LIV golf star Henrik Stenson conceded that money was "absolutely" a factor in jumping ship to LIV Golf. Several players made the switch to the controversial circuit but the Swede’s move was one of the most contentious given his ties to the Ryder Cup.
He was due to captain the Team Europe in 2023 in Rome but following his decision, he was stripped of the honour. Some criticised Stenson for going after the lucrative offer from the Saudi-backed league that Greg Norman described as offering players 'free agency'. This was corroborated by the 46-year-old’s as he spoke to the reporters ahead of his LIV debut this weekend.
“I've been a golf professional since very late 1998 and purse sizes, prize money on offer, financial part's always been a part of where we made up our schedules and where we are going to play," he answered. “It's been a part of it, absolutely. It was no different in this case.”
Despite being stripped of the captaincy, the 2016 Open champion appears to have no regrets over his move. “I don't feel like I've given it up,” he explained. “I made every arrangement possible here to be able to fulfil my captain's duties, and I've had great help here from LIV to be able to do that.
“And still the decision was made that I was to be removed. I'm obviously disappointed over the situation but it is what it is and we move on from there now. We had discussions and I informed them of the decision to go and play in LIV tournaments.
“They had a short period of time where they were kind of discussing or debating if what was going to happen. I was informed of their decision shortly after.” Stenson, however, said he hoped for a 'quick solution' before the rift between the sport's top players and tournament organisers widened.
“I obviously feel like it's a shame that we ended up in this situation,” he added. “I just hope that we can get a resolution as soon as possible for all tours and everyone involved, and we can all kind of co-exist together."
“All the players love The Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, it's just a shame we ended up in this situation.” Reports suggest that former world number one Luke Donald is set to be named Europe’s new Ryder Cup captain next week.
And on the Englishman's impending appointment, Stenson added: “That’s news to me… I don’t feel like I should comment on that until that’s official.”
