PGA Tour's overhauled schedule 'a copy' of LIV series - Westwood
Send a link to a friend
[August 26, 2022]
(Reuters)-Sweeping changes that
the PGA Tour announced this week are "a copy" of the Saudi
Arabia-backed LIV Golf series, former world number one Lee Westwood
said.
On Wednesday, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the tour's
top golfers had committed to competing against each other more
regularly.
The changes require top golfers, assuming they qualify, to play at
least a 20-event schedule consisting of the four majors, The Players
Championship, 12 "elevated events" with average purses of $20
million and at least three other PGA Tour events of the player's
choosing.
Monahan said the changes were inspired by the PGA Tour members and
singled out those who held a players-only meeting last week to
discuss a number of proposals in the face of the LIV Golf threat.
"I laugh at what the PGA Tour players have come up with," Westwood,
who was suspended from the PGA Tour after playing in LIV's inaugural
event in London, told Golf Digest on Thursday.
"It's just a copy of what LIV is doing. There are a lot of
hypocrites out there. They all say LIV is 'not competitive'. They
all point at the no-cut aspect of LIV and the short fields.
"Now, funnily enough, they are proposing 20 events that look a lot
like LIV... And hopefully, they will be held to account as we were
in the early days."
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/082622PIX/sports13.jpg)
Lee Westwood hits a shot from the fairway on hole 5 during the
second round of a LIV Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club
Bedminster. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
![](../images/ads/current/graue_lda_2021.gif)
The PGA Tour and Europe's DP World Tour have put up
a united front in their stand against LIV and in June announced a
strengthening of their alliance to combat the threat.
However, Westwood, who has 25 European Tour wins, added he was not
convinced by the strategic alliance, saying the PGA Tour's prize
purses had lured golfers away from Europe in the past.
"All the PGA Tour has done since Tiger (Woods) came on tour is up
the prize purses," Westwood said. "In turn, that has taken all the
best players from Europe away from the European Tour.
"They've had to play in the States, taking all their world ranking
points with them."
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |