Davis Love III has a proposition to solve the divide that the LIV Golf Invitational Series has caused.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, the World Golf Hall of Famer and captain of the US Presidents Cup team expressed frustration over how LIV is plucking players from the PGA Tour and disrupting the sport. So he suggested that he could see a scenario where players boycott a major championship to motivate golf’s governing bodies to ban LIV players from competing in them.
“Well, here’s the biggest lever; and it’s not the nice lever,” Love told Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated. “But if a group of veterans and a group of top current players align with 150 guys on the Tour, and we say, “Guess what? We’re not playing,’ that solves it, right? If LIV guys play in the US Open, we’re not playing. If they sue in court, and they win, well, we’re not playing. You know, there won’t be a US Open. It’s just like a baseball strike.”
The PGA Tour has issued indefinite suspensions to players who are participating in LIV, which in turn has made them ineligible to participate in this year’s Presidents Cup, which is run by the PGA Tour. It also hinders their ability to play in the Ryder Cup, since players need to earn qualifications through Tour events and be a PGA of America member.
While the PGA Championship, US Open and the British Open have all acknowledged the headache LIV Golf has caused, these major championships still allowed qualified players to play in their tournaments this year.
Back in April, Masters chairman Fred Ridley said Phil Mickelson was not prohibited from playing as a past champion despite the fact that the six-time major championship winner was clearly headed toward signing with LIV. Love said he exchanged several messages with Mickelson, who was ultimately one of the first players to go.
Love has tried to convince players they could be making a long-term mistake and has asked if they are comfortable with never playing in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup again.
“Some of them understood it,” Love said. “Some of them think they are going to court or whatever and are going to prevail, and they’re gonna get to come back. What they don’t seem to understand is that players make the rules. So we can strengthen the rules rather than loosening the rules, right?”
With the deadline to make his captain’s selections for the US President Cup team just a few weeks away, Love has to recognize that players for both teams could potentially leave prior to then and after the FedEx Cup playoffs. LIV is scheduled for two events in September before the Presidents Cup.
This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission
.