Nick Faldo launches attack on ‘damaging’ LIV Golf

One of LIV Golf’s biggest critics, Nick Faldo, has offered another withering assessment of the circuit.

The six-time major champion is playing host at the Betfred British Masters this week and was delighted to see a LIV star in the field.

He said Tyrrell Hatton was playing a ‘proper tournament’ but has now upped the ante in his latest attack.

Speaking to reporters at the Belfry, Faldo, 67, insisted the Saudi-backed league should stay away from the established tours.

“I think they [LIV] are an island and go and do their own thing. That’s absolutely fine with me, go and play their tour.

“And I think we are now seeing that, wow, they’ve had three seasons, and they haven’t made much impact on the [viewing] numbers.

“Quite amusingly, pickleball was bigger than their two stars [Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm] in a play-off, the sort of excitement everyone wants. But it got beat for viewership by pickleball.

“I think bottom line is that the players have got the last laugh because they are being rewarded so much either through the size of the prize money or appearance fees and they are not moving the needle.

“I can’t see that changing because, as we know, it’s been so damaging to the public’s attitude to golf.

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“I still talk to my producer friends in TV and people are just not watching [it]. It’s hurt the attitude towards golf.

“I did 18 years of television, and I was told not to talk about prize money. When the FedEx Cup went to 10 million, I went ‘wow, look at this, this putt is worth 10 million!’

“That was about the only time I mentioned money and now, all of a sudden, it’s ridiculous amounts. It’s really changed it.”

The Englishman’s comments come hot on the heels of rumours claiming Jon Rahm was dealing with ‘deep regret’ over his move to LIV Golf.

Rahm, however, insisted that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In an exclusive interview with the New York Post, he said: “There’s zero validity to what any of that said. I don’t know where it came from.

“I’m very comfortable with my decision, very happy with my decision, very, very eager for the future of my team and the league.”

Faldo doesn’t believe the fellow Masters champion, though, hitting back at the Spaniard who was one of many who thought they could return to the PGA Tour after cashing in.

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“I think they all thought ‘why don’t I run off and get all these hundreds of blooming millions and they’ll sort it out in two years, and I’ll come back with a boatload’,” Faldo added.

“I don’t think it is going to work like that and it shouldn’t, to be honest. Fine, LIV go and do their thing. They say they are going to supercharge excitement in golf – good luck.

“Some people think they can change the excitement level or view of it, but golf is golf. Golf is outdoor chess.

“The number one goal in golf as a player is to come up the last with a three-shot lead or more, isn’t it?”

That could be the case for LIV man Hatton, who is competing in Faldo’s tournament at the Belfry this week.

After an ‘annoying’ end to the first round of Hatton’s DP World Tour return, he holds the early lead.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.