Lee Westwood, a former world No. 1, had amusing Thursday on the main adjustments the PGA Tour introduced Wednesday in response to the specter of LIV Golf, calling many who ripped the rival league “hypocrites.”
Westwood — one of many gamers to defect to the rival Saudian Arabian-financed LIV Golf Invitational Collection — mentioned the PGA Tour is now utilizing most of the similar concepts of the brand new tour.
“I snort at what the PGA Tour gamers have give you,’’ Westwood instructed Golf Digest in an interview revealed Thursday. “It’s only a copy of what LIV is doing. There are quite a lot of hypocrites on the market. All of them say LIV isn't aggressive. All of them level on the no-cut facet of LIV and the brief fields.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Wednesday mentioned the PGA Tour’s prime gamers had dedicated to compete in a minimum of 20 tournaments, together with 13 elevated occasions that may have common purses of $20 million. Eight of the occasions have already got been introduced.
“Now, funnily sufficient, they're proposing 20 occasions that look quite a bit like LIV,” the 49-year-old Westwood mentioned. “Hopefully, sooner or later they may all choke on their phrases. And hopefully, they are going to be held to account as we had been within the early days.”
Nonetheless, there's one large distinction between the 2 excursions. Most PGA Tour tournaments are 72 holes and have 36-hole cuts; whereas LIV Golf occasions are 54 holes with no cuts.
Monahan has suspended greater than two dozen PGA Tour gamers, together with previous main champions Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, for competing in LIV tournaments with out conflicting-event releases from the PGA Tour.
Making an attempt to stem the tide of extra LIV big-name defections, the PGA Tour, additionally introduced they're growing the funds within the Participant Influence Program (PIP) to $100 million, with the 20 prime gamers being rewarded by way of the fund. The PIP program is weighed on totally different “consciousness standards” and can not be solely primarily based on a Q rating or social media attain. In addition they introduced a $500,000 assured minimal in opposition to earnings for all exempt gamers.
Regardless of these Tour adjustments, extra LIV defections are on the way in which. The brand new league will announce seven new additions after the conclusion of this week’s FedEx Cup Tour Championship, in line with Alan Shipnuck of The Hearth Pit Collective. Considered one of them reportedly will probably be Cam Smith, who gained the British Open and Gamers Championship this 12 months.
Westwood additionally mentioned the PGA Tour has handled the DP World Tour, previously often called the European Tour, for years regardless of their latest strategic alliance. The DP Tour additionally has suspended and fined its members for taking part in in LIV Golf tournaments.
“I’m not satisfied by the strategic alliance as a result of I’ve seen how the PGA Tour has behaved through the years,” mentioned Westwood, who in 2010 turned the primary British golfer since Nick Faldo to change into the No. 1 participant on this planet. “There’s not a lot ‘give.’ They've all the time been bullies and now they're getting their comeuppance.
Westwood additionally mentioned LIV Golf is simply following the PGA Tour’s blueprint for the final quarter of a century.
“All of the PGA Tour has finished since Tiger [Woods] got here on tour is up the prize purses,” Westwood mentioned. “In flip, that has taken all one of the best gamers from Europe away from the European Tour. They’ve needed to play within the States, taking all their world rating factors with them. That was their technique: ‘Put up the cash. Get all of the gamers. Hog all of the world rating factors.’
“Which turns into self-perpetuating. What we've seen over the previous couple of months is simply LIV doing what the PGA Tour has finished for the final 25 years.”
When requested by Golf Digest if he’s bothered in any respect by the supply of LIV Golf’s funding, the Saudia Arabia’s wealth fund, Westwood caught to a well-known reply many LIV golfers have given since becoming a member of the brand new tour.
“The questions on the Saudi authorities and their insurance policies are unanswerable,” Westwood mentioned. “My response is simply to attempt to not reply them. I’m not a politician; I’m a golfer. However I do know that sport can be utilized as change for good.”
Westwood mentioned he additionally believes there's a double commonplace between golf and different sports activities which have or are doing enterprise with Saudia Arabia.
I don’t perceive why golf is being taken to job a lot,” Westwood mentioned. “Why is soccer [soccer] not being held to the identical commonplace for having the World Cup in Qatar? Why was [heavyweight boxer] Anthony Joshua not criticized extra for combating in Jeddah final week?”
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