 million for joining LIV. Johnson previously held the top spot on the PGA Tour for 135 weeks.
Johnson’s move to LIV was surprising at the time, given that he said he was committed to the PGA Tour four months before joining. When asked what had changed in such a short space of time, he replied: “I thought it was best for me and my family. I resign my membership of the PGA Tour.
“I’m not sure how the Tour will handle it or what the repercussions will be. I’m not sure how to respond to the majors, but hopefully they’ll let us play. I intend to play in the majors unless I hear differently, as I am obviously exempt.”
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