Henrik Stenson, stripped of his Ryder Cup captaincy for joining LIV, has spoken of the hypocrisy he sees surrounding much of the opposition to the Saudi-backed tour.

In an interview with Kevin Garside of inews.co.uk, the Swede talks of criticism in one direction whilst overlooking what is happening next door.

“Where do you draw the line?” he asks. “You have people shouting recently about Qatar, about workforce abuses, poor conditions, accidents that lead to death.

“You can’t scream and shout about that then go to Dubai, lie on a beach and think everything’s lovely.”

“It is the same workforce that built the hotels in Dubai. I lived there for 10 years. People get so targeted on one area they can’t see the bigger picture.”

Stenson doesn’t deny the accusations regarding the human rights argument, but says the detractors should widen their view.

“I am open to sensible discussions on these things. We all have different views, right? We are talking about executions. We have that in the US. Do we stop playing there? China executes more people than the rest of the world combined. Not once have I been questioned about that when I have played there. Yes, we acknowledge the overall picture is not perfect [in Saudi] but we believe we have an opportunity to bridge some gaps and influence in different ways.”

Garside accepts that there is the basis of a debate, but clears up the similarity between the stated nations:

“It is not only a question of scale but process and access to proper representation,” he writes. “In that respect, we are not comparing like with like when weighing the USA and Saudi.”

Stenson points out that nations taking aim at golfers are able to look away when it comes to other business:

“The investors and owners of this business are doing business all over the world, yet we are the ones being held to account in a way others are not. I don’t think that’s fair.”

There is little doubt that the distribution of prize-money on the PGA Tour has come via the threat of LIV, with enhanced purses being the key to retaining the top players.

Stenson is well-versed in the way other sports handles and distributes their revenue.

“In major league baseball there is agreement between players and the organisation that so much of revenue goes into prize funds,” he says. “There have been discussions about how that subject has been handled over the years in golf and the PGA Tour in particular. I think it could have been a more balanced set-up. And there is no question the PGA Tour has been picking up all the talent from all over the world and keeping it. Other parts of world has seen and felt that.”

He expands on the difference between missing a cut and not being unpaid, and fulfilling an agreement in which a player is valued:

“Just because you know you are going to get a pay cheque does not mean you are not going to perform. In other sports, you are on a contract. You get paid whether you play or not. In our sport until now, you basically had to perform to get paid.”

Stenson, winner of the 2009 Players and the 2016 Open Championship, refutes the allegation that 54-hole tournaments are of ‘less value’ than the traditional four-rounder.

Talking of his ‘home’ sport, cross-country skiing, he explains, “It went from the 50k grind to the stadium events, quicker finish. There is enough in the golf schedule for both.”

“Besides,” he continued. “They still rank tournaments with 54 holes elsewhere. I thought the system ranked irrespective of what tour you are on. We are still beating world-class players.”

Stenson, co-captain of the Majesticks team alongside former Ryder Cup stalwarts Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, was speaking at Mayakoba, the first of LIV’s 14 event schedule for 2023. He and his fellow teammates will next appear at LIV Golf Tucson, chasing their share of the $20 million purse, exactly matching that now offered by the PGA Tour for each of 10 of the 12 elevated events outside of the majors.

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