NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Charl Schwartzel made more money in three days than any of his years on the PGA Tour after he won the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event near London earlier this month.
The South African is one of few players to admit the “whole thing” about the upstart circuit led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is the money.
“You can’t lie that it’s not about the money,” Schwartzel said earlier this week. “There’s a lot of money out there and it’s more than any guy has ever played for.”
The player reps agree. In a Golf Digest story, Alan Shipnuck of the Fire Pit Collective spoke with four different agents who represent LIV golfers, with each speaking anonymously “to facilitate candor.” They’re referenced as Agents A, B, C and D.
“What you have to understand about professional golfers is that they are all whores,” said Agent A. “That is the starting point.”
The multi-million dollar deals players have reportedly signed — $200 million for Phil Mickelson, $150 for Dustin Johnson, $100 million for Bryson DeChambeau — have been a hot topic of discussion for weeks, but Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee stirred the money pot when he sent a since-deleted Tweet that claimed prize money is applied to a player’s signing bonus.
Jane MacNeille, LIV Golf’s VP of Communications, ended a Tuesday pre-event press conference to address the confusion, stating “The prize purses are in addition to (player contracts). There is no draw at LIV Golf on any finances.”
“Chamblee was banging that drum the other day,” quipped Pat Perez.
Agent B hedged the nine-figure reports, asking the question: Who benefits from those numbers?
“LIV, obviously, because they’re trying to generate buzz and recruit more players,” he explained. “But it also benefits the agents who are trying to sign new players or nudge other clients to make the jump.”
A whopping $255 million is up for grabs in the eight-event 2022 series. The seven regular-season events boast $25 million purses, with $4 million going to the individual winner and $3 million going to the winning team. The total purse for the team championship rises to $50 million, with the winning squad taking home a cool $16 million. The player crowned the champion of the regular season will earn $18 million, with $8 million going to second and $4 million to third.
Last place this week at Pumpkin Ridge will earn $120,000.
“The prize fund…
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