If you were to say golf was “splintered,” Scottie Scheffler can tell you why.
The World No.1 was asked if players were concerned if golf fans have become disillusioned by the division between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the game’s increased fixation on money.
The Saudi-funded circuit has nabbed several stars from the PGA Tour with seven, eight or even nine-figure offers since its birth in 2022 such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Scheffler points to these stars as the reason for golf’s civil war breaking out and still raging on to this day.
“I guess it’s a pretty broad question, and when you’re talking about a fan perspective, you’re talking about millions of people, so there’s always a lot of perspectives in that group,” he said here at TPC Sawgrass.
“It just depends on who has the loudest voice. At the end of the day, I think we’re trying to do our best to create the best product for the fans, but we can’t control whether or not guys want to leave.
“If guys want to go take the money and leave, then that’s their decision. I’m not going to sit here and tell guys not to take hundreds of millions of dollars. If that’s what they think is best for their life, then go do it.
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“I’m not going to sit here and force guys to stay on our tour. But at the end of the day, this is where I want to be, and we’re continuing to grow what we’re doing, and what
they’re doing is not really a concern to me.
“If the fans are upset, then look at the guys that left. We had a tour, we were all together, and the people that left are no longer here. At the end of the day, that’s where the splintering comes from.”
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Scottie Scheffler: LIV Golf stars aren’t in my thoughts
LIV Golf, the breakaway league commissioned by Greg Norman and bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund, disrupted the long-standing, established order in men’s golf that had previously existed with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour when it arrived in June 2022.
As well as American stars taking the plunge into the new league, several European figures such as Jon Rahm, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia jumped ship too.
Scheffler has certainly reaped the rewards for remaining on the PGA Tour. The American won his seventh title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week and he will look to defend his crown at The 50th Players Championship this week.
Speaking in Ponte Vedra, Scheffler revealed the players who left for LIV Golf rarely occupy his thoughts.
“I don’t really spend much time in my day thinking about them. It’s kind of one of the out of sight, out of mind things, and the people that want to be on this tour are still here, and the guys that want to compete out here are still here.
“So we’ve got a lot of great competition. I’m excited with the new tournament schedule getting the best players on our tour all together as much as we can, and I think we’re in a great spot.”
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