Jack Nicklaus says that LIV Golf are attempting to “buy the game” by flexing their financial muscles although he doesn’t blame the players who have opted to join the Saudi backed organisation.
Nicklaus told Nick Faldo on his new podcast that LIV Golf are attempting to buy respectability in the game by spending so much money on the Greg Norman led tour.
However, while Nicklaus isn’t pleased with how LIV have fractured the current golfing landscape he understands why some players have chosen to cash in.
“I don’t fault the guys who have gone to LIV,” Nicklaus told Sir Nick’s Round Table Chats on YouTube. “You have to make a choice, between playing golf for a short period time, for a lot of money, to put away for your family, or do you have the loyalty to play regular golf, then the senior tour and into retirement.
“It’s a quick hit and that’s their call, and I don’t fault that. But I don’t think it’s been good for the game of golf, the PGA Tour was forced to react and I don’t like the way we’ve automatically created a secondary tour within the main tour, we’ve created a second layer.
“But times change though, so you go with the times. The future of LIV will depend on how these legal cases are handled.
“It’s money trying to buy the game, it’s trying to buy respectability, and I don’t think that’s what it’s all about.
“Somebody said they’re trying to buy the ability to sit on the veranda at Augusta National sipping Mint Julep with the membership and be accepted. It’s trying to gain acceptability within the mainframe of the game of golf.”
According to reports, Nicklaus previously turned down an offer of approximately $100 million to work for LIV Golf alongside Norman but the 18-time major champion.
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