With golf’s FedEx playoffs set to commence Thursday, we now realize we were short-sighted back in May when we suggested that Dallas’ Big Three of Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris were here to save the AT&T Byron Nelson. We now understand they are here to save the PGA Tour.
What a wild, turbulent ride the normally placid golf world has traveled in 2022. The PGA Tour remains the home to more of the planet’s best golfers than any other circuit. But the defections to the Saudi-backed, easy-money world of the LIV Tour are more considerable than we ever imagined. There are several ways to view this.
Seven of the golfers that finished in the top 20 in FedEx points a year ago are gone to the LIV Tour. And, yes, they shall remain ineligible for these playoffs and future PGA Tour events. A federal judge dismissed the suit filed by Taylor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Stafford in Northern California Tuesday seeking a Temporary Restraining Order that would have allowed them to play in this year’s FedEx playoffs. It’s easy to see how a federal judge might not buy the “irreparable harm” the golfers were hoping to show after signing guaranteed contracts in the millions. It is believed Phil Mickelson was guaranteed $200 million to sign with LIV while Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson were paid in the $150 million range.
