Column: Blunt talk means saying LIV Golf is all about money
DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer
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Brooks Koepka likes to boast about his honesty. He takes as much pride in being bold and blunt as he does in his remarkable record in the major championships.
He does not shy from criticism if he feels it is warranted. Koepka once accused Patrick Reed of cheating by “building sand castles” in a waste area in the Bahamas. He left no doubt about his feelings for Bryson DeChambeau, a long list.
“I’m always going to speak my mind and tell you what I think, and I think everybody in this room knows that,” he said at a PGA Championship preview day in 2020.
And now he has a chance to speak the truth about his decision to go back on his word and join the Saudi-funded rebel league known as LIV Golf.
It’s about the money. It’s that simple.
This is not a “force for good,” the message Greg Norman has been trying to preach and too many of his puppets have been repeating. The 22 former or soon-to-be-suspended PGA Tour members in Oregon for the LIV Golf Invitational are not there for the innovative format, or to test themselves against the best, or even to win tournaments.
They are getting paid an obscene amount of money.
Of course, money never came up when Koepka spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time since his decision was revealed. He simply spoke his mind, just like always, only he was of a different mind.
“My opinion changed,” he said, a phrase he used no fewer than six times.
Koepka was the latest example that everyone has a price. He actually said that himself four months ago at the Honda Classic.
This was one week after Phil Mickelson went into hiding after his inflammatory remarks about the Saudis and the PGA Tour, after Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau said they were sticking with the PGA Tour, after Rory McIlroy declared the rebel league “dead in the water.”
“I think there will still be talk,” Koepka said in February. “Everyone talks about money. They’ve got enough of it. I don’t see it backing down. They can just double up and they’ll figure it out. They’ll get their guys. Somebody will sell out and go to it.”
And that somebody turned out to be him.
Mickelson showed his hand months ago in a couple of interviews when he accused the PGA Tour of “obnoxious greed” and said he and a few other top players had hired lawyers to write the new league’s operating agreement. Joining LIV Golf was not a surprise.
Johnson was the biggest fish the Shark landed. The temptation had been strong all along, and then he got an offer he couldn’t ignore. The Daily Telegraph reported his signing fee at $150 million. That’s twice as much as Johnson’s career earnings after 15 years on the tour.
In some respects, Koepka went back on his word twice.
He was the second player, behind McIlroy, to speak out against the “Premier Golf League” concept that had Saudi financing and promised big riches, a team format, limited fields — everything Norman has now delivered.
“I have a hard time believing golf should be about just 48 players,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press, right before golf was paused for three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Money isn’t going to change my life,” he said. “There’s something to be said about freedom of playing. I get to choose. To me, it’s not worth it. I’m happy with how things are.”
That was more than two years ago.
And then Koepka said in Phoenix this year: “It’s been pretty clear for a long time now that I’m with the PGA Tour, it’s where I’m staying. I’m very happy. I think they do things the right way, people I want to do business with.”
But that’s not what led McIlroy to say Koepka was being “duplicitous” by saying one thing and doing another.
McIlroy was not part of the Rolex gathering at the U.S. Open, but he heard about it. The roster of stars that day included Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler and Koepka. They talked about being on the same page in support of the PGA Tour and speaking in one voice against the Saudi-funded league.
Koepka was said to be leading the charge. And then he wasn’t.
Everyone has a price.
“I was at a function with him last week and definitely wasn’t what he had in mind,” Scheffler said last week at the Travelers Championship. “We were focused on building the PGA Tour and getting the guys that are staying here together and kind of just having talks and figuring out what how we can help benefit the tour.”
Scheffler was to quick to add he was not going to criticize Koepka or anyone else for leaving for guaranteed money. Scheffler has gone over $13 million this season, already a PGA Tour record, thanks to an amazing run.
Players who wouldn’t be recognized in a restaurant outside their hometown are getting more than that for signing up with LIV Golf. It’s up to them to reconcile the source of the money and if they are taking the easy way out, as McIlroy suggested.
Golf is still hard. It’s the money that’s easy. There’s nothing wrong with saying that.
Charlie Riedel
Jon Rahm knows as well as anyone how hard it is to win a major, much less a U.S. Open. It was only reviewing highlights of his win last year at Torrey Pines that he realized that great golf and perfect golf are not the same.
It helps to already have one major, so he said that eases a little of the pressure. He feels he can enjoy the U.S. Open a little more knowing he doesn't have to do anything special.
“It's easy to think you need to be playing perfect golf,” Rahm said. "And I remember watching my highlights of Sunday last year, and I thought I played one of the best rounds of my life. And I kept thinking, ‘I cannot believe how many fairway bunkers I hit that day, how many greens I missed, and how many putts I missed.’
“It's golf, and that's how it is,” he said. “You truly don’t have to play perfect, and that’s I think the best lesson I can take from that.”
Charlie Riedel
Jon Rahm knows as well as anyone how hard it is to win a major, much less a U.S. Open. It was only reviewing highlights of his win last year at Torrey Pines that he realized that great golf and perfect golf are not the same.
It helps to already have one major, so he said that eases a little of the pressure. He feels he can enjoy the U.S. Open a little more knowing he doesn't have to do anything special.
“It's easy to think you need to be playing perfect golf,” Rahm said. "And I remember watching my highlights of Sunday last year, and I thought I played one of the best rounds of my life. And I kept thinking, ‘I cannot believe how many fairway bunkers I hit that day, how many greens I missed, and how many putts I missed.’
“It's golf, and that's how it is,” he said. “You truly don’t have to play perfect, and that’s I think the best lesson I can take from that.”
Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Sergio Garcia are the only players at the U.S. Open who played in the 1999 Ryder Cup. Those aren't the only players making a return to The Country Club.
Four players who reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 U.S. Amateur also made it into the U.S. Open at Brookline. That starts with Matt Fitzpatrick, the winner. It also includes Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners of Canada and Brandon Matthews.
Scheffler had an amazing run. He needed 20 holes to beat Stewart Jolly in the first round, 20 holes to beat Brandon Hagy in the second round and he beat Matthias Schwab on the 18th hole to reach the quarterfinals. He lost to Brady Watt, 2 and 1.
“I remember being down in pretty much all my matches and coming back,” Scheffler said. “On the three that I won, I came back late on all of them. I think I made a big putt against maybe Brandon Hagy — may have been Brandon — on 17. I have good memories of this place.”
Nathan Denette
Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Sergio Garcia are the only players at the U.S. Open who played in the 1999 Ryder Cup. Those aren't the only players making a return to The Country Club.
Four players who reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 U.S. Amateur also made it into the U.S. Open at Brookline. That starts with Matt Fitzpatrick, the winner. It also includes Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners of Canada and Brandon Matthews.
Scheffler had an amazing run. He needed 20 holes to beat Stewart Jolly in the first round, 20 holes to beat Brandon Hagy in the second round and he beat Matthias Schwab on the 18th hole to reach the quarterfinals. He lost to Brady Watt, 2 and 1.
“I remember being down in pretty much all my matches and coming back,” Scheffler said. “On the three that I won, I came back late on all of them. I think I made a big putt against maybe Brandon Hagy — may have been Brandon — on 17. I have good memories of this place.”
Collin Morikawa is a two-time major champion at age 25, the No. 7 player in the world who can expect to be exempt in the U.S. Open for years to come.
It wasn't always that easy.
“Yeah, well, I suck at qualifying. I really do," Morikawa said Tuesday.
He said he never made it to a U.S. Junior and he can think of only one U.S. Amateur appearance when he was exempt through his amateur ranking. As for the U.S. Open? He went through qualifying three times while at Cal and never came particularly close.
“I decided I hate California — no, I'm kidding,” the California native said.
He missed out by four shots at Lake Merced in San Francisco in 2016 and in 2018. In between, the U.S. Open sectional was in Newport Beach. He missed that by seven shots.
“I just never played well in those events and decided to go to the Ohio one three years ago,” he said. “Made that. The rest is history.”
He made it through Columbus — known as the PGA Tour qualifier because it has the strongest field and the most spots — without a shot to spare. That was in 2019, and he tied for 35th at Pebble Beach in his second tournament as a pro.
Four starts later, he was a PGA Tour winner. A year later, he was a major champion. Yes, the rest is history.
Charlie Riedel
Collin Morikawa is a two-time major champion at age 25, the No. 7 player in the world who can expect to be exempt in the U.S. Open for years to come.
It wasn't always that easy.
“Yeah, well, I suck at qualifying. I really do," Morikawa said Tuesday.
He said he never made it to a U.S. Junior and he can think of only one U.S. Amateur appearance when he was exempt through his amateur ranking. As for the U.S. Open? He went through qualifying three times while at Cal and never came particularly close.
“I decided I hate California — no, I'm kidding,” the California native said.
He missed out by four shots at Lake Merced in San Francisco in 2016 and in 2018. In between, the U.S. Open sectional was in Newport Beach. He missed that by seven shots.
“I just never played well in those events and decided to go to the Ohio one three years ago,” he said. “Made that. The rest is history.”
He made it through Columbus — known as the PGA Tour qualifier because it has the strongest field and the most spots — without a shot to spare. That was in 2019, and he tied for 35th at Pebble Beach in his second tournament as a pro.
Four starts later, he was a PGA Tour winner. A year later, he was a major champion. Yes, the rest is history.
Rory McIlroy is back to work with his old caddie for the U.S. Open.
Harry Diamond, a longtime friend and Irish amateur player, has been on McIlroy's bag the last five years but was home last week as his wife gave birth to their second child. McIlroy had a backup plan — former Irish rugby union player Niall O'Connor — when he won the RBC Canadian Open for his first win this year.
“Niall and I's run has come to an end at this point,” McIlroy said. “Pretty good record. Had a fourth in Dubai and a first in Canada. If I ever need someone to jump in for Harry, I've got a pretty good substitute there.”
Nathan Denette
Rory McIlroy is back to work with his old caddie for the U.S. Open.
Harry Diamond, a longtime friend and Irish amateur player, has been on McIlroy's bag the last five years but was home last week as his wife gave birth to their second child. McIlroy had a backup plan — former Irish rugby union player Niall O'Connor — when he won the RBC Canadian Open for his first win this year.
“Niall and I's run has come to an end at this point,” McIlroy said. “Pretty good record. Had a fourth in Dubai and a first in Canada. If I ever need someone to jump in for Harry, I've got a pretty good substitute there.”
Brooks Koepka watches his shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, Friday, June 17, 2022, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Robert F. Bukaty
Brooks Koepka watches his shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, Friday, June 17, 2022, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
