DeChambeau departed the PGA Tour earlier in the summertime to be part of the upstart LIV Golf Invitational Series for a reported nine-figure deal, among the many highest profile flash factors within the contentious saga that has dominated this golf season.
Underscoring the gravity of LIV’s mounting menace, Tiger Woods — regardless of his absence from the BMW event area — traveled to Delaware on Tuesday to meet with high players and rally help for the PGA Tour.
The 15-time main champion has been outspoken concerning his loyalty to the PGA Tour, with Woods declining a suggestion of between $700 million and $800 million from LIV, the group’s CEO, Greg Norman, told Fox News in an interview this month.
“I’ve heard Tiger is the new commissioner [of the PGA Tour], right?” joked Cantlay, ranked No. 4 on the planet and seventh within the FedEx Cup standings. “That’s what everyone’s been saying. I’m going to the meeting [Tuesday night]. I’m going to listen to what it’s all about.”
A look on the BMW chief board final yr, when Cantlay and DeChambeau set a event report relative to par at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., reinforces the gravity of the feud.
Past main champions Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia, as an illustration, completed in a two-way tie for sixth final yr however aren’t enjoying this week, having misplaced their PGA Tour eligibility. Also absent is Abraham Ancer, who tied for ninth on the BMW in 2021.
All three defected to LIV, the Saudi Arabia-backed collection with ties to Mohammed bin Salman, the nation’s crown prince who, in accordance to U.S. intelligence officers, accepted the operation that led to the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
And so, regardless that nearly the entire high 70 players within the PGA Tour’s playoff factors race will probably be in Delaware this week, a number of of the game’s greatest recognized stars is not going to.
“One of the great things about the PGA Tour is the depth of the field,” mentioned Jon Rahm, the fifth-ranked participant on the planet who tied for ninth on the BMW Championship final yr. “So there’s always a hungrier future star that’s willing to put in the work and make themselves known. Lack of talent on the PGA Tour and the world of golf is not an issue.
“Again you might have lost some names, but you’re gaining some great golfers. … I don’t think we are essentially losing that much because, like I said, you’re just getting to know some great players that were there that you haven’t heard of before.”
Rahm, 27, has been candid as properly about his allegiance to the PGA Tour, with the 2021 U.S. Open winner indicating the potential to earn a whole lot of thousands and thousands with LIV wouldn’t be life-changing. His stance has been in stark distinction to that of one other of the sport’s youthful main champions, Cameron Smith.
The 28-year-old Australian, who received final month’s British Open on the iconic Old Course at St. Andrews, has been coy when requested about his dedication to the PGA Tour amid a report in the Telegraph that Smith intends to defect to LIV for a contract value $100 million.
The tour introduced Monday that Smith had withdrawn from the BMW due to “hip discomfort,” in accordance to an accompanying statement from his agent. Smith’s withdrawal got here two days after he incurred a two-stroke penalty on the St. Jude Championship, the primary of the FedEx Cup’s three playoff legs.
Smith, ranked second on the planet, is third within the FedEx Cup standings heading into the second spherical of the playoffs comprising 68 players.
“It’s no doubt fields out here have gotten weaker missing those guys,” Cantlay mentioned, in a departure from different PGA Tour luminaries. “That’s just one of the unfortunate circumstances that happens when you have somewhat of a fractured sport as far as the best players, where they’re playing, especially compared to all the consistency we’ve had in the past where pretty much every single one of the top players plays all these events.”
The BMW area sometimes consists of 70 players, after the highest 125 within the standings qualify for the opening occasion, however as well as to Smith withdrawing, Tommy Fleetwood just isn’t collaborating within the playoffs for private causes, the Englishman posted on Twitter.
There aren’t any alternates within the FedEx Cup playoffs, which culminate with the highest 30 within the standings competing at subsequent week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The winner of the FedEx Cup receives $18 million, a rise of $3 million from what Cantlay pocketed as final yr’s champion.
“It’s still an incredibly fantastic field,” mentioned reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked eleventh on the planet and twelfth within the FedEx Cup standings following a tie for fifth on the St. Jude. “The field this week is [68] of the best players in the world. Yeah, I think that only three of them that aren’t here. It’s not a massive loss in my opinion.”