This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Charles Curtis is filling in for Andy Nesbitt.
We’ve written many times — many, many times — about how LIV Golf is ridiculous, empty and a constant reminder that players are leaving the PGA Tour for a Saudi-backed league funded by blood money. That is still all true.
On Tuesday, we learned of more names making the switch, including British Open champ Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Joaquin Niemann and Harold Varner III.
And it’s that last name I want to focus on: Varner took to Instagram and spoke about why he was joining LIV.
“The truth is, my life is changing,” he wrote. “The opportunity to join LIV Golf is simply too good of a financial breakthrough for me to pass by. I know what it means to grow up without much. This money is going to ensure that my kid and future Varners will have a solid base to start on – and a life I could have only dreamt about growing up.”
“It’ll also help fund many of the programs I’m building with my Foundation,” he continued. “I’ll continue to forge pathways for kids interested in golf. This note is a receipt of for that.”
For once, here’s a golfer saying out loud what we all knew was the case. It’s a financial opportunity, one that will line player pockets real nicely. And for Varner, he admitted that it was giving his kid a life he never had. On top of that, he’ll use some of that money for his foundation.
I wish we’d hear all of this more from some of those big names who joined, instead of the deflections and denials we’ve heard time and time again.
Yes, it’s all about the money. At least Varner came out and just said it. I hope that “receipt” is proof that he’ll stick to his words and use it for good things.
Quick hits: NFL cuts … A bat flip backfired bad … NASCAR playoffs are coming … and more.
— NFL teams made their cuts down to a 53-man roster, so here’s a summary of every team’s moves, along with the biggest names to be let go.
— This bat flip totally backfired.
— Here’s your guide to the 2022 NASCAR playoffs.
— LeBron James brought back the famous “Chosen One” cover with his sons.
