Sir Nick Faldo shares his theory on why LIV golfers have ‘gone soft’

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Sir Nick Faldo is one of the most successful golfers to have ever played the game.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Sir Nick Faldo – a staunch traditionalist – is not a big fan of the LIV Golf setup.

Faldo was shocked when LIV poached Talor Gooch and Joaquin Niemann, after their impressive showings for a couple of years on the PGA Tour.

• READ MORE: He is the golfer who had the worst ever back nine in Masters history and shot 52 over for the tournament

The 67-year-old’s opinion is always well worth listening to, given the success that he achieved in the game.

The Englishman is a six-time major champion, with three Masters and three Open Championships to his name.

Faldo is tied 12th on the all-time list of most major wins, alongside Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson.

And judging by his latest comments, not many LIV golfers will leap-frog him in those standings, if any at all.

Sir Nick Faldo shares his theory on why LIV golfers have ‘gone soft’

During his heyday, Faldo’s style on the course was the epitome of what is now referred to as being ‘in the zone’.

When Sir Nick was in game-mode, his competitors wouldn’t get a single word out of him throughout the duration of the round.

If he was 20 years younger and in his prime now, there wouldn’t be a golfer less suited to playing on the LIV Golf tour than him.

Faldo’s success was built around hard work and an unparalleled drive to win.

And that’s what he thinks is missing from the players on LIV now.

Faldo was a guest on talkSPORT on Thursday, and aired his views on the Saudi-backed tour:

“Everything is about money, and I think the average person would say, ‘hang on a minute, you’re waltzing around the bloody field hitting a golf ball and it’s preposterous it’s out of hand‘.

“It’s not good sport, it’s bloody tough. I think when you’re on a fail free tour, you can’t fail. It makes you go soft, I think some of those players have gone soft.”

The 12 LIV players who will play at The Masters in 2025

12 LIV Golf members will tee it up at The Masters next week.

As former winners of The Masters, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, John Rahm, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson all have exemptions to play.

Meanwhile, Tyrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau qualify through being inside the top 50 in the official golf world rankings.

Brooks Koepke and Cameron Smith will be at Augusta due to their victories at the 2023 PGA Championship and the 2022 Open Championship respectively, and the subsequent exemptions they received as a result of those wins.

Meanwhile, Joaquin Niemann received a special invite from The Masters committee.

Whether any of those players will be able to succeed around Augusta National remains to be seen.

Judging by Sir Nick Faldo’s comments, none of the LIV golfers will have a chance at The Masters, or any other major championship for that matter.