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A $50m purse may be serious money but there was a laughter-filled start to the LIV Golf Series finale at Trump National Doral Golf Club on Wednesday as the Saudi-backed venture prepared to crown a first team champion.
While $50m represents the sport’s biggest payday, fun, not money, has been the reason most often given by players for jumping from the established PGA Tour to the controversial rebel circuit that brands itself as “Golf, But Louder”.
LIV Golf has challenged the traditions of the sport, opting for a rock 'n' roll party vibe that offers a departure from classic golf etiquette and promising “Good vibes, great eats and live music”.
Play gets under way on Friday with 12 four-man teams hunting a $16m winner’s prize but for the eight captains on the dais on Wednesday, including Major winners Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Bubba Watson, landing a good jibe seemed more important than money.
“You probably don’t know this because you’ve never been No 1 in the world,” said four-time Major winner Koepka to Mickelson.
“That’s a beautiful green shirt. Do you have a green jacket?” shot back three-times Masters champion Mickelson.
“I do not, but I will, though, don’t worry,” returned Koepka.
LIV Golf, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, reportedly paid out nearly $1bn to lure some of golf’s biggest names, such as Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, away from the PGA Tour.
On top of his signing bonus, Johnson comes into this week having already banked $13.6m from seven events and Patrick Reed $8.2m from six tournaments.
World No 1 Rory McIlroy, enjoyed the best year of his career last season, winning $8.6m from 16 PGA Tour stops.
Trying to replicate the excitement generated by hugely popular team competitions such as the Ryder and Presidents Cups, LIV Golf incorporated a team component into all eight events.
While innovative, the concept and an unfamiliar format has yet to establish itself.
Mickelson, once an anchor of US Ryder Cup squads, candidly described the LIV team event as a fun competition.
“There’s some elements of those team events that can apply, that knowledge and experience can help, and there’s some that simply don’t,” said Mickelson, who captains the HyFlyers team and will take on Punch GC captain Smith in Friday’s quarterfinals.
“We don’t have anybody sitting out, and we don’t have the rich history and probably the pressure that those other events have, whereas this is really a fun event. Like we’re having a blast.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LIV golfers having a blast, and big payouts too
A $50m purse may be serious money but there was a laughter-filled start to the LIV Golf Series finale at Trump National Doral Golf Club on Wednesday as the Saudi-backed venture prepared to crown a first team champion.
While $50m represents the sport’s biggest payday, fun, not money, has been the reason most often given by players for jumping from the established PGA Tour to the controversial rebel circuit that brands itself as “Golf, But Louder”.
LIV Golf has challenged the traditions of the sport, opting for a rock 'n' roll party vibe that offers a departure from classic golf etiquette and promising “Good vibes, great eats and live music”.
Play gets under way on Friday with 12 four-man teams hunting a $16m winner’s prize but for the eight captains on the dais on Wednesday, including Major winners Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Bubba Watson, landing a good jibe seemed more important than money.
“You probably don’t know this because you’ve never been No 1 in the world,” said four-time Major winner Koepka to Mickelson.
“That’s a beautiful green shirt. Do you have a green jacket?” shot back three-times Masters champion Mickelson.
“I do not, but I will, though, don’t worry,” returned Koepka.
LIV Golf, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, reportedly paid out nearly $1bn to lure some of golf’s biggest names, such as Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, away from the PGA Tour.
On top of his signing bonus, Johnson comes into this week having already banked $13.6m from seven events and Patrick Reed $8.2m from six tournaments.
World No 1 Rory McIlroy, enjoyed the best year of his career last season, winning $8.6m from 16 PGA Tour stops.
Trying to replicate the excitement generated by hugely popular team competitions such as the Ryder and Presidents Cups, LIV Golf incorporated a team component into all eight events.
While innovative, the concept and an unfamiliar format has yet to establish itself.
Mickelson, once an anchor of US Ryder Cup squads, candidly described the LIV team event as a fun competition.
“There’s some elements of those team events that can apply, that knowledge and experience can help, and there’s some that simply don’t,” said Mickelson, who captains the HyFlyers team and will take on Punch GC captain Smith in Friday’s quarterfinals.
“We don’t have anybody sitting out, and we don’t have the rich history and probably the pressure that those other events have, whereas this is really a fun event. Like we’re having a blast.”
Reuters
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