Ernie Els has expressed his disappointment that South African LIV Golf (opens in new tab) players didn’t seek his opinion before signing for the circuit.
Speaking at last week’s Chubb Classic on the PGA Tour Champions, Els admitted to the Palm Beach Post (opens in new tab) that there was no animosity between him and the likes of Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, but said: “We’ve lost that camaraderie, definitely. I’m still friends with them but it’s different.”
Four-time Major winner Els is not only a mentor to many South African players, but also a friend, and he explained he was unhappy players didn’t approach him before making the leap to the big-money organisation. He said: “I was disappointed they never asked me my opinion. I had them in the foundation [in South Africa], looked after them as youngsters. They flew with me, they stayed at my house. Kind of nurtured them to get onto the PGA Tour. It just was done in a way I didn’t like.”
Despite that, Els said he could understand the appeal of signing for LIV Golf. He said: “As an international player and living in South Africa, it’s tough to come over here, your family, upend your whole household to join the PGA Tour. So I get that. But for me, no.”
Els also admitted that he was unimpressed with the way that LIV had disrupted the top of the game. He explained: “They have gone about it the wrong way and they’ve really upended a lot of good the game stands for. The whole thing just doesn’t sit right.”
Els explained that he’d also met with officials from LIV Golf before it launched, but that his proposal for it to partner with the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PGA Tour Champions fell on deaf ears. Els said he told them: “We can play around the world and play team golf and get some television network that will buy it and come back to your respective tours and get on with life.”
While that suggestion never went any further, Els insisted the idea was worth considering, saying: “I think that would have been a cool way… they didn’t see it that way and they basically showed me the door early on.”
One of the most high-stakes battles LIV Golf is currently involved in is the fight to gain eligibility for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points in its events. Tactics to secure eligibility have included forming a strategic alliance with the developmental MENA Tour and 50 of its players signing a letter addressed to OWGR chairman Peter Dawson stating its…
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