News

‘Entirely driven by money’ – R&A Chief rips LIV Golf

Published

4 years ago

Jul 13, 2022

On the eve of the final major of the year, R&A Chief Martin Slumbers has spoken out against the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf in an explosive presser.

Addressing the media on Wednesday morning, Slumbers stated that the breakaway tour is “not in the best interests of the sport” and “entirely driven by money.”

“I firmly believe that the existing golf ecosystem has successfully provided stable pathways for golfers to enter the sport and develop and realise their full potential.” said Slumbers.“Professional golfers are entitled to choose where they want to play and to accept the prize money that’s offered to them. I have absolutely with that at all.

“But there is no such thing as a free lunch. I believe the model that we’ve seen at Centurion and Pumpkin Ridge is not in the best long-term interests of the sport as a whole and is entirely driven by money. We believe it undermines the merit-based culture and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.”

The R&A Chief continued saying:

“I would also like to say that, in my opinion, the continued commentary that this is about ‘growing the game’ is just not credible and, if anything, is harming the perception of our sport, which we are working so hard to improve.

We believe the game needs to focus on increasing participation, achieving greater diversity and making sure that golf is truly open to all rather than this narrow debate involving a small number of players.”

Slumbers also stated that there is currently no intention to prevent LIV pros from competing at future Opens but hinted that they reserve the right to change the exemption and qualification rules.

“Looking ahead to The Open next year, we have been asked quite frequently about banning players. Let me be very clear. That’s not on our agenda. But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for The Open.

We will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for the Open. We absolutely reserve the right to make changes.”

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8 Comments

geohogan

Jul 14, 2022 at 8:31 pm

Liv pays for signing up, showing up…period.. NO CUT..
Essentially “participation trophies” …

R&A Chief, Martin was being polite(politically correct)
Essentially he said, “a whore is a whore.”

Reply Report comment
Bob

Jul 13, 2022 at 11:39 pm

Only gold and silver are money.

Fiat currency printed from nothing is not money.

Reply Report comment
BD57

Jul 13, 2022 at 7:16 pm

I have NO problem with that criticism.

LIV is essentially bringing a “professional sports” model to golf (guys have guaranteed contracts, they play the games scheduled by the league, there’s additional money for winning championships, etc.)

Granted, LIV pays a LOT more money for “winning” than guys in MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA get.

In the golf world, LIV is more akin to “exhibitions” than “golf tournaments / championships.”

It’s the “morality preening” by people who have no problem with tours playing events in Saudi (or the ‘not LIV’ tours playing events in Saudi), who have no problem with events in China (or taking Chinese money). If they don’t like human rights abusers, they ought to be after the PGA / DP Euro / LPGA tours for having anything whatsoever to do with China . . . .

but they don’t.

Reply Report comment
- geohogan
  
  Jul 14, 2022 at 8:27 pm
  
  Liv pays for signing up, showing up…period.. NO CUT..
  Essentially “participation trophies” …
  
  R&A Chief, Martin was being polite(politically correct)
  Essentially he said, “a whore is a whore.”
  
  Reply Report comment
M’Balz is-Hari

Jul 13, 2022 at 10:48 am

Martin must hate the world. The world is driven by money. People work to obtain money legally and illegally. Some are gifted it, some steal it, some earn it. All these silver spoon jags keep arguing. These people have never had trouble paying a cell phone bill, utilities, a mortgage, or struggled to put food on a table. I’m just making a comparison as who knows the debt a typical professional golfer has compared to an average citizen. I’m sure the guys who jumped to LIV saw a smoother path financially for them and they’re families. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and let’s not get into the blood money BS. It’s no different than getting dollars from China. Money is not the sole root to happiness, but if you don’t have it it’s sure a root to unhappiness. Enough is enough. All a bunch of whining silver spoon lickers.

Reply Report comment
- Tom Kay
  
  Jul 13, 2022 at 2:51 pm
  
  Amen
  
  Reply Report comment
- Chuck
  
  Jul 13, 2022 at 4:20 pm
  
  Good. You’ve made your case; now I’ll make mine.
  
  There’s absolutely nothing about the LIV Tour that represents anything like, hardscrabble work or a meritocracy or anything about growing the game of golf.
  
  LIV is an invitation-only publicity stunt. Offering massive guaranteed money to a handful of guys who are golf stars entirely due to their now-fading careers on the PGA Tour. It’s exploiting the old credibility that they soaked up from years on the tours, and in USGA events, and in R&A events.
  
  The “silver spoon jags” you ridicule — the PGA Tour, the USGA, the R&A — they have done about a hundred billion times more to preserve the game, organize the game, and GROW THE GAME. The USGA and the R&A do the thankless work of maintaining the Rules of Golf and the technical rules on equipment. And conducting national and international championships. To a great extent, even the PGA Tour has been a free-rider. But by any reasonable accounting, the undisputed champion free rider of this moment is the LIV Tour.
  
  And as I have been cautioning for several weeks now; we have been in the most mild phase of the LIV debate so far. It’s going to go nuclear, and soon. As soon as the LIV Tour goes where the PGA of America and the PGA Tour and the R&A wisely declined to go; to Trump golf properties. The media circus associated with Trump venues is about to begin. And none of us should forget that the media circus is what the ruling bodies chose to avoid (for the good of the game) and what the LIV Tour chose to engage in (for the corrupt/Trump/Saudi interests).
  
  You have no idea, how much I want this fight. Your post epitomized everything that I want to take on, in the most forceful and direct way possible.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Joe
  
  Jul 13, 2022 at 5:48 pm
  
  MBS is that you?
  
  Reply Report comment

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Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase