New tour money not as big as claimed

It turns out that at least some players who have ditched the PGA Tour for the riches of the LIV Golf Series aren’t actually earning a dime when it comes to their results in the lucrative, but controversial, Saudi-backed circuit.

That bombshell was revealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., where a federal judge denied a temporary restraining order for three players currently suspended by the tour after leaving for LIV. They were seeking to be allowed to play in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin this week in Memphis. During the hearing, an attorney representing LIV said that players’ earnings are counted against the up-front money they receive for joining.

That means a $4 million firstplace winner’s check would essentially amount to money a player has already been paid for signing with the rival faction. The attorney said that not every contract is the same, but also said not all money is guaranteed, before moving on in the case.

That contradicts what a LIV official and some players have said up to this point.

When Brooks Koepka was pressed at the LIV tournament outside Portland, Ore., last month on whether a player’s winnings come out of the signing bonus, the four-time major champion said, “That’s not — no. No.” When questioned again on the issue, he said, “No. I don’t know — it’s irrelevant.”

An LIV official in Portland tried to clear up the matter at the time.

“The prize purses are in addition to. There is no draw at LIV Golf on any finances,” she said.

That appears to not exactly be the case after all, however, according to one of LIV’s own attorneys.