PGA Tour veteran Chesson Hadley believes that his loyalty in remaining with the organization over a switch to LIV Golf should result in compensation. After news of their stunning merger broke earlier this week, shockwaves were sent through the golf community and beyond.
Hadley, 35, has spent ten years on the PGA Tour, with one win on his resume at the Puerto Rico Open in 2014. The American held off New Zealand's Danny Lee by two strokes, taking home his first, and only, PGA Tour win.
Despite his reputation as a journeyman on Tour, Hadley thinks that his loyalty to the organization should be taken into consideration - especially after top players like Rory McIlroy have echoed the same reasoning.
During press availability at this week's Canadian Open, golfers were asked about the new deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf - a deal that shocked the pros, leaving them in the dark regarding details around the merger. However, Hadley has his questions for the media regarding rewards for loyal players of the PGA.
“Is it true that Jay [Monahan, PGA Commissioner] said he's going to reward those who stayed loyal to the Tour? Did he say that?" world no. 297 Hadley asked the press.
“I think he said that about Rory and Tiger, didn't he? Anyway. I would like to be rewarded for some loyalty. I mean, I felt those guys didn't do the wrong thing, who went to LIV. They made a business decision. I don't hold that against anybody. But I would like to be rewarded for my decision to stay loyal.”
Compensation details have yet to be revealed, nor has the notion that Hadley was invited to play in the Saudi-backed golf league. However, in the future, Hadley and other golfers would like to be notified of any decisions that would affect their pay or play.
“The older I get, the more I would like to be involved out here. But this is my 10th year, and I kind of know how things go,” Hadley explained. “I guess most of the time when they’re making changes, they have a little bit more detail. Obviously, we just have a very, very broad and general framework.
“So, there’s some long-term things that I would like to see and some short-term things, obviously, we just don’t know anything short-term. So, hopefully, they can get a move on it, and they can start giving us some answers to a lot of the questions that we have. Because I, I mean, I know nothing. I know as much as you know.”
