Scottie Scheffler has fired shots at LIV Golf, accusing the players that defected to the Saudi-backed league of “splitting the game.” A lot of talk following Rory McIlroy’s win at The Players Championship have been centered around the players who didn’t even compete at Sawgrass.
The PGA Tour is still widely regarded as the best tour in the world, however, there have been recent debates that Scheffler’s competition is not as intense as it could be as stars like Brooks Koepka, Joaquin Niemann, and Jon Rahm are now on the books of LIV Golf.
This is the second year in a row that LIV Golf players have not been eligible for the PGA Tour’s flagship event after they left to join the breakaway league. As a result, big names have been unable to compete against each other and it’s only in the Majors where top stars can come together and compete in a tournament.
Scottie Scheffler Sympathizes With Frustrated Fans
There has been a lot of talk regarding the two tours and the possibility of them reuniting has been floated. However, there’s no agreement on the cards yet. The reigning Masters champion has sympathized with fans who are frustrated over the current impasse. Scheffler also spoke about the players who defected to LIV Golf and made it clear that the PGA Tour was not at fault for the breakaway.
“If the fans are upset, then look at the guys that left,” Scheffler said. “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. As far as our tour goes, like I said, we’re doing our best to create the best product for the fans, and that’s really where we’re at,” the 28-year old said on Wednesday.
Money Talks: LIV’s Financial Pull
The world number one also suggested that the players who joined the breakaway league did so for financial reasons, but admitted that it was their personal choice. There have been rumors of the huge amount of money paid to players who defected to the Saudi-backed league. The amount has been said to run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Scheffler noted that he doesn’t blame the players who made the move to secure generational wealth for their families.
“If guys want to go take the money and leave, then that’s their decision,” Scheffler said. “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.
“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,” the American added.
Main Photo Credit: © Jack Gruber-Imagn Images
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