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Dave Hyde: The PGA outlasted LIV playersâ thirst for Saudi millions
TL;DR
The PGA Tour returned to Doral, marking a significant moment after a decade, as LIV players face uncertainty about their future in the PGA. The LIV Tour's legacy raises questions about its impact on golf and the players involved.
Key points
- PGA Tour returned to Doral after a decade
- LIV players face uncertainty about rejoining PGA
- LIV Tour's legacy includes controversial funding
- Jordan Spieth comments on LIV players' return
- PGA Tour marks a shift after LIV's decline
DORAL â Well, the right side won. Sometimes that happens in sports. The PGA Tour even returned to Doral on Thursday for its first tournament in a decade, as if to officially mark the LIV Tour leaving everyone with the sour smell of a flopped hustle.
The only question left is what to do with the bank-rich, morally-bankrupt LIV players who wish to migrate back to the PGA. Make them qualify all over again? Play without a 5-iron as a career penance?
âIâm not sure,ââ said Jordan Spieth, the co-leader at 7 under par with Cameron Young after one round of the Cadillac Championship. âIâm not sure if it should be the same for everyone. I know olive branches were given out, you know, a couple months ago.
âBrooks (Koepka) took them up on it. So Iâm not sure what would now change.â
As it ends, what is LIVâs legacy? There was Greg Normanâs militant nuttiness. There were players in shorts, music on greens and, âGolf but louder,â slogans. But its prime legacy was in showing what a pile of Saudi Arabian blood money can do to people â and to the games they play.
Fans can ignore the big money at most sports events and enjoy the game. The scorecard at LIV was the money. Thatâs not to say it isnât in all golf. But this became a civil war between millionaire golfers with some moral backbone and tens-of-millionaires without any.
âI hate LIV â hate it,ââ Rory McIlroy once said, adding later he felt, âbetrayedâ by its defectors.
So, was it worth it for the LIV players? Get out your calculator. Koepka reportedly signed a five-year, $100 million to play with LIV. He made roughly $45 million in prize money. He then reportedly didnât take his final yearâs installment to start his return to the PGA as part of that olive branch Spieth mentioned.
So subtract a that final year, pro-rated $20 million. And subtract another $5 million charity donation woven into his PGA agreement, too. Image rehabilitation has a price.
Still, all told, Koepka made roughly $120 million in four LIV years. Compare that to the $30 million in total purses he made over the three years before leaving for LIV (throwing out the 2020 COVID-damaged season). So he won, right?
Well, heâs playing next weekend on the qualifying tour in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and not the PGA event in Charlotte. Thatâs part of his path back. The PGA wants its pound of divoted flesh. The question becomes what to do with the others, starting with Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
âTime heals all wounds,ââ veteran Brian Harman said. âThereâs still some sentiment out here, especially with all the lawsuit stuff, that stuffâs going to be tough to get past.
âWe play with all those guys in the majors, so, yeah, I think there should be a path back.â
For all the gnashing of teeth and 4-irons, the PGA golfers came out of this rich-manâs spat richer, too. Their prize money rose in retaliation to LIVâs money. Take Doral. The purse for the 2016 event was $9.5 million and the winner earned $1.65 million.
Sundayâs winner of earns $4 million. The total purse is $20 million as the event graduated into one of the PGAâs eight âsignatureâ events.
There remain other, muddled storylines across this LIV timeline that wonât get untangled. There was no bigger cheerleaders for LIV than the Doral owner, President Donald Trump. The course held annual LIV tournaments. He then attempted to broker peace between LIV and the PGA, saying in 2023 it would take him â15 minutesâ to strike a deal.
This week, three years later, Saudi Arabia pulled the plug on LIV in part due to a temporary halt of oil money after the presidentâs war with Iran closed oil delivery through the Strait of Hormuz. Or maybe it was just destined for this finish.
What matters now is the PGA is back at on the Doral course with so much history, from Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods winning over decades. So much looked right Thursday. Golf was on the menu. Golfers were happy to talk about it.
âThankfully I had a really good day around the greens,ââ said Young, the co-leader. âI made a couple from the fringe and putted really well.â
The right side won the bigger battle. Thatâs what you root for in sports. Sometimes, like the PGA returning to Doral, it works out right.
Q&A
What happened at the PGA Tour's return to Doral?
The PGA Tour held its first tournament in Doral in a decade, signaling a shift after the LIV Tour's decline.
What are the implications for LIV players wanting to return to the PGA?
LIV players wishing to return to the PGA may face qualification challenges and questions about their status within the tour.
What was the legacy of the LIV Tour in professional golf?
The LIV Tour's legacy includes its controversial funding sources and the changes it brought to the game, such as relaxed dress codes and music on the greens.
How did players like Jordan Spieth react to the LIV Tour's impact?
Jordan Spieth expressed uncertainty about how LIV players should be treated if they return, highlighting the mixed feelings among PGA players.