The PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf battle has officially moved to the court of public opinion, and some of those on the side of the upstart tour are engaged in an all-out blitzkrieg.
While Tour loyalists are staunchly against the splintering of pro golf, LIV supporters have been embracing a shakeup.
Robert Garrigus, the first Tour pro to request a release to play in the Saudi-backed series, made a recent appearance on The Grind podcast, and he was not shy about voicing his feelings on the tour wars. Although Garrigus never actually teed it up in any LIV events, he clearly empathizes with the breakaway league.
Garrigus, who won once on the PGA Tour, in 2010, and who was suspended by the Tour for three months in 2019 after testing positive for marijuana, said he took particular issue with the way the DP World Tour has treated LIV golfers in their recent events. Adrian Otaegui, who has played in several LIV events, won last week’s Andalucia Masters in runaway fashion. But in Garrigus’ eyes, Otaegui suffered injustices in terms of how his performance was publicized.
“[Otaegui] played the first three events on LIV and they were f*****g him the first three days when he was breaking scoring records and they weren’t even saying anything about him,” Garrigus said. “Finally, he won and they had to say something because it was his home country — they’re being so petty about this which is just bulls**t.”
Garrigus explained that he believes the DP World Tour shouldn’t be picking sides when it comes to the PGA Tour vs. LIV. (The PGA Tour has a “strategic alliance with the DP World Tour.) In his eyes, the squabble doesn’t concern them.
“It’s not their fight,” he said. “This is a PGA Tour player, DP World Tour guys — this is our deal and they’re making it about them, not us, and it’s really frustrating because there’s no reason the LIV guys shouldn’t be getting that publicity. There’s no reason why the DP World Tour guys who’ve played on LIV shouldn’t be getting that publicity.”
Golf might be a game built on decorum and respect, but this fight is shucking those norms. Just two weeks ago, LIV CEO Greg Norman called on golf’s stakeholders to “grow up” and give his tour world ranking points. Garrigus followed suit in his podcast appearance as he took also aim at those across the aisle, including Billy Horschel, who has been among the PGA Tour’s more vocal backers.
“He won’t shut the f**k up, and I can’t stand it,” Garrigus said. “I can’t stand guys getting on TV and interviews saying all this stuff about the LIV guys, but when they get on the driving range they ain’t going to say s**t to them.”
