Sunday was a rough day to be a rival golf tour.
Just hours after Dustin Johnson released a statement through the PGA Tour stating he is fully committed to the PGA Tour, Bryson DeChambeau followed suit with a message from his own Twitter account.
“While there has been a lot of speculation surrounding my support for another tour, I want to make it very clear that as long as the best players in the world are playing the PGA Tour, so will I. As of now, I am focused on getting myself healthy and competing again soon. I appreciate all the support.”
Lynch: Phil Mickelson’s mouth has brought him — and his greedy Saudi scheme — to the brink of ruin
— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) February 20, 2022
Johnson, DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson have been rumored to be a few of the top players who would join a potential Saudi Arabia-back Super Golf League that would pay enormous amounts of guaranteed money in order to siphon off some of the game’s biggest names and be a direct rival with the PGA Tour.
Johnson’s statement was similar to that of DeChambeau’s: “Over the past several months, there has been a great deal of speculation about an alternative tour; much of which seems to have included me and my future in professional golf,” Johnson’s statement said. “I feel it is now time to put such speculation to rest. I am fully committed to the PGA Tour. I am grateful for the opportunity to play the best tour in the world and for all it has provided me and my family.”
Mickelson has been dominating the headlines in recent weeks, especially after Mickelson told the Firepit Collective’s Alan Shipnuck that he was one of the architects behind the proposed league and explained how he hoped to use the rival league as leverage over the Tour despite the Saudis being “scary motherf—–s.“
The PGA Tour has responded by increasing official prize money to $427 million, upping the FedEx Cup bonus money to $75 million, and creating additional programs that will dole out millions more. All told, the PGA Tour will pay out more than $838 million in comprehensive earnings to players this season.
Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio contributed to this article.
