James Hahn blasts “hypocritical” PGA Tour pros

James Hahn isn’t just annoyed by changes the PGA Tour is making to its ‘Elevated Events’. 

He’s also annoyed by what some of his fellow players have been saying about them. 

Speaking to Golfweek, 41-year-old Hahn pulled no punches in his appraisal of tweaks that will see eight of the tour’s most lucrative events feature reduced fields and no cuts from next year. 

“I hate them,” he said.  

However, he’s arguably even more incensed by the players who have publicly endorsed the changes, branding them “very, very hypocritical”. 

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“I’m gonna say exactly what 99.99 percent of fans said about players leaving for the LIV Tour,” said Hahn. “If our players just said, ‘We’re doing this for the money,’ I would have a lot more respect for them. But how they’re covering up what they’re doing and trying to make it a thing about sponsors and fans and saving opposite-field events, I think that’s all BS.” 

Rory McIlroy and Max Homa were amongst those to endorse the changes ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Although he didn’t mention them by name, Hahn is clearly unimpressed by them.  

“All the big names that are talking about this ‘new product,’ if you just came out and said, ‘Hey, we’re doing this for the money,’ they want more guaranteed money and this is another way to funnel more money to the top players in the world, I’d have a lot more respect for them.” 

“Right now, they’re just covering their ass and saying everything that the PGA Tour basically has trained them to say, have taught them to say and try to make it not about money when everyone knows 100 percent it’s about more guaranteed money being funnelled to the top players in the world.  

“We’ve been talking about money for the last two years and for them not to say that that’s not the No.1 reason why they’re making these changes – it’s very, very hypocritical.” 

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He added: “It seems like the major theme over these past few years has been how do we get the most money to the most popular players on our tour.

“I use the word popular instead of best players because, granted that Tiger is one of the best players to ever have played this game, but he just won the PIP money two years running without really playing golf, without being ranked in the top 1,000 and without keeping his card.

“I never would have imagined growing up that someone could make more money just for being popular than for how good they are on the course.”

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor