The professionals who made the trip to Cromwell, Connecticut met with Commissioner Jay Monahan for a 90 minute meeting to discuss the additional events being added to the PGA Tour scheduled.  

Apparently prompted by the additional defections to the LIV Golf Tour Commissioner Monahan will never give credit to LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman for the addition of 4 big money events exclusive to the top-50 players for the upcoming PGA Tour season.  

But the announcement at today’s players meeting is directed at stemming the exodus of players from his membership to the rival league. 

Even if these events were in the works previously it can be reasoned that the timeline for released was moved up after the announcement that 4-time major champion Brooks Koepka is making the jump to LIV Golf.  His brother Chase competed in the London LIV event, and pocketed $146,00 for his 10-over-par 33rd place finish. 

The Koepka duo will compete in the first LIV event on U.S. soil later this month in Oregon.   

The format of the LIV Golf events fits Brooks’ psyche regarding events to a tee.  He is unable to get motivated to play week to week, so the format of LIV fits that perfectly.  The big money aspect of it being the payout of a major championship for each event is the added incentive Brooks may need to be sharp for 54 holes. 

So, now that they’re on the same team, per se, who’s ready for the Brooks-Bryson pairing at the next LIV event?

I’ll have to admit that I would tune in for that.

LIV Golf succeeded by not turning into a clown show which the PGA Tour hoped it would devolve into. 

One can surmise that’s the reason the new PGA Tour events were introduced to the membership to stop the bleed of players. 

Abraham Ancer, and Pat Perez were also recently announced as heading to the LIV golf Tour. 

Ancer is a top-20 player, and is another big fish that LIV Golf has hooked.  Perez is a fan favorite but well outside of the intended top-50 talent LIV Golf is targeting.

Rory is not heading to LIV Golf but continues to voice is disgust for those who have jumped ship for the rival league. 

The PGA Tour board member called the league “dead” several months ago when he assumed no top players would be going.  He then waxed poetic about the legacy of remaining on the PGA Tour, and the importance of not playing golf solely for money though he’s made $65 million career in PGA Earnings. 

Now he’s saying he was lied to by those who chose to leave.   

I get it, he’s a lover scorned, and it’s well within his rights to feel betrayed by those who chose the money grab who gave vocal support for the PGA Tour.  

Dustin Johnson pledged his fealty to the PGA Tour before defecting. 

Bryson said he wanted to play with the best in the world and stay on the PGA Tour, then left.

So I’m slighlty in Rory camp in don’t go back on your word. The other part of his rationalle regarding legacy is what’s confusing.

I’m assuming Rory is comparing the legacy of playing in Major Championship when he says legacy, but the LIV Golf Tour isn’t attempting to compete with the US Opens of the world.  It wants to compete with the Travelers Championships, and John Deere Classics of the PGA Tour calendar.   

That said the PGA tour is going to need a bump from the remaining top players at the lower tier events to what will be seen by the casual golf fan as an alternate field week when up against a LIV Golf event.  

Rory may have embraced this in the immediate with his attendance this week at the Travelers Championship. This will be his 4th time competing in the TPC River highlands event.  

But will Rory turn into a weekly warrior on the PGA Tour for the sake of providing a big name at events on LIV weekends?  More to come.