LIV Defectors to Make All PGA Tour Players Even Richer

Maybe we have been looking at this LIV golf thing through the wrong lens.

In reality, the LIV defectors are doing PGA Tour players a favor.  They are making the PGA Tour golfers even richer in two ways.

First, the money that used to go to LIV guys now goes to those who stayed with the PGA Tour. And it’s nothing to sneeze at.

Just counting the money earned by Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson in 2021 and 2022, it’s $21,086,449.

$21 bleeping million.  In 2023, that cash will get deposited in the bank accounts of other players.  Who wouldn’t want some of that?

Maybe the guys who remain with the PGA Tour should stop worrying about the LIVers and start sending them plane tickets and new suitcases and notes that say, “Thank you very much for contributing to my bank account. It’s OK if you don’t come back.”  Then a nice smiley face and a PGA Tour logo and a couple of dollar signs.

And afterward, PGA Tour players can throw themselves a big party because they will all be making more money without losing their standing or their reputations.

PGA members set to benefit greatly because of LIV Golf defectors

And it’s not just the $21 million. It’s the money that every LIV Golf defector would have earned had he stayed on the PGA Tour.

Money that would have gone to the pockets of Kevin Na, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, and Phil Mickelson.

What’s even better for PGA Tour players is that next season, there’s more for them because many of the purses are going up, again.

It’s a sad day to say that Mickelson was right about how this was going to improve things for the rest of the Tour, but it is. Look at what happens next year:

The Sentry Tournament of Champions will be $15 million, up from $8.5 million.

The Genesis Invitational goes to $20 million, up from $12 million.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational was upped to $20 million, also from $12 million.

The WGC – Dell Technologies Match Play will be $20 million instead of $12 million.

The Memorial Tournament equals the Arnold Palmer and is going to be $20 million, up from $12 million.

The first tournament in the Playoffs, The FedEx St. Jude will increase to $20 million from $15 million as will the second Playoff event, the BMW Championship.

That’s nearly $50 million more to play for next year in just those seven events.  Somebody is going to win it.

When that $50 million is added to even this year’s money at the Players Championship and the Tour Championship/ FedEx Cup winner’s prize, it’s almost $90 million more available in 2023.

The $90 million doesn’t even count the FedEx bonus pool money for 2023 which is to be determined.  And it doesn’t count the anticipated increases in the Players Championship and the Tour Championship/ FedEx Cup Champion winner’s check which have not been announced for next year.

This year alone, the FedEx bonus pool is $75 million and the Tour Championship/ FedEx Cup winner’s prize has been raised from $15 million to $18 million.

Looking at the entire season, in 2022 alone the total prize money was increased from $367 million to $427 million, and we have just calculated that 2023 will be at least $90 million more.

So, maybe it’s time to just let LIV live, so to speak.  Those who went away can stay there in their oblivion, playing their exhibitions.

The golfers who stay and play in real tournaments to win real championships have actually been made richer for it.  Unfortunately, the PGA Tour will be stuck with a lawsuit, but even that will eventually get cleaned up.

They say in golf every shot makes somebody happy. And that may turn out to be the case with LIV. So, hopefully, Greg Norman rides off into the sunset and never darkens our shores again, and the PGA Tour players make even more.