Why do golfers want to leave the PGA?
Occam's Razor prevails once again
As detailed here and in many other places, the PGA Tour is under fire from several upstart leagues, notably the PGL (Premier Golf League) and LIV (aka, the Saudi Golf League, headed by Greg Norman.)
There’s plenty of noise with all of this, but the big question I keep asking myself is, why would professional golfers want to leave the PGA Tour? That answer differs depending on who is talking, of course.
For the guy who is struggling to keep his tour card, guaranteed money - let alone guaranteed entry into tournaments - is a major driver. If you can’t play or win, you earn NOTHING on the PGA Tour. These alternative leagues all promise (whether that’s based in reality or not) to pay more guaranteed money, and more of it.
So, one major reason is money. And if we get down to it, it’s the ONLY reason.
Of course, there are entitled guys in the league who think the PGA doesn’t “support” it’s players - which, by the way, means they enforce the rules and don’t make it easier for them to score lower and earn more. Here’s World Class Baby Sergio Garcia today, complaining (while in waist-high rough, looking for his ball) that he can’t wait to leave the league because he thought they started timing him too early. (One can only look for a lost ball for so often until they must take a penalty stroke.)
At the end of the day, this comes down to money - Sergio, seeing that he’s going to have to take a penalty stroke for hitting the ball where he shouldn’t have, is mad at the Tour, not himself. Charley Hoffman notably had a similar tantrum earlier this season, though apparently seems unlikely to take the bag, if the Saudis are even offering it to him. Sergio, on the other hand, has always taken those appearance fees from the Saudis, even if it comes with paying fines (presumably) for throwing legendary temper tantrums in their manicured bunkers.
Sergio is lucky he didn’t get a visit from the bonesaw for this.
Perhaps the most visible face of this - though not lately, because he’s gone into hiding - is Phil Mickelson. He became the face of Saudi golf a few months ago when an interview he did in 2021 became public, prior to the release of a biography on him by writer Alan Shipnuck. The headlines were about how he said that he understood the Saudis were “scary motherfuckers” but it was worth it because of the way it could help reshape the PGA. Since those remarks, he’s lost a ton of sponsors, and apparently become shunned by his peers - most likely because, in order to save face, they had to back out from joining up with the Saudis.
It should be noted that him wanting to go play with the Saudis is NOT why he’s been shadow banned by the tour. It’s that part of that interview showed that he was working with lawyers to create the Saudi Golf League outright, essentially trying to capsize or blow up the tour itself. THAT was his true transgression.
Phil Mickelson, in an interview with the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck, said he has recruited three other players to the Saudi-based golf league and that he and other players paid attorneys to construct the proposed Super Golf League’s operating agreement.
That’s the kind of thing that should get him banned from the tour in perpetuity. Of course, in two weeks he’s likely going to defend his title as reigning PGA winner, this time at Southern Hills. That should get juicy. Phil’s answer of why he wants to do this is to “reshape” the tour to make it more player friendly. That comes down, once again, to money - but Phil wouldn’t say that outright as it seems … uncouth.
Today, news broke that Mickelson lost over $40,000,000 in gambling losses from 2010-2014.
That streak was eight years ago, but he recently sold his Gulfstream jet, which isn’t the kind of thing a guy like Phil would do unless he was feeling a cash pinch. Suddenly, what looked like insatiable greed looks like a desperate man hoping to regain his wealth on the cheap. For a guy who is reported to have made just under a billion dollars when you include endorsements, it’s long overdue for him to seek help for what seems to be a very serious gambling addiction. Instead, he’s just looking for that big payday to bail him out.
Lee Westwood got roasted this week for - well, speaking the truth.
This is my job. I do this for money. It’s not the only reason for doing it. But if anybody comes along and gives any of us a chance at a pay rise, then you have to seriously consider it, don’t you? … Some of my mates I grew up playing with in Worksop, if I went up to them and said, ‘I’ve been given an opportunity to play in a 48-man tournament for $25 million’, they would probably pull me to one side and say, ‘What is it you’re actually thinking about?’
Westwood also said he doesn’t think sports and politics should mix (yeah, sorry about that - not your call, Lee) and that other sports like Formula One play there, and that the source funding the LIV tour also owns the Newcastle English Premier League team. So, why should golf get all the blame for this?
Golf shouldn’t get all the blame, but this is a pretty weak attempt at misdirection. Something something two wrongs don’t make a right. Westwood has also made over $60,000,000 on the course between the PGA and Euro Tour and is no stranger to sponsorships, and I also assume that despite his fondness for wine, he’s not a degenerate gambler like Mickelson. So, sure - it’s fine to chase the almighty dollar, Euro or Pound, but at what cost? How much is enough, Lee?
I applaud Westwood for speaking the truth, but not for being so greedy that he’s willing to compromise whatever moral fiber I thought he had. And sure, I wish Formula One didn’t race there (or in any other number of countries). The PGA Tour has a true crisis on its hands, as multiple threats are trying to peel off players with vague talks about growing the game, leverage and whatnot. Poppycock. It’s about money. It’s always about money.