PGA Tour stars to be compensated by Saudis for rejecting LIV Golf

The PGA Tour loyalists who turned down tens of millions when rejecting the advances of LIV Golf will reportedly be rewarded as part of a compensation plan set up by Saudi investors.

The Times reports that the game’s leading players Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm will be among those likely to receive a significant windfall for snubbing the Saudi-backed breakaway league.

A huge bone of contention in the fallout of the PGA Tour’s shock deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been the outcome for players who stayed loyal to the traditional circuit.

• Rory McIlroy: “I feel like I’ve figured it out”

• Koepka: “They’ve never had to deal with adversity”

McIlroy said “the simple answer is yes” last week when asked if the top PGA Tour players should be “made whole financially” following the bombshell news.

And Chesson Hadley, the world No.291, raised eyebrows when he also claimed that he should be compensated for his own loyalty to the circuit.

“I would like to be rewarded for my decision to stay loyal,” Hadley, who some would consider a rank-and-file pro, declared at the Canadian Open.

Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund will now effectively control golf at the highest level, bankrolling the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in a similar way it has financed the fledgling LIV series.

The PGA Tour’s decision to join forces with the kingdom has been met with plenty of consternation, but the Saudis appear determined to make sure the players who remain on the main circuit are not left feeling aggrieved.

LIV renegades who earned huge signing on fees like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau will keep their lucrative cheques, but leading PGA Tour players are also set to be rewarded with “substantial” sums themselves from the new overlords of the sport.

• US Open: Preview, how to watch, betting tips

• Rory McIlroy ‘cancels’ US Open press conference

It is claimed by the Times that the payments handed out to these players is part of the new plan from the new unnamed commercial entity to “level up” the financial rewards in the game.

The details of those rewards are unclear and it remains to be seen whether the likes of McIlroy, Rahm and Scottie Scheffler will be compensated in a way they feel is adequate for their loyalty to the PGA Tour.

Uncertainty still reigns at this week’s US Open over the extraordinary truce between the sport’s warring factions, with the majority of players choosing to block out the noise and focus solely on the third major of the year at Los Angeles Country Club.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.