It’s been more than a month since we last saw LIV Golf Series players on the course but that’s how it’s going in this breakaway league, which has only eight events in 2022.
Ahead of the fourth event during this inaugural season, LIV introduced its six newest members Wednesday in Bolton, Massachusetts, outside Boston.
The International is the host venue for the three-day, 54-hole, no-cut event that starts Friday.
Cam Smith, Champion Golfer of the Year and Players Championship winner, makes his circuit debut. He’s ranked No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking and is now the highest ranked member of the Saudi government-backed golf series.
Two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson is also making his first appearance but he won’t be playing just yet. Still recovering from knee surgery, Watson is LIV Golf’s first non-playing captain.
There are 12 teams of four golfers, and Watson’s squad includes fellow newcomer Harold Varner III.
Other recent signees include Anirban Lahiri, Cameron Tringale and Marc Leishman.
Harold Varner: 'I hate being hated'
Varner, who opened up on social media and wrote easily the most honest explanation yet of anyone who defected from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, nonetheless took a lot of flak on social media.
“It sucked,” he said after reading all the comments sent his way. “Who likes to be hated? It’s terrible. I hate being hated. I’d rather not be, not even be known than be hated.
“So yeah, it was terrible. I just hate to be hated because you’re doing what’s best for you and whenever someone else is doing something that’s best for them I’m like, ‘How can I help, how can I help you make a better decision, why are you making this decision?’ That should be more of the language instead of like, ‘Well, you didn’t do what I want you to do so I hate you, I’m done, I’m unfollowing.’ Like, you can’t win that. People are just not right.”
Bubba Watson: 'Captaincy is a dream come true'
“We are working through that and hopefully my timetable would be middle of October hitting balls. I’ve got my wedge and my putter here today, or this week, so I’m going to go chipping around with some of my teammates.
“And doing the captaincy, the captaincy is a dream come true. Obviously I’d rather be playing but you know, I can’t really, there’s an individual tournament going on as well. I think y’all know how this works, there’s an individual and a team.
“So I can’t really like … this putt does this, because there’s a real tournament going on. So it’s not like a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. So I won’t be able to give advice but I’ll be able to cheer them on.”
Later in the news conference, Watson spoke more of the team concept.
“If you think about high school golf, you’re a team. College golf, you’re a team. The only one that didn’t have that is professional golf. Now that LIV Golf brought it to the table, it’s a team atmosphere. And if you play bad, if you have a terrible round, shoot in the 80s or shoot 75, whatever it is, next day, you come back. You come back and you shoot 67, that might help you get on the podium or win as a team. It’s the coolest atmosphere I’ve ever been associated with.”
Cameron Smith: 'This is the future of golf'
Cameron Smith bemoaned the lack of OWGR points three times during his news conference alongside Marc Leishman but sounded optimistic.
“I’m just really excited to be here. This is a new kind of chapter in my life. I think this is the future of golf. I love how it is out here. It’s a little bit more laid back on the range, the music playing. I love that stuff. I play with music at home and yeah, I just can’t wait to be a part of this.
“Like I said, I think this is the future of golf. I think it needs to change. Particularly as our golf fans become younger, I think we need to do something to make it exciting for them. I think it’s the right move for sure.”
Watson: 'If they tell me that I can't go, being a past champion, then I don't want to be there anyway'
Watson, the 2012 and 2014 Masters champ, sounds like he intends to continue to make return visits to Augusta National Golf Club.
“But now, Augusta, right now, we can play in it, and I’m hoping, and praying, that they make the right decisions and past champions and people, we can all start playing. And so I told my kids that there is a chance, there is a possibility, that we can’t go to Augusta.
“And I told them, if they tell me that I can’t go, being a past champion, then I don’t want to be there anyway because that’s just, that’s just the wrong way to look at it it’s the game of golf. We are all trying to be the best players.”
About those world ranking points ...
A hot topic for LIV golfers is maintaining status in the majors. Past champions have exemptions but many others rely on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Those playing for LIV are going to see their ranking start to slide.
WATSON: “If you play in Asia, you get world ranking points. Which is sad that you have to go and do other things to get world rankings so you can get in majors. It’s sad. Like I said before, the world ranking, these are the best players in the world. No. 2 player in the world is going to fall off the map. So that’s not the best players in the world if you’re going to count these players out.
VARNER: But is he really going to fall off the map? He just won a major.
WATSON: He will at some point. He will at some point.
VARNER: Damn.
WATSON: He will at some point and that’s sad because obviously we know how good he is …
VARNER: I win a major I just be like …
WATSON: Well, you are not going to be playing any majors if they keep dropping you.
VARNER: I know. But it will be all right. We’ll live. A lot of kids’ lives will change.
WATSON: We’ll live. You said LIV.
VARNER: A lot of kids’ lives will change. I guarantee that.
WATSON: I’m with ya, man. I’m with ya.
