Davis Love III is the epitome of the PGA Tour company man: five tours of duty on the Tour policy board; created and runs the RSM Classic in his hometown of St. Simons Island, Georgia.; and the U.S. Presidents Cup captain, one of the Tour’s prized events, later this year.
Speaking at Detroit’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, he told Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg some interesting things from a player who is as tapped in as anyone in the game.
“He has heard LIV will sue the PGA Tour next week for the right to allow LIV players to compete in the Tour’s upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs,” Rosenberg wrote, “but then he wonders why LIV hasn’t sued by now, and also why LIV is so convinced it can win this fight.”
Sounds like the lawyers are on the verge of earning their paychecks and to start billing some serious hours.
Love also suggested that if the USGA, R&A and Augusta National Golf Club don’t change their eligibility criteria to make it harder for LIV defectors to play in the majors, PGA Tour pros may have to make matters into their own hands.
“Well, here’s the biggest lever; and it’s not the nice lever,’’ Love told SI. “But if a group of veterans and a group of top current players align with 150 guys on the Tour, and we say, ‘Guess what? We’re not playing,’ that solves it, right? If LIV guys play in the U.S. Open, we’re not playing. If they sue in court, and they win, well, we’re not playing. You know, there won’t be a U.S. Open. It’s just like a baseball strike.’’
That would be something, would it not?
Love also noted that he called several players and pitched them on staying with the Tour. It did little good. All of the players ended up joining LIV.
“I just threw my hands up,” Love said. “They’re getting told so many things that aren’t true. You can’t convince them otherwise.”
He added: “I’ve been lied to already. Why would you say, ‘Yes, I’m going after the FedEx Cup’? No, they’re not gonna tell me that.”
Many of the big names who have remained firmly in the Tour’s camp had the equivalent of a closed-door locker room meeting not long ago. Rickie Fowler noted that a group of Tour pros who competed in the JP McManus Pro-Am in Ireland gathered to discuss the state of pro golf.
“There’s a lot of guys that want to see this Tour succeed and continue to be the best place to play,” Fowler said.
Good to see the PGA Tour pros banding together, that they are taking the LIV threat seriously and they care about the Tour’s future.
