Day on LIV: ‘They haven’t nailed what they’re trying to accomplish’
NAPLES — Jason Day is not tempted by the Public Investment Fund's bottomless pit of money that finances LIV Golf. But he's never judged those looking for that generational money.
And if the next PGA Tour star to defect to the Saudi-financed league is Jon Rahm, Day just hopes he makes the decision for the right reasons.
"I just think when guys get thrown money at them everyone's got a number in the end," Day said ahead of the start of this week's Grant Thornton Invitational at Tiburon Golf Club. "I just hope he makes the right decision by him and his family. It doesn't matter to me. Personally, if he leaves it makes my job easier because I don't have to compete against him.
"I just want him to be happy. That's all that matters in the end."
Day, who is partnered with Lydia Ko in this mixed-team event, said a year ago he was cool with any players who made the jump, and included fellow Aussie Cameron Smith, who joined LIV a little more than a year ago.
Day, 36, is a former world No. 1 who has made more than $57 million on the PGA Tour. LIV Commissioner and CEO Greg Norman is from Australia and LIV's event at Adelaide last year was a huge success.
Still, Day believes the league is lacking.
"I still struggle to watch LIV," Day said. "I do like some of the concepts they have. They just haven't quite nailed either the format or the true excitement of what they're trying to accomplish."
Day said a year ago that he "might think differently" about joining LIV at this time this year. But he was clear this week nothing has changed.
"It's still not for me," he said. "I know there's rumors about me going. They're totally false. I don't know where these rumors start.
"I'm sure my agent has talked to them because he's got players over there and you have to talk to them, you have to make sure," Day said about Bud Martin, who also represents Smith. "If they're throwing a certain amount of money around, you have to make sure you're at least doing due diligence on that side. I haven't had any connection to LIV."
If this were any other league, LIV Golf's first significant trades would be labeled blockbusters.
The deals saw Jupiter residents Matthew Wolff and Peter Uihlein traded to the RangeGoats, 2023 individual champion Talor Gooch joining Brooks Koepka's Smash, and Harold Varner III moving to the 4Aces.
Gooch, who made more than $36 million in 2023, half of that coming from his bonus for winning LIV's seasonlong individual title, was traded to the Smash for Wolff.
Wolff leaves Koepka's team after a contentious year in which Koepka questioned Wolff's work ethic and attitude, saying he has a lot of talent but that "talent's wasted." That was before Koepka said he and Wolff do not have much interaction despite Wolff having been a member of Koepka's team all season.
"Sometimes you can't help people that don't want help," Koepka said at the team championship at Doral.
Smash placed 10th among the 12 teams at the team championship.
"This couldn't be a stronger offseason move for us," Koepka, who lives in Jupiter, said in a statement. "Bringing Talor in, Smash GC goes from a contender to a juggernaut in 2024. He's the ultimate competitor, a three-time LIV Golf tournament winner and crowned the individual champion."
Bubba Watson was busy reshaping his RangeGoats, which finished second in the team championship. Besides acquiring Wolff, Watson added Uihlein from Dustin Johnson's 4Aces. Uihlein was third in the individual standings in 2022 while playing for Smash and fell to 12th last season.
Johnson adds Varner to his team that won the 2022 team title before dropping to fourth last season. Varner had five top-10 finishes last season, including winning at the event outside of Washington D.C.
"Harold is renowned for his dynamic play, consistent performances," Johnson, also a Jupiter resident, said in a statement. "His addition to our team is a significant step towards ... our pursuit of being the top golf team in the world.”
said. “But there's a certain amount of money that becomes money that's hard to ignore.
“I don't think he's a guy that sacrifices his level of play just for money. He obviously thinks there's a future there and he is one of the lucky guys that is eligible for all the major championships so that's probably a big factor in all his decisionmaking.”
Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion, is more interested in being eligible for golf 's biggest events including the majors and Ryder Cup. He's also considered a future European Ryder Cup captain.
Besides, between the PGA and DP World tours, Rose has won more than $92 million in prize money.
But when it comes to Rahm, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour, including two majors, Rose wonders what he is thinking when it comes to his legacy.
“I think Jon is a legacy-focused player,” Rose said. “He really represents Spain in who he's following there as far as Seve (Ballesteros) and Jose Maria (Olazabal). He knows where he sits in that framework of Spanish golf and world golf and European golf.”