“I have a very different idea about loyalty” – Lee Westwood slams ‘brainwashed’ LIV Golf critics
Lee Westwood was one of the first to join the controversial LIV Golf. The Englishman received flak for jumping ships from PGA Tour’s side to join the breakaway tour. Years later, the golfer has clapped back at the early critics of the Saudi-backed series and opined that they were ‘brainwashed.’
While speaking on the latest episode of LIV Golf’s Fairway to Heaven podcast, Westwood stated that he is now indifferent to people’s opinions. The 51-year-old stated that he has learned to pay less attention to criticism after spending three decades as a professional.
Interestingly, the golfer went on to add that the critics ‘who have said stupid things’ were wrong to question his decisions as he has a “very different idea about loyalty.” The golfer went on to claim that LIV Golf’s early critics were “brainwashed by certain people with purely financial motivations.”
Responding to a query about criticism, Lee Westwood said on the Fairway to Heaven podcast (at 55:58):
“After 30 years of being a professional sportsman, I've learned not to give a what anybody thinks… I clearly have a very different idea about loyalty than people who have said stupid things… I think a lot of those people are now starting to understand that they were being brainwashed by certain people with just purely financial motivations on their mind.
"They were making up these stories and trying to give people these ideas about those players that were going to LIV. Just to really forge their case on the with the public and convince the public that we were bad and they were good.”
Lee Westwood claimed that he never had doubts about his loyalty. Interestingly, the English golfer stated that he’s been a member of the European tour for nearly 30 years. The European Ryder Cup veteran reiterated that he didn’t take up PGA Tour membership despite winning twice in the US.
Westwood said he enjoyed playing in Europe and that's where he felt like he “belonged.” He recalled staying in Europe and playing on European Tour events even when people moved at large to the US for world ranking points. The former world No. 1 claimed that he always preferred to improve his home circuit.
Lee Westwood calls for unification amid golf civil war
Lee Westwood is unhappy with progress in the negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf’s backers - Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The ace golfer voiced his frustration to the sluggish movement in the process and called for the unification of the fighting sides.
He cleared that his frustration stems from not seeing a result in the deal that would allow LIV golfers to compete more often outside their circuit. It is pertinent to note that Westwood is not permitted to play in any PGA Tour Champions event due to his association with LIV Golf.
The veteran golfer, who played the US Senior Open in June with an exemption via his previous Ryder Cup participation, dubbed it ‘disappointing’ that officials weren’t able to resolve LIV players’ eligibility issue. He also mentioned players like Richard Bland, who went on to win the event, not being able to compete at different competitions was wrong.
Lee Westwood said at the US Senior Open in June, as quoted by Bob Harig on Sports Illustrated:
“The consensus of opinion of everybody that I talked to said it's great to see myself and Richard playing here. I think, when you look at the US Open two weeks ago or the Masters or the PGA Championship, people are happy to see Bryson (DeChambeau) or Cam (Smith) or Jon Rahm coming and playing in those big events. It's basically getting all the best players together in one tournament to compete against each other, and that's what you want at the highest level.”
It is pertinent to note that players like Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are missing out on several events due to restrictions placed by the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.