The rumored Saudi-backed golf super league is gaining traction, but where do the top pros in the world stand on the matter?
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There may be no more polarizing topics in golf these days than those surrounding rumors of the controversial Saudi-backed super league. While details on the league are sparse, information about it has steadily trickled out over the past few years giving us a rough outline of what it may look like.
Greg Norman appears to be the face of the organization, LIV Golf Investments, behind the would-be league, and the group has been pouring cash into the Asian Tour as part their push on to the global golf stage. We don’t yet know where this tour may roam, or which courses might serve as hosts, but one thing is certain — the league is looking to fill out its fields with the top talent in the world.
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No players have publicly announced that they have signed on to be a part of the league, but according to Phil Mickelson, “pretty much every player in the top 100 in the world has been contacted.”
We don’t know for certain what has come of these closed-door negotiations, but we have accumulated commentary from many top pros in recent months and years. As a result, we can get a sense for where they stand on the Super League-in-the-making.
Here’s what the top pros in the world are saying about the league and their level of interest in getting on board.
Seemingly interested
Phil Mickelson (world rank: 38)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? Yes — in 2020, 2021, 2022.
What he’s said: “I don’t know where things are headed, but I know I will be criticized … That’s not my concern. All that would do is dumb down one of the most intricate issues in sports. It would be so naive to not factor in all of the complexities. The media rights are but a small fraction of everything else. And it is the Tour’s obnoxious greed that has really opened the door for opportunities elsewhere.”
Is he interested? Mickelson went scorched-earth on the PGA Tour as he aired his grievances to Golf Digest in an exclusive interview this week. It seems that after three-plus decades on Tour, he’s open to the possibility of teeing it up elsewhere.
Dustin Johnson (world rank: 5)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? Yes — in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
What he’s said: “I think it’s a really good concept. I think it makes it a little more interesting for the fans and for the players. Yeah, I like the concept.”
Is he interested? Based on these comments, it’s safe to say the two-time Saudi International winner would be open to the idea of playing in a super league if given the opportunity.
Lee Westwood (world rank: 41)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? Yes — in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
What he’s said: “I don’t know whether I want to answer questions on that. I’ve signed an NDA.”
Is he interested? Westwood’s NDA comment suggests that he’s in negotiations with the new league. He’s also said in the past that singing on for a multi-million dollar guarantee would be an easy decision. “If somebody stood here and offered me 50 million quid to play golf when I’m 48, it’s a no-brainer.” Could he be the first defector?
Bryson DeChambeau (world rank: 9)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? Yes — in 2019, 2021, 2022.
What he’s said: “I’m not a politician. I’m a golfer, and I want to play where the best golfers in the world are going to play.”
Is he interested? When considering DeChambeau’s comments above, and his consistent trips to the Middle East to compete in the Saudi International, it seems as though he’s seriously interested in a potential super league. The Daily Mail also reported that DeChambeau was offered over £100M (~$114M) to be the face of the league. (DeChambeau denied the report in a one-word Instagram reply: “wrong.”) That kind of cash could be tough to turn down.
Seemingly on the fence
Collin Morikawa (world rank: 2)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “When it comes to Saudi, when it comes to the PGA Tour, I think the underlying message that everyone needs to realize is we’re here to grow the game.”
Is he interested? Morikawa has yet to play in Saudi Arabia, but the “grow the game” mantra has been a popular talking point for those involved with the league. We’ll pencil him in the “maybe” column.
Patrick Cantlay (world rank: 4)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “I think with the amount of money they’re talking about it’s always very tempting. I think it’s tempting for everybody. And to deny that would be, you know, maybe not true … I think it’s a complicated thing and I don’t think there’s an easy answer. I think there’s two sides to every coin and if people want to be more interested in golf and want to put more money into golf, I think that’s a good thing … It’s tricky because it’s not always in the fashion that people would have expected or wanted, and I would say at this point I’m definitely a curious observer as to see what happens and who decides to play.”
Is he interested? While Cantlay chose to play in Pebble Beach over King Abdullah Economic City this week, he was candid with his comments about the potential of a super league. Money (and competition) could, it seems, convince him to join the new league.
Viktor Hovland (world rank: 3)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? Yes — in 2021.
What he’s said: Hovland hasn’t made any notable comments about the league on the record.
Is he interested? Based on Hovland’s decision to play in the 2021 Saudi International, it seems as though he could be receptive to hearing more about a Saudi-backed league, but it’s tough to say.
Cameron Smith (world rank: 11)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? Yes — in 2022.
What he’s said: “To be honest, I haven’t thought a lot about it. I’ve got guys around me that think about that stuff. I’m just out here trying to play the best I can. We’ll worry about that stuff when it comes around.”
Is he interested? Smith is making his debut in the Saudi International this week, but in his media availability, he dodged questions about the super league. The Aussie seems to be undecided as it stands currently.
Jon Rahm (world rank: 1)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “I think what I’m going to do is focus on just the PGA Tour,” Rahm told Golfweek in 2020. “At the end of the day I’m a competitor. I’m a PGA Tour member and I’m going to stay that way … 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’ve done.”
Is he interested? Despite hefty appearance fees for top pros, Rahm has never played in the Saudi International. And when asked about his interest in the rumored super league in 2020, he told Golfweek he wasn’t interested.
Seemingly not interested (for now)
Rory McIlroy (world rank: 6)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “So for me, I’m out. My position is that I’m against it; there may come a day that I can’t be against it, if everyone else goes I might not have a choice. But at this point, I don’t like what they’re proposing.”
Is he interested? There has been no Tour player more vocal in his opposition to the super league than McIlroy. He’s made clear he doesn’t like the lack of autonomy he’d have in the new league, and also said he “wants to be on the right side of history,” citing concerns with where the money for the league comes from.
Tiger Woods (world rank: 744)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “I just don’t want to go over there … It’s a long way.”
Is he interested? Woods has not said much about the proposed super league, but he has turned down some serious cash to play in Saudi Arabia. According to ESPN, Woods turned down an appearance fee in the neighborhood of $3 million to play in the event in 2019. The extreme travel requirements associated with the league also doesn’t seem like something the aging and injured 15-time major winner would sign on for.
Justin Thomas (world rank: 7)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “I think if the idea of other competition and other tours or whatever happening, I think it’s a good opportunity for the Tour to kind of maybe sit back and us players sit back to realize what can we do better on our Tour and then make our product better, versus having two competing tours to me is not good because you’re diluting the product on both sides and it’s just not, you’re not going to get the best — it’s not possible to get the best players in the world on both tours … They’re either going to be one or the other or a little bit of both.”
Is he interested? Thomas seems like he wants to continue competing on the PGA Tour, but he wants to see some innovation to keep up with the super league.
Jordan Spieth (world rank: 15)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “I can only say from my point of view I think that it’s been beneficial to the players to have competition, and I think the Tour would say that they probably feel that they’re in a better position going forward by having to sit back and kind of take a look at things and make some changes.”
Is he interested? Spieth, like his buddy Justin Thomas, remains committed to the PGA Tour (he’s playing Pebble Beach this week), but his comments make it clear he wants to see some innovation to keep up with the super league.
Daniel Berger (world rank: 16)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? No.
What he’s said: “I haven’t had much communication with them and I love [the Pebble Beach Pro-Am], so I don’t think there would have been really a place where I would have had an opportunity to play there, because I would have been playing here.”
Is he interested? Berger doesn’t like to play many international tournaments — his last overseas event, other than the Open, was the Scottish Open in 2015 — so it seems he’d like to continue his career stateside.
Brooks Koepka (world rank: 18)
Has he played in Saudi Arabia? Yes — in 2019, 2020.
What he’s said: “I am out of the PGL. I’m going with the PGA Tour … 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 guys and putting them out of a job.”
Is he interested? Koepka played the Saudi International for the first two iterations of the event, but then in early 2020 he expressed he would not be interested in a super league, citing small field sizes.
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