Yo, the war may be over, but there’s still mad drama between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. One big issue is bringing back those rebel players to the main tour, you feel me?
The players who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour want that loyalty recognized and rewarded. Jay Monahan, the head honcho, straight up said it’s a major priority for him. So dudes like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Brooks Koepka might have to drop some of their LIV Golf cash to get back in the Tour’s good graces. The loyal ones want that paper, no doubt.
But Rory McIlroy wasn’t in that boat, man. In his epic press conference, he spilled the tea that LIV Golf never even offered him any dough. Guess he wasn’t on their radar like that.
Now, let’s talk about what these players had to give up to stay in the PGA Tour, playing in the big-league events. We don’t have all the facts since these negotiations happen behind closed doors, you know? But word on the street is that some of them passed up on a crazy amount of cheddar.
Tiger Woods, the legend himself, was the talk of the town. Reports flew around about what LIV Golf offered him, or didn’t offer him. Greg Norman, the CEO, said they threw around $700-$800 million at Tiger. Damn, that’s a whole lotta cash. Who knows if Tiger even considered it, man. But it didn’t stop LIV from trying.
Of course, Tiger is a whole different level, already stacked with mad wealth. So we don’t know if he’d be looking for any extra rewards for sticking with the PGA Tour.
Now, after Tiger, the next big offer reportedly went to Hideki Matsuyama, the Japanese star. They dangled $400 million in front of him, recognizing his power in the Asian market. But my man Matsuyama turned it down, torn between the money and his legacy. Respect, bro.
Even Jon Rahm, another Masters champ, got an offer around the same as Matsuyama. Rahm has been a big defender of the PGA Tour, but he’s also a golf historian. He’s all about legacy and winning Majors, you know? But with Koepka killing it in Majors while playing for LIV, Rahm may have been reconsidering. Rumor has it he was deep in talks before the merger was announced.
Yo, Fred Couples spilled the beans that Will Zalatoris got offered $130 million to join LIV Golf. Crazy, right? They upped their game after an initial $35 million offer got straight-up rejected. But props to Zalatoris, man. He wants to stay with the PGA Tour.
Patrick Cantlay was heavily linked to LIV Golf, but he never made the move. Justin Thomas also had talks with Norman but never really vibed with the idea. Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler probably got offers too, but they never entertained them. They’re just happy playing on the PGA Tour, not chasing the big bucks.
Maybe one day we’ll find out exactly who got offered what by LIV Golf, but what we know for sure is that some players missed out on life-changing sums, only for the PGA Tour to merge with them Saudi backers anyway. It’s a wild ride, my friends.
Written by Malik Carter Jr., a resident of Baltimore, MD, passionate about golf and actively working towards introducing the sport to urban youth. He believes in the positive impact and benefits that learning golf can bring to young people in urban communities.
