The news just gets worse for the Premier Golf League.
First it was Rory McIlroy thumbing his nose to joining the controversial breakaway Premier Golf League. He was joined by fellow four-time Major winner Brooks Koepka who spoke passionately about what it’s meant to his career to have come off the secondary European Challenge Tour and work his way to his current World No.3 stature.
Now the duo has been joined by World No. 2 Jon Rahm with the Spaniard also snubbing the Premier Golf League.
“I think what I’m going to do is focus on just the PGA Tour,” said Rahm, the reigning European No. 1.
“At the end of the day, I’m a competitor. I’m a PGA Tour member and I’m going to stay that way.
“I’m a young player. The PGA Tour has been doing things extremely well. Hopefully I have a long career ahead on the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour has done such a great job with what we have and I’m really thankful for what they do.”
News that the top-3 ranked players in the world have said ‘No’ will surely come as a killer blow to the Saudi financed body.
Koepka revealed he met with PGL officials last month during the hosting of the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational in L.A.
The PGL is proposing an elite tour of 48 players forming into 12 four-man teams and competing in 12 tournaments with a prize purse of $US10m per event.
And now like McIlroy, no amount of money will sway Koepka from breaking ranks.
“I am out of the PGL. I’m going with the PGA Tour,” said Koepka. “I have a hard time believing golf should be about just 48 players.
“I get that the stars are what people come to see but these guys who we see win, who have been grinding for 10 or 15 years, that’s what makes the cool stories.
“I’d have a hard time looking at those guys and now talk of putting them out of a job.”
And in declaring such, Koepka reminded the PGL of the path he paved in getting to World No. 1 having competed for two years (2012-13) on the secondary European Challenge Tour before securing a full Tour card for 2014 in winning the 2013 Scottish Hydro Challenge in what was the American’s third victory that year.
“I don’t forget where I’ve come from,” he insisted.
“There are guys from that top 125 who could be the next star.”
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