Martin Kaymer has revealed what he asked some of the players who were critical of LIV Golf while he was at the PGA Championship at Valhalla last month.
Martin Kaymer was one of the players to defect to LIV Golf back in 2022 after 15 years playing on the European Tour and PGA Tour.
Of course, the formation of LIV Golf is likely to go down as one of the defining moments in the game’s history, with the tour starting a civil war within the sport which continues to this day.
The last couple of years have seen plenty of stances change, with players previously critical of LIV subsequently making the jump. But some clearly remain adamant that they are much happier staying on the PGA Tour.
Martin Kaymer shares what critical players said about LIV Golf at PGA Championship
Speaking to Golf Channel, Kaymer was asked about the criticism he has received since joining LIV, and he suggested that some players are unwilling to give the breakaway tour a fair chance.
“The beginning obviously was quite tricky, it was very difficult, not only for myself, but for my family and for friends as well,” he said.
“But in general, I had a few conversations with a few players and people who are involved in golf at the PGA Championship, and some of the guys, they told me they don’t like it, and I asked them have you ever watched it or have you been to one of the events, and they said no. And I said, well how can you not like it if you have never seen it. And it’s not about pro or con, it’s about if you give me your opinion, it has to be based on something, regardless of where you play.”
LIV has some positives, but it’s impossible to ignore the negatives
There is definitely a legitimate reason to criticise LIV, with the tour owned by PIF. But the PGA Tour, as an organisation, has lost much of the moral high ground after striking a framework agreement with PIF last year.
Ultimately, Saudi involvement in golf is going nowhere, it seems.
The format itself is going attract plenty of fans, and there are certainly aspects of the product that the rest of the professional game would be wise to take inspiration from – even down to just letting players wear shorts during competitive rounds.
Players such as Kaymer going to LIV made sense as it had been some time since he had been a top player, so they had every reason to want the payday.
But you do have to respect those who would have had lucrative offers to join LIV but instead decided to turn down the opportunity to make the jump.
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