"It's great for the players" - Pro golfer Sahith Theegala says LIV is making PGA Tour 'competitive'
Pro golfer Sahith Theegala has said that the LIV Golf series has made the PGA Tour more competitive.
Golf has experienced a civil war like never before. The PGA Tour found itself competing against the controversial LIV Golf series. Several golfers defected from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed league.
LIV Golf was under fire for mainly two reasons: The changes it brought in the traditional format and the human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. Despite the backlash, the league recently concluded its debut season.
While players were mostly divided between supporting the two tour, a new perspective emerged when Theegala said that the introduction of LIV Golf has made the PGA Tour more competitive.
At the Houston Open pre-tournament presser, he said that the introduction of a new league affects everyone irrespective of whether they accept it or not. He said:
"I think no matter what everyone feels about either tour, whatever opinions they have or thoughts they have, I think it affects everyone whether they want to admit it or not."
He added that the Tour was now more competitive and there are more opportunities for players.
"It's great for the players because it's making the Tour more competitive and it's better for the players now. There's more opportunity than ever."
"There's never going to be a lack of superstar power on the Tour" - Sahith Theegala on PGA Tour
US pro golfer Sahith Theegala has had a brilliant 2022 rookie season. Although a few bumps in the road prevented him from clinching his maiden Tour title, he firmly marked his place as a force to reckon with after making the cut for the Tour championship.
The success the 24-year-old has achieved this year could pave the way for him to get into the LIV Golf roster. However, Theegala prefers to stay on the PGA Tour and chase his dreams over money.
Nevertheless, he clarified that he has no ill will towards players who jumped the ship to LIV Golf, saying:
"I've said before, (the) PGA Tour is my focus and obviously grew up wanting to play on the PGA Tour and dreamt of all that. But I have no problems with the other stuff going on. It's just I think it's been made a little bit a bigger deal than most — honestly, a lot of the players that I've talked to have not — I mean, it's great for the players."
However, he did admit to feeling disappointed at the loss of some of the best golfers in the circuit. However, Theegala said that he doesn't talk much about the split in the talent pool. He said:
"The unfortunate thing is all the top players in the world aren't playing together anymore. Like we all want to play with Cam (Smith) and (Dustin Johnson), and those guys that are some of the best players in the world and there's no denying that, so it's unfortunate that the talent pool's split a little bit, but I really never give it any thought other than when I'm asked questions about it."
Some of the biggest names such as Phil Mickelson, Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Na, Chase Koepka, Bubba Watson, among others, defected from the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf. That meant many Tour events lost out on their defending champions.
However, Theegala chose to look at the positive, saying that the LIV Golf players will be missed on Tour. He said:
"Sure, maybe that's the case."
However, he added that the players who got a chance becuase of the defections could make the most of the opportunity. He said that there are "too many good golfers", elaborating:
"There's just too many good golfers, especially in this day and age, that the next guy up is going to go ahead and fill that spot, and a guy that maybe hasn't had a chance to be that superstar is going to step up into that role because of that. There's just too many golfers — too many good golfers."
Although many golfing greats left the Tour, there are still plenty who have remained in the PGA Tour during these turbulent times. Theegala acknowledged that the Tour will never lose out on talent or superstar power, adding:
"There's never going to be a lack of superstar power on the Tour."
Sahith Theegala presented a new viewpoint regarding the rift between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. Especially unique was his take on new players getting better opportunities on the Tour owing to the defections. That gives new upcoming talent a new surge of hope, energy and motivation to do better and earn their place on the coveted Tour.