paying out exorbitant sums to top name players just to show up. Phil Mickelson is reported to have inked a deal worth $200 million, while Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka both received over $100 million guarantees. Lesser names such as Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen have received eight-figure deals in the $30-$50 million range. Who among us would not like to earn more money for working less hours? Professional golfers have not always been as well compensated as today’s jet-setting, million-dollar lifestyle players of today. Television found golf a viable programming option in the late 1950’s. Arnold Palmer’s slashing style and good looks were made for the small screen and golf fans immediately took notice. Arnold and corporate sponsors were a match made in heaven and the standard was set for professional golfers today. In all of the rhetoric of the fighting between the PGA TOUR and the LIV, several of the players seem to have forgotten the history that allowed them to become household names and earn millions for their families on the PGA TOUR. It has also been reported that the LIV is actively recruiting top collegiate players to forsake the hard road to a professional career via the PGA TOUR. 2021 U.S. Amateur Champion, James Piot just finished his college days at Michigan State and has opted to accept a lucrative offer from LIV. Pierceson Coody, grandson of Masters Champion, Charles Coody, was a three-time All American at the University of Texas and earned exemption to the Korn Ferry Tour by finishing first in the 2022 College Series. He reported that LIV offered a multi-million dollar guarantee to join the LIV Invitational Series, but he, unlike Piot, declined as it has always been his dream to compete with the best players in the world on the PGA TOUR. Another facet of professional golf in the United States is the charitable aspect of the hundreds of non-profit organizations that benefit from PGA TOUR events held in the cities across the country. It has always been somewhat easier explaining a tournament’s huge purse and million-dollar payout to the winners, when several million is generated for hometown charities. This will not be the case with the LIV. In addition, the lack of a few big names to enter PGA TOUR events might even dilute ticket sales, sponsorships and television revenues could decrease in the future. The PGA TOUR has been a victim of its own success. It has ruled the world of professional golf for several years and now with a rival they must examine every segment of their product and form a new long-term strategy going forward. Under the heading, ‘There is no such thing as bad PR,’ the LIV seems to be drawn to controversial players. Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Bryson
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