While The Showdown was essentially an exhibition, it would be slightly naive to pretend that supporters of either the PGA Tour or LIV Golf would not view a victory in the event as a statement regarding which tour is superior.
As it happens, it was Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy who won The Showdown in relatively comfortable fashion at Shadow Creek. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka failed to win a single session during the contest.
Perhaps it should have come as no surprise given that LIV Golf‘s most recent event was in September, while both McIlroy and Scheffler have won since then. But the duo of DeChambeau and Koepka have come in for criticism.
Of course, they may be used to that by now, with LIV Golf players facing a lot of backlash since the league started up in 2022. They have largely been held responsible for the civil war which began in the sport.
Charles Barkley speaks out in defence of LIV Golf players
But speaking during the coverage of The Showdown, Charles Barkley came to the defence of those who made the jump to LIV Golf.
“I just don’t think it’s fair. I think the LIV guys have gotten a bad rap. There is nothing wrong with taking the money but they need to merge,” he said.
“There is some stuff going on behind the scenes that is not right and not fair to the LIV guys and also the guys between 100 and 125 on Tour are going to get screwed too. That’s only going to have the best players and the richest guys. So don’t get mad at the guys for taking the money, do the right thing for the game. I can say what I want to as I am not worried about getting fired.”
How the PGA Tour threw away their position as the good guys in golf’s civil war
Barkley’s comments really do provide a reminder of how the PGA Tour threw away the moral high ground having received a lot of support when LIV Golf first came about.
Certainly, you could accuse the PGA Tour of complacency in the years before LIV emerged onto the scene. They must not have even considered that a rival could potentially come along and harm them.
And there seemed to be no doubt who the good guys were when many of the players who initially jumped to LIV seemed to squirm when asked legitimate questions about those in charge of the league. There would have been a lot more respect had those players just admitted how important the money was in convincing them to make the move.
However, the framework agreement saw the PGA Tour and the PIF announce an intention to work together. And with that, many rightly felt betrayed by the PGA Tour, particularly those who snubbed offers to join LIV.
The entire situation has become a mess. Clearly, some feel that the LIV players have been vindicated, while the PGA Tour once again took their players’ loyalty for granted.
So it is hardly surprising that many watch an event like The Showdown and wish that they could forget about the politics within the sport and just watch the best players in the world face off on a consistent basis.
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