Rickie Fowler, Matthew Wolff Among Latest Names to Join LIV Golf

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Rickie Fowler Bryson DeChambeau
Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau on the 16th tee during the second round of the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on Aug 7, 2020 in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Ezra Shaw via Getty Images)

The next wave of signings for Greg Norman’s upstart golf tour includes Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff. The two stars have struggled as of late but would still be a massive coup for LIV Golf.

A five-time PGA Tour winner, Fowler, still just 33, was basically the face of the PGA Tour for a decade and a constant presence in the world top 10.

Wolff, 23, won in just his third start on the PGA Tour and made it all the way to world No. 12 in his rookie season, following back-to-back top-5 finishes in his first two majors.

Three-time PGA Tour winner Jason Kokrak is also expected to bolt from the dictatorial regime of Jay Monahan.

To those worried about the fracturing of pro golf:

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35 COMMENTS

  1. Jeff

    Are you going to just ignore the fact that these Saudi’s who are cutting checks are the same ones who funded the Twin Tower Atttacks?

    Oh yeah, they are just golfers. They are all Greedy MFers

    • Are you just going to ignore the fact that Comcast makes billions from the Chinese Communist Party – America’s geopolitical enemy – who make the Saudis look like amateurs when it comes to human rights abuse. Not to mention the PGA Tour who runs the PGA China tour and the WGC-HSBC CHina Championship. Or the LPGA and Euro Tour which changed its name to the DP World Tour – owned and funded 100% by Dubai UAE – a country where being gay is illegal. I could go on and on. From F1 Racing to English Soccer to basically every Hollywood movie and every iphone. Etc.

      Spare us the virtue signaling.
      -Jeff

      • ?? THANK YOU … for this. The moral compass reaching going on of late with every member leaving is laughable. If you look hard enough you can find suspect and very questionable “stuff” with all governments across the world.
        • stop kidding american is innocent as lots of people think!
          let player dicide what to do with his club! I think it is not right to pay tiger wood ridiculous amount of money in 2022 .
  2. Comcast goal is to make billions so we know why they are in China. What is Liv Golf goal? No TV Contract, no sponsors, massive signing bonuses dozens of golfers and huge prize money. Is there goal lo lose billions or do they have their motives
  3. I’d rather see the Saudi Money from all our petrol purchases in the West go to some of our golfers than the Saudi Arabians keeping it all. Either stop buying petrol or make some money from them. Don’t all our Western companies do business selling software etc… to Saudi Arabians? I have shares in all the top 1500 World Companies so do most Americans in their 401k so it’s a bit hypocritical to say don’t earn money from selling something to the Saudi Arabians.
  4. Let’s face it progressives just hate old white men and they see golf as a sport of old white men, that’s why the only white man progressives could stomach leading them is a complete weak idiot.
  5. Why can’t both tours co-exist? One injury could end a career. I can’t blame the players for taking the money. If the bank safe was open to all comers, who’s gonna take just the $1’s & $5’s?.
  6. These arguments against the Saudi’s are the inanest I have every heard……………..
    We are in a world war with the CCP and the American people literally have no clue………. While at the same time our athletes, sports teams and leagues happily paint the freaking China Nike swoosh on everything they can………Please………………..
  7. The PGA is trying to be a bunch of elitists. The guys deserve to make as much as they want,. To ban them from PGA events of total garbage. Monopolies are never good, whether in sports or business. The PGA needs to stop thinking they have the only venue for golfers to succeed. Pure garbage.
  8. At Signing the US Pro’s should include an unlimited $40 set US barrel price for each year they are LIV tour members. This would get americans excited about this tour.
  9. Who in hell wants to watch a washed up Mickelson, a washed up Fowler, a confused Wolfe and a dozen other can’t win against real golf competition duffers? Not me. What’s their incentive to practice and play well when they’re guaranteed millions, win or lose? No thank you, I’ll stay with the PGA where there’s real competition.
  10. stop kidding american is innocent as lots of people think!
    let player dicide what to do with his club! I think it is not right to pay tiger wood ridiculous amount of money in 2022 .
  11. Mixing apples and oranges. Companies doing business overseas are not assisting countries with human rights violations burnishing their reputations, aka sports washing. They are employing Americans and bettering our economy. These guys are out for themselves with no benefit to anyone else. They are leaving a tour that does enormous charitable activities in the cities they play in. No one tried to stop players playing in Saudi in individual events, but this is wholesale attack on the PGA tour. Monopoly? If that was the case, there would not be any Liv tour. These guys are totally free to go and play and disgrace themselves in the process.
    • Laughable spin that doesn’t even make sense.

      So, when Apple does business with China, you think they are “employing Americans and bettering our economy?”

      And you may want to look up the definition of a monopoly. Because if you think the LIV Golf tour could have launched in a traditional way by signing up sponsors, players and TV networks, you are delusional. The only way to take on a monopoly is by finding an underwriter with unlimited funds who can afford years of losses, and by flooding the zone with cash.

      -JS

  12. Mickelson and others should remind their critics that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is financially supportive of, and has stakes in, Citigroup, Facebook, Disney, Boeing, Uber, BOA, Cisco and many others. Should we stop flying on Airlines that use Boeing Aircraft? Or not use Uber to get us to the airport. Better yet protest at Disney Park and certainly do not buy any products thru the Facebook Marketplace. And of course close any accounts you have at BOA or Citibank. If you don’t do any of these things and keep piling on to Mickelson then you are nothing but an extreme hypocrite. The fact is that the critics are totally ignorant of the facts and are listening only to the media that is in consort with the PGA, stoking this ill conceived controversy. A controversy born out of a fear of competition from the LIV tournament by the PGA which could result in a loss of revenue to the media and its commentators.
  13. I find it interesting that we’re quick to point out examples of “everyone else” being in bed with China or the Saudis or pick your favorite human rights violating regime, so that makes it OK. What’s missing is how we’ve just accepted it as the way things are. Not how horrific it is that these countries can buy or take (see Russia and Ukraine) whatever they want, or close to it. Only when we can’t get what we want online or in the store, or when the prices are so high we can’t afford it, only then would we consider (and usually just consider) DOING something meaningful about it. Yes, I’m included. And yes, the USA has it’s own problems and issues, but it’s still be greatest country in the world. Not because it’s a dictatorship either. But we’re the frog in the pot of lukewarm water that’s slowly getting hotter by the day and we’re too fat, dumb and happy to notice. When we do it will likely be too late. I love golf and I believe the sport is strong enough to withstand all the drama between the PGA, LIV and whatever comes next. But it’s still just a game and we have far bigger issues to overcome, but first we have to re-learn how to have meaningful dialogue that results in meaningful action.
  14. gee you guys miss the point. Sure, all govts are suspect on various issues. But its like being an accountant… you can work for a firm and be a member of the association… a bit different than ‘choosing’ to be an accountant for the mafia and getting paid 10 times more.. this is the saudi govt buying a sport. thats a personal decision. but dont’ justify that choice cuz we are all impacted by saudi impact on other areas.. gee every single person in north america is indirectly impacted by the mafia.. goods, ports, trucking, etc.. are all well known to be mafioso areas.. does that make it ok to join the mafia? thats my point..
  15. I would like to think if I were worth over a $100mm, I wouldn’t try to destroy the institution that gave me the opportunity to build my wealth from playing a sport I love, garners adulation and praise from fans young and old, and raise money for 100’s of charities. Unfortunately, the LIV tour, and the money being offered, appeals to the poorest of man’s desires of greed without regards to tradition, integrity and the impact on others. One of the great characteristics of golf (use to be) it was different than other sports, a gentleman’s game played by men with high moral character and great sportsmanship. The discussion on LIV just happens to be the latest in the sports world. Criticism isn’t hypocrisy if you see the NBA behaving the same way in their dealings with China. They’re all capitalizing on partnerships with inhumane countries and dictators for the sake of what? Who has the most money? Ego? People around the world are suffering from a global financial, energy and food crises and supporters are giving lip service to golfers making 10’s of millions of dollars while hard working men and women can only dream of making a small % of one tournament’s winnings in a lifetime.
    If the defectors continue, the PGA tournaments will lose star power, which in turn will lose sponsorships that will result in the curtailing of tournaments that support local charities. This is a pure selfish money grab. The NFL, NBA, MLB are all “monopolies” that give the participants an exorbitant amount of money and opportunities to accumulate vast wealth that they could otherwise never make. It’s the elephant in the room and these guys ought to feel damn lucky and show more appreciation for the people that paved the way and gave them the opportunity instead of following a bitter, self absorbed, narcissistic like Greg Norman who wants to remake golf in his own image. He was shunned by the greats, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus and lost his best friend Nick Price when he tried this in 1994. Now he has a partner with a regime with deep pockets and known for supporting terrorist activities that have cost American lives.
    Individuals can always choose to be better. Why use our government or businesses as your moral compass? Be better, have courage, stand for a higher principle than “it’s all about me” and stop hiding behind “we’re growing the game”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Integrity still means something.
  16. This comment is one of the only ones that is on target. I’m 77 and love golf for what it is and has been…a game that is and can be played by ANYONE with the gear, entrance fee and a love of the game and friends to enjoy it with ! Let us not have golf go in the toilet like the direction of rest of this world .
    Let the players who ran for the huge sums of money be well and how much $$ do they really need ? It’s called never satisfied !
  17. Growing the game? I thought women played pro golf? But women are treated like slaves in Saudi Arabia. Can’t see Nelly Korda covering her hair and hitting it 300 yards.
    Growing the game? Yeah, right. Why would you play in an organization when Phil has called them a bunch of scar MFs. You know and I know. Plain a simple, greed. Go, please go. I don’t wish you well and now have lost all respect for you.
  18. I’m waiting for the Saudi League to offer me a contract and signing bonus to become a dedicated LIV tour supporter. I’d be willing to travel with the league every week to be a crowd participant and tour volunteer. I will work the events, stock the private jets, handle baggage and shuttle players as needed. I’m thinking a 5-year contract is worth $25,000,000 with a $5,000,000 signing bonus. I’m There!

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