Viktor Hovland has fired a warning to the PGA Tour saying the organisation is doing a foul job, however the Norwegian says he won’t be defecting to the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf
World quantity 4 Hovland joined a refrain of discontent concerning the energy wrestle on the prime of the boys’s sport between LIV Golf and the PGA and DP World Tours.
“It must be fair to say that the PGA Tour has done a damn bad job,” the 26-year-old Hovland, a part of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup crew, instructed Discovery’s “FORE!” podcast.
After a 12 months of acrimony during which a succession of huge names jumped ship, the PGA Tour and Europe-based DP World Tour introduced in June a framework settlement with LIV Golf for a merger and creation of a business entity to unite the sport.
As a part of the deal, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has bank-rolled LIV Golf, would function the unique investor.
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The deadline for talks with PIF is looming and the established excursions suffered a contemporary blow this month when Masters champion Jon Rahm made a U-turn to affix LIV Golf in a deal value a reported $300 million.
“It would be a bit silly to criticise players for leaving,” Hovland mentioned. “I understand why he (Rahm) left. There’s a lot of money.”
Asked if he would observe Rahm, Hovland mentioned: “No, I doubt it.” But he took goal at Tour chiefs he mentioned weren’t making selections in the very best pursuits of the gamers.
“They are not professional golfers after all,” he mentioned. “There is a great deal of arrogance behind it all.”
Hovland, the FedEx champion, mentioned he would play fewer European occasions in 2024, including: “The PGA Tour is not as strong as before. I just hope that it will return to normality.”