'It’s just a copy' - Lee Westwood accuses 'hypocrites' on PGA Tour of mirroring LIV Golf with new events
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Updated 01/09/2022 at 14:55 GMT
The battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf looks set to run and run. A court case us due to be heard in January 2024, but there are likely to be punches and counter punches before that takes place. Lee Westwood resigned his PGA Tour membership to sign with LIV, and the Englishman has accused the PGA Tour of attempting to copy its model by revamping its offering.
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Lee Westwood has hit out at the PGA Tour, accusing it of copying the LIV Golf model, but did admit his move was motivated by money.
Westwood is one of a number of high-profile players who have joined LIV Golf, with many lured by big contracts and the prospect of playing for huge prize funds.
LIV’s emergence has driven a wedge through the game, with the PGA Tour suspending players who have jumped ship.
Westwood elected to resign his membership of the PGA Tour, citing scheduling as the reason behind that decision.
“My age was obviously part of my decision-making process,” Westwood told Golf Digest. “Then there is the fact that the LIV tournaments are 54 holes, not 72. I saw that as a benefit.
“I also had a look at the senior tour schedule. Even there they are encouraging guys to play as many as 25 events. And there are two pro-ams every week, unless you are in a certain category. That’s a lot for a senior. And, of course, the LIV events are offering 10 times the prize money.”
While he has given up his PGA Tour status, Westwood is hopeful of retaining membership of the DP World Tour.
"Anyway, the end result is that I’ve done exactly what I said I was going to do at the start of all this,” Westwood said. “I’ve given up my PGA Tour card. There was no way I could ever play in all the events required to keep it.
“I am going to play in the (BMW) PGA Championship at Wentworth next month, which will be my fourth DP World Tour start of the year. I do want to retain my membership there.
“Outside of my LIV commitments, I will play another four times on the DP World Tour next year. Right now, I’m not sure what those events will be. But it’s most likely I’ll turn up in the places I have most enjoyed over the last 25 years or so. Or where I think I’ve still got a realistic chance to win."
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The PGA Tour has announced changes for next season, with Elevated Events having guaranteed prize funds of $20 million.
Westwood has noted the changes, and feels it is an attempt to copy LIV’s blueprint.
"I laugh at what the PGA Tour players have come up with," he said. "It’s just a copy of what LIV is doing. There are a lot of hypocrites out there. They all say LIV is ‘not competitive.’ They all point at the no-cut aspect of LIV and the ‘short fields.’ Now, funnily enough, they are proposing 20 events that look a lot like LIV.
“Hopefully, at some point they will all choke on their words. And hopefully, they will be held to account as we were in the early days."
Westwood mentioned scheduling as a driving force behind his decision, and he has his plan mapped out for the rest of 2022 and into 2023.
“I’m looking forward to playing the LIV event in Miami at the end of October then not having to tee-up again until February,” he said. “I’ll have four months off. At my age I can do some serious work in that time. I can get properly fit and come out leaner.
"I’ve just had a four-week break, three of those weeks I was on holiday. We have plans for later in the year and I’ll be able to spend more time with the family. It just gives me more options. Already I can say to people, ‘these are the 14 weeks I’m playing next year.’ And I can have some fun in the other 38.”
There has been animosity between some players over the switch to LIV, but Westwood says he has experienced no ill-feeling from his fellow pros on the DP World Tour.
“They have been asking questions mostly,” Westwood said. “They want to know what it is like at LIV.
"I think they all know how much I have supported the European Tour over the last 30 years. I doubt you’d find someone at my level who has supported it more. When I won in America in 1998, I stayed on the European Tour and turned down PGA Tour membership. When I won in 2010, I did the same. When I was World No. 1, I didn’t go to America; I stayed on the European Tour. I stayed and played through COVID. Not many others did that.
"I’ve always loved the European Tour. Over my career I’ve just dipped in and out of America.”
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