LOS ANGELES — A week has passed since the bombshell news that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF had reached an agreement to form a new commercial entity and end the litigation between the parties.
While few details are known as to how that will play out, it hasn’t stopped players from voicing their opinions and being asked questions to which they have few answers.
Kyle Westmoreland, a PGA Tour rookie, was competing in Canada last week and attended the player meeting with Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. Westmoreland, a captain in the U.S. Air Force Academy, put his dream of playing on the PGA Tour for five years on hold while he served his country. At the meeting with Monahan, Westmoreland was one of the more outspoken players, noting his unique military role, and let Monahan know exactly how he felt, saying, “Sir, you are a disgrace.”
“Being part of the military, you can imagine where my thoughts fall on it,” Westmoreland said in a phone interview with Golfweek.
“I’m a very small fish in this,” he added. “Typical business first, moral ethics second. Current leadership has to figure out how to take ownership and convince the players, the members, that this is the right thing going forward but I think it is an uphill battle.”
“I think it could’ve been handled potentially better,” he continued. “When change like this is sprung on people without any warning and is so opposite of what was said and preached in the past you are going to lose some faith in your leadership. I want to see how they respond to this.”
Matt Fitzpatrick walks on the 12th green during a practice round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Los Angeles Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Fitzpatrick, the defending U.S. Open champion, had to return the winner’s trophy and had the unenvious duty of being the first formal media press conference. It didn’t take long for the questioning to center on the biggest news in the golf world.
“I know literally nothing,” he said on Monday. In response to another question, he said he found it all very “confusing.” Do you feel like you should be compensated for not going to LIV?
“Yeah, pass,” he said as his agent standing nearby gave a hand signal advising him not answer that one.
“I think it’s been asked and answered so we’re going to move on to U.S. Open topics,” said the moderator of the press conference.
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