2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark confirmed he had been in discussions with LIV Golf during the winter about moving to the 54-hole league but ultimately decided his legacy as a player on the PGA Tour was more important.
Ahead of its third season in operation, CEO Greg Norman revealed LIV would be attempting to further strengthen its increasingly-talented field with a handful more of the PGA Tour's top names. But, previously linked with a potential move to LIV around the time of the League's inception, Justin Thomas felt it hadn't "gotten anywhere close" to the level of signings first projected.
The Saudi-funded circuit succeeded with the likes of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Adrian Meronk between December 2023 and January 2024, but it failed to bring Clark and a handful of others over before the opening event in Mexico.
As it turned out, Clark's decision to stay put was a good one as he claimed a second outright PGA Tour title at the shortened Pebble Beach Pro-Am ahead of Ryder Cup rival, Ludvig Aberg at the same time as Joaquin Niemann's individual success at LIV Golf Mayakoba.
Before the final round was postponed, Clark explained his reasons for turning down LIV over the winter. Asked if there was any truth to the rumors he had sat down with the PIF-backed League, Clark said: "Yeah, there’s definitely some truth. I definitely met with LIV and went through those discussions. I wanted to see what they could bring to the table.
"I ultimately declined going to LIV because I felt like I still have a lot of things left in the tank on the PGA Tour and I wanted to chase records, I wanted to chase world ranking. My dream is to try to be one of the top players in the world, if not the top player.
"I just grew up always imagining winning PGA Tour events. So, ultimately, I chose my legacy over LIV, and that’s really what it came down to. You know, I don’t know what the future holds with my career and what the PGA Tour and LIV is going to do, but at least for this season I am 100% set on the PGA Tour, and I want to try to get to as high in the world as I possibly can."
Clark's revelation - and choice over where to play his golf - arrives days after the PGA Tour confirmed it had welcomed a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group, a deal which may also lead to further backing from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in the long run.
With a potentially brighter future ahead for those who remained on America's long-standing tour, Clark went on to thank the key players on the PGA Tour board - which includes Tiger Woods - for their input into shaping a new look circuit for US-based pro golfers.
Speaking about the process he went through before opting to stick with the PGA Tour, Clark said: "I did my due diligence. I felt like if I was going to make a life-changing decision, I wanted to make sure I did all the right things and call the right people, get the right information, understand what both tours are doing, what I should do, et cetera.
"I honestly have to give a huge hats off to Adam Scott, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth because they have put so much effort -- and Tiger Woods, sorry, and Tiger Woods, please put that in there. They put so much effort in making sure that the PGA Tour is going to make the right moves to continue to try to be the best tour. And they also really gave me some great advice and some counsel.
"I didn’t want them to sway me in a certain way, but I definitely wanted their counsel and I just wanted to honor them and the amount of time and work and effort they have put into this agreement now with SSG and where the Tour is going.
"I sought a lot of counsel. I asked guys on both sides. I feel like that’s the right thing to do. Ultimately, it came down to talking with close people in my camp and my team of what we should do, and we decided to stay on the PGA Tour."
