Golf’s millionaires get richer as young pros are losing their lifeline
Murray blasts LIV’s ‘obscene money on offer’
As Dustin Johnson decides what to do with the £16.2 million he received for being the inaugural individual winner of the LIV Golf Championship, it’s a completely different story for those on the EuroPro Tour.
This week’s Tour Championship at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland will be the final-ever event on the third-tier circuit as it shuts down after 20 years in operation.
It is a tour that has seen players like South African Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel and England’s Tyrrell Hatton use as a stepping stone to further their careers.
But as of next year, players will have to find an alternative, unless they can finish in the top five in the Order of Merit and secure a place on the Challenge Tour.
That is the aim for Scotland’s Michael Stewart, who sits in second place as he prepares to tee up at Lough Erne this Wednesday.
For former European Tour player and BBC Radio 5 Live summariser Andrew Murray (inset), there is a sense of regret about golf losing one of its crucial pathways.
“It’s a great shame that it’s going,” he told The Sunday Post.
“My son, Tom, played on it a lot early in his pro career. There was a bit of TV coverage, it raised your profile and it gave a lot of players an opportunity to play against likeminded hungry young guns. “They could drive each other on. “Funding is always difficult for tours like that. It was very expensive to play and the prize funds were a bit top-heavy for my liking.
“But it gets you geared for life on the main Tours as you have to spend money every week when you’re out there. That’s part and parcel of golf.
“But as a grounding for players, it was great. While senior players used it to stay competitive, like Paul Broadhurst did ahead of him turning 50.
“The difference between each level in golf is massive. As an individual, it’s about finding the level where you can compete.
“Development Tours are massively important in terms of future players. You’ve seen guys like Martin Kaymer and Matt Wallace come flying up the ranks thanks to them.”
But as players from the EuroPro Tour wonder how they are going
to make a living from professional golf, there are no such worries for those on the LIV circuit.
Johnson collected his winnings from just 18 rounds of golf across six events and with one tournament to spare.
LIV members are lobbying hard to be given world ranking points for their efforts – something that does not sit right with Murray.
“LIV is exhibition-style golf,” he stated. “They don’t see it like that, but it is.
“It’s only 54 holes, slightly-less competitive, no cut, guaranteed money and there are only 48 players in the field.
“If the EuroPro is on one side of the pole, this is on the completely opposite side.
“In a time of conflict around the world and rising prices for ordinary people, the money on offer is obscene.
“LIV has fractured elite golf and it will continue to do so. There are rumours that the next thing is that they will create a ladies LIV, which would create even more division.
“The powers that be can’t award points when there is no cut.
“I remember playing in events with no cut, like the old seasonending Volvo Masters at Valderrama and players not on form would shoot some very high numbers.
“It’s a very different psyche. Sometimes it does you a favour if you are struggling to miss the cut, go home and see your coach.
“What has surprised me is that some players have just not been in the frame in any events like Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
“They seem to have lost that competitive edge, which would not have happened on the PGA Tour.”
At the moment, It remains uncertain whether European LIV players will be eligible to play in next year’s Ryder Cup in Rome.
However, with only six automatic selections, it will be virtually impossible for Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter to play their way into the team.
So Murray is enthused at how people like Bob MacIntyre and Guido Migliozzi, two of the newer generation of European golfers, have made big statements in the early weeks of qualification.
“This situation has created a fantastic opportunity for European Tour players and I’m convinced the Ryder Cup team will be really strong,” he added.
“We have a few young guns who will prove themselves fine players.
“It needs a generational shift for Europe. The US had one last time at Whistling Straits with six rookies in their side and they battered us.”