Many American golf followers will see a LIV Golf occasion for the primary time this yr when the league tees it up on the Blue Monster at Doral in Miami this weekend.
After which, 12 LIV Golfers, together with Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau, will head to Augusta Nationwide subsequent week to compete in The Masters Match. LIV gamers and PGA Tour professionals solely compete side-by-side within the 4 majors, regardless of the 2 sides persevering with to carry talks about bridging the skilled sport again collectively.
But, Sir Nick Faldo says that LIV Golf ought to proceed to function individually.
“I feel they need to simply go and do their very own factor,” Faldo mentioned to talkSPORT, an English radio outlet.
“LIV is LIV. Go and play the tour. You realize, it’s precipitated the ruckus. The gamers have accomplished extremely effectively — they’ve discovered a method to double the bloomin’ prize cash. They’re all making a fortune, either side.”
LIV Golf is bankrolled by the Saudi Public Funding Fund (PIF), which reportedly has over $700 billion in its reserves. The PIF prints cash and has already invested north of $5 billion into LIV Golf, with a lot of these bills getting used on signing bonuses for former PGA Tour stars. Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, allegedly obtained north of $450 million to signal with LIV Golf forward of its 2024 season. Different stars accepted good-looking paydays too.
On high of that, LIV gives $20 million purses for its 54-man fields, an astronomical complete that the PGA Tour couldn’t compete with at its onset. The PGA Tour has since struck a cope with the Strategic Sports activities Group (SSG), receiving a $1.5 billion funding, which has helped the tour sustain with LIV by elevating its purses. The introduction of Signature Occasions was additionally in response to LIV because the tour hoped to get all the very best gamers collectively, competing side-by-side, within the greatest occasions outdoors the foremost championships.
“I sat there for tv and I didn’t point out prize cash that many occasions in 18 years,” Faldo added.
“We had been advised to not point out – simply hold speaking about [FedEx Cup] factors. Then rapidly we’re saying $10 million, $20 million, $100 million – all the pieces was about cash.
“I feel the common particular person would say, ‘Hold on a minute. You’re waltzing across the bloody area hitting the golf ball.’ It’s gotten preposterous, it’s gotten out of hand.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made practically $70 million in prize cash throughout his historic 2024 season. That’s not a knock on Scheffler, that’s simply what skilled golf has become. To offer perspective on how astronomical that complete is, Tiger Woods made $120 million in profession PGA Tour earnings. Meaning Scheffler made greater than half of what Woods made in a single season, and Woods received 69 extra occasions on the PGA Tour than Scheffler.
The opposite wrinkle on this ordeal is that LIV is just 54 holes and doesn’t make use of a 36-hole lower. Everybody who tees it up in a LIV occasion receives a paycheck, in contrast to most PGA Tour occasions, which don’t lower a examine for individuals who fail to make the weekend.
“I noticed it many a time,” Faldo mentioned.
“The fellows would fist pump – I made the lower, I nonetheless have an opportunity to win. That’s extra necessary than, ‘Oh, thanks very a lot. I’ll waltz round for 54 holes and I’ve obtained a assured examine.’ That’s not sport. It’s not good for you, that form of factor. Sport is bloody robust. The concern of failure is simply as highly effective as the search to win.
“And I feel while you’re on a fail-free tour, you may’t fail. It makes you go mushy. I feel a few of these gamers have gone mushy.”
Faldo, who will return to Augusta Nationwide subsequent week for the annual Champions Dinner on Tuesday night, then ripped into LIV’s monetary well being.
“It’s the one and solely enterprise mannequin on the planet the place the cash’s going out the window and little or no’s coming in,” Faldo mentioned.
“No firm – you couldn’t go to your financial institution supervisor and say, ‘That is my enterprise mannequin.’ He’d say, ‘Excuse me? We’ve solely obtained this coming in and that going out?’
“I say the gamers are the luckiest issues on the planet, since you’ve obtained guys we’ve hardly heard of, who’ve by no means received, taking part in in $20 million tournaments. You’ve obtained guys who’re into their careers getting 10 occasions what they might earn on [the PGA Tour], assured. And then you definitely’ve obtained these couple of men getting paid an absolute fortune, they usually haven’t moved a needle, actually. So, hey, good luck to them. Go and do their very own factor.”
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. Comply with him on X @jack_milko.
