25x European Tour winner Lee Westwood believes 'the tide seems to have turned' on LIV Golf's acceptance in the golf world
Lee Westwood, an iconic golfer who has won 25 times on the European Tour, believes his current tour, LIV Golf, is growing more and more accepted by the day. What began as one of the most hated aspects of the sport has slowly grown more popular and more liked.
He said via Bunkered:
“The tide seems to have turned on LIV Golf. It feels like it’s been more accepted. I get fewer questions about playing in Russia nowadays. It seems people are understanding what it’s about now and starting to see it as a different form of golf and, you know, starting to enjoy it more, I guess.”
LIV's biggest pursuit was to grow the game of golf, something Westwood believes has been a successful endeavor so far. He said that while LIV has come in with the intent to do that recently, he and Ian Poulter, among others, have been working on that for 25 years. It's always been a goal of his, so his partnership with LIV on that is unsurprising.
He added:
“This is just us focusing more on that now, and having home courses and home academies speeds up that process. We don’t want to miss out."
The public perception of LIV Golf and the internal disdain it was met with by the sport itself has waned in the last few months. It is likely that it will continue to do so as the merger between the PIF and PGA Tour continues to barrel towards a resolution.
Lee Westwood opens up on why golf needed help
Lee Westwood's self-proclaimed goal is to grow the game of golf. He believes that in the UK, where he is from, there are a lot of different choices for the sports young people will play and get into. Golf, from his perspective, is not very high on the list.
He said that American football, basketball, hockey, and others are higher up for children. That, in his estimation, must change. Via Bunkered, he said:
“We’ve got to elevate golf further up that list for kids and give them an easier route into it and a better chance of taking it up. That’s where you grow the game, and you find all this new talent."
Westwood also believes that people get too caught up in the idea that LIV Golf is trying to grow the game. The controversial nature of the tour convolutes their goal despite this being a primary aspiration for many golfers for much longer than LIV has been around.
Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood's longtime friend and tourmate, agreed that the narrative around LIV and golf as a whole has changed. He said that they are finally getting rid of some of the stigma and no longer facing the same questions. Now, they can start focusing on all the good they're doing instead.