LIV Golf has attracted some of the game’s biggest names, but former US Open champion Webb Simpson said Wednesday the players’ bleeding from the PGA Tour is all but complete and the US-based circuit is now a tighter group .
The breakaway circuit launched in June and counts 12 big champions among its players, but the PGA Tour has since made sweeping changes to stem the lingering threat, including increased purses and a win-lock program.
“I feel like not only did we survive, but I think we came out more united and stronger and with different players’ ideas to make the Tour better and more competitive and desirable to play,” Simpson told reporters Fortinet Championship for the season opener of the PGA Tour in Napa, California.
“A lot of good has come of it, but you certainly don’t want to lose players like Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson.
“These guys have done a lot for the game of golf. But I’m not going to go into whether I thought it was a good game or a bad game, I just don’t think it’s good for the game of golf.”
Simpson, who was elected co-chair of the Player Advisory Council by members of the PGA Tour in February, said communication between players and the tour has improved and that the circuit is not only listening but also responding.
While LIV Golf, which has already announced a 14-tournament plan for 2023, has joined some of its players in their antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour and sought recognition in the world golf rankings, Simpson just wants to move on.
“I’m ready for it to wear off. I don’t think it’s going to be like that for the next few years that they want ranking points and they have some other issues to sort out,” said Simpson, a seven-time PGA Tour winner.
“But I think for the most part we’ve seen the guys leave who are going to leave. Maybe you have one or two more here or there.”