‘Go ask those guys’ – Scottie Scheffler calls out LIV golfers in blunt response ahead of The Masters
Scottie Scheffler admitted he misses the competition of LIV golfers but was adamant the PGA Tour has ‘by far the best players in the world’. Despite no wins this year the World No.1 has earned two top-10 finishes in five events running up to his Masters title defence next month. Scheffler has won the 2022 and 2024 Masters helping him amass career earnings of $74 millionGetty A good run of results considering he stabbed himself in the hand while preparing Christmas dinner. He remains strong on his opinion of LIV Golf previously stating ‘if the fans are upset, then look at the guys that left’ at the 2024 Players Championship. The Saudi-backed rival golf league was launched in 2022 and has since attracted the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. The PGA Tour responded by banning LIV players from its events but players do meet at the four majors – The Masters, The PGA Championship, The Open Championship and the US Open. LIV Golf offers substantial prize pots shown by Rahm’s $4 million cheque for first place in Chicago. The traditional competition and format of PGA recognized they were under threat and opted to negotiate with LIV to reunify the sport. Discussions have been ongoing since 2023 and the two sides met at the White House in February following involvement from Donald Trump. According to PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan the talks were ‘constructive’ with LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan. When asked whether he missed playing against the top players more than four times a year, Scheffler replied: “I definitely miss the competition. They got some pretty good players on their tour. I still think the PGA Tour has by far the best players in the world. “The depth of our fields and the competition that we have is still hands down the best competition that there is in the game of golf. That’s why I’m still playing on the Tour. I love the competition. Trump believes there is ‘a good chance’ of resolving golf’s biggest divide “I wish some of those guys had stayed, but at the end of the day, they made their choice. They knew the consequences of that decision, and I’m not here to change their minds. I hold no ill will toward any of those guys that left.” He continued: “They did what they wanted to do, and I can’t control their life. I’m not going to sit here and say they should have done something differently. They made their choice. “If we want to figure out why the game of golf is not back together, go ask those guys. Go to wherever they are playing this week and figure out when the game is going to come back together.” Golf fans were and continue to be frustrated to see great rivalries reduced to a few match-ups per season. Rahm and Scheffler shared a competitive rivalry, previously facing off against each other in the singles portion of the last two Ryder Cups. Scheffler won in 2021 and the two halved their match in 2023. “One of the great joys of my career is going up against Jon,” Scheffler said on Wednesday. “He’s a tremendous player, tremendous talent. I was definitely surprised to see him leave last year and I for sure miss playing against him. We had some great battles over the years. We had some great battles in the Ryder Cup. “He’s a great guy to compete against. So, I definitely miss playing against him. I wish we got to do it more often, but I definitely will soak in all the opportunities that I get to compete against him going forward.”
Scottie Scheffler admitted he misses the competition of LIV golfers but was adamant the PGA Tour has ‘by far the best players in the world’.
Despite no wins this year the World No.1 has earned two top-10 finishes in five events running up to his Masters title defence next month.
A good run of results considering he stabbed himself in the hand while preparing Christmas dinner.
He remains strong on his opinion of LIV Golf previously stating ‘if the fans are upset, then look at the guys that left’ at the 2024 Players Championship.
The Saudi-backed rival golf league was launched in 2022 and has since attracted the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.
The PGA Tour responded by banning LIV players from its events but players do meet at the four majors – The Masters, The PGA Championship, The Open Championship and the US Open.
LIV Golf offers substantial prize pots shown by Rahm’s $4 million cheque for first place in Chicago.
The traditional competition and format of PGA recognized they were under threat and opted to negotiate with LIV to reunify the sport.
Discussions have been ongoing since 2023 and the two sides met at the White House in February following involvement from Donald Trump.
According to PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan the talks were ‘constructive’ with LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
When asked whether he missed playing against the top players more than four times a year, Scheffler replied: “I definitely miss the competition. They got some pretty good players on their tour. I still think the PGA Tour has by far the best players in the world.
“The depth of our fields and the competition that we have is still hands down the best competition that there is in the game of golf. That’s why I’m still playing on the Tour. I love the competition.
“I wish some of those guys had stayed, but at the end of the day, they made their choice. They knew the consequences of that decision, and I’m not here to change their minds. I hold no ill will toward any of those guys that left.”
He continued: “They did what they wanted to do, and I can’t control their life. I’m not going to sit here and say they should have done something differently. They made their choice.
“If we want to figure out why the game of golf is not back together, go ask those guys. Go to wherever they are playing this week and figure out when the game is going to come back together.”
Golf fans were and continue to be frustrated to see great rivalries reduced to a few match-ups per season.
Rahm and Scheffler shared a competitive rivalry, previously facing off against each other in the singles portion of the last two Ryder Cups.
Scheffler won in 2021 and the two halved their match in 2023.
“One of the great joys of my career is going up against Jon,” Scheffler said on Wednesday.
“He’s a tremendous player, tremendous talent. I was definitely surprised to see him leave last year and I for sure miss playing against him. We had some great battles over the years. We had some great battles in the Ryder Cup.
“He’s a great guy to compete against. So, I definitely miss playing against him. I wish we got to do it more often, but I definitely will soak in all the opportunities that I get to compete against him going forward.”
