Davis Love III doesn’t seem to think LIV Golf has any intention of working with the PGA Tour.
On GOLF’s Subpar Podcast, Love told co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stolz he thinks LIV Golf made it a point to go up against events sponsored by longtime PGA Tour partners, such as John Deere and RBC.
“They targeted that early on,” Love said. “So I don’t think there was any way that they wanted to get along or that they wanted to sit down and partner with us.”
When Knost brought up the idea that LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman would have never wanted to partner with the Tour in the first place because of a “vendetta” he might have against the PGA Tour, Love agreed.
“You can hear it in what he says,” Love said. “They say we’re here to shake it up, to take over, to change golf.
“He says things that are so untrue. He gets up there and says, ‘We’re a closed shop’ a few weeks ago. No, I know three guys and what you’re offering them and they’re begging him to come. It’s not a closed shop. And then he tells — I could see — you’ve seen it in the text messages that are released with Sergio. But he tells players they can’t suspend you for one day, much less a year. That’s a lie.”
“Yea it’s totally not true,” Knost replied.
“Guys get suspended all the time,” Love said, finishing his thought.
All players who have teed it up on the Saudi-backed, upstart tour have been suspended by the PGA Tour. Love has been one of the more outspoken longtime pros in the battle of public opinion between the two leagues.
Love suggested that it didn’t have to be that way, bringing up how the majors, DP World Tour and PGA Tour all coexist.
“We’ve made it easier for European players to play our Tour, not harder, right?” Love said. “We’ve made it easier for international players to get on our Tour.
“So we’ve been agreeable and accessible on everything except people that come into the United States and want to play against our weeks on Tour.”
Check out the entire Subpar episode below as Love discusses money games at his home course, what LIV Golf lacks and more.
