‘I think it’s dead’: Lee Trevino opens up on LIV Golf, golf’s divide  

Lee Trevino, asked for his thoughts on golf’s split, warned viewers. 

He flexed his arms, too. 

“Let me tell you,” the six-time major winner said. “I’m gonna give you a statement. I probably should keep my mouth shut because — but you know me, I’m ready all the time.”

Trevino then opined. Speaking Thursday morning on Golf Channel during coverage of the Players Championship, he opened up on the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide that’s consumed men’s professional golf for nearly three years. 

His thoughts were many.

— On PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Trevino said he was impressed. 

“Let me tell you something about Monahan,” he started on Golf Channel. “What he’s gone through these last two years is unbelievable. And being an old military guy, a Marine guard, let me tell you, what he’s accomplished since these two years have gone by of all the fighting and going on, and it’s still not settled. But I’m going to tell you, I saw a different [Monahan] last night. I saw a guy that’s up, step was good. And I just want to tell you that if I need somebody to go in the foxhole with me, I’m going to take [Monahan] with me.”

— On golf’s “split the first time,” Trevino said he was glad resolution came. The “split the first time” was a reference to when the “Tournament Players Division” split from the PGA of America in 1968 and hired Joe Dey as its first commissioner, which, according to a PGA Tour release, is recognized as the moment when the modern-day PGA Tour formed. “And everything went back and forth, back and forth,” Trevino said. “and thank God, you know, they settled it.”

— On golf’s current split, Golf Channel announcer Mark Rolfing asked Trevino “how dangerous” it was, which led to Trevino’s aforementioned warning. 

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He then said golf “is in a hell of a position right now. It is great. Our attendance is up. Our ratings are up. The people are loving it. The players are playing faster.”

Trevino then said TV broadcasts were doing “a tremendous job.” “And hopefully, the guy in there that’s doing all this is listening to me,” he continued. “Instead of watching some guy leaning on his putter at the back of the green, he’s showing somebody else hit a shot because he has fans and a family also. And this is what I have seen. Now if we can just get the caddie and the player to make a decision a little bit quicker, we’ll even be better. And, we don’t wanna go to the clock. I’m sure of that.”

Trevino then ended the discussion with a thought on LIV Golf. 

“We’ve got — all these things that have come up,” he said. 

“Personally, just being the gate post coming from Mex, I think it’s dead. I think the other side is gone.”

Editor’s note: To watch Trevino’s complete interview on Golf Channel, please click here.