ESPN.com
June 24, 2022
If there was any doubt about the venom brewing between the PGA Tour and the rival LIV Golf Invitational Series, the latest salvo was delivered by the breakaway circuit on Wednesday.
Just as PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was unveiling increased purses, a revamped schedule and dramatic changes to the FedEx Cup Playoffs, LIV Golf sent a news release confirming that four-time major champion Brooks Koepka had defected to the new circuit being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“As I also said to the players [on Tuesday], let me be clear: I am not naive,” Monahan said during a news conference at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. “If this is an arms race and if the only weapons here are dollar bills, the PGA Tour can’t compete. The PGA Tour, an American institution, can’t compete with a foreign monarchy that is spending billions of dollars in an attempt to buy the game of golf.