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As he prepares for his 25th major start at this week’s US Open, Xander Schauffele has hit out at the PGA Tour over its decision to team up with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The 29-year-old was one of a number of high-profile players reported to have turned down the Saudi riches offered by the LIV Golf League last year in favour of staying loyal to the US-based PGA Tour.

However, having seen the circuit perform an almighty U-turn and strike a deal with the PIF last week, the Olympic gold medalist admits that he’s feeling frustrated, angry and letdown by the tour’s leadership.

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“Yeah, I guess [betrayal] would be the charged word,” Schauffele told The Times.

“Irony comes to mind as well. From the messages I’ve had, everybody is taking it a bit personally, which is fair, to an extent.

“I was definitely left in the dark, like most guys, which is frustrating from the transparency side.

“I thought we were making some headway in that department, but obviously not, because there wasn’t a whole lot of trust in the first place.

“As tour pros, we try to rationalise situations when we compete, but some guys are feeling hot-headed, some are more confused, some are emotional.”

He added: “What does loyalty mean these days? I don’t quite know. From a long-term perspective, more money being dumped into the game again is a good thing. The product was always going to be better with the [LIV] golfers we know, the major winners, all included.

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“But trying to put my own emotions and sentiments on the matter aside is going to be hard.”

Schauffele will attempt to push all of that to one side this week as he attempts to finally break through in the events that matter most.

The world No.6 makes his seventh US Open start at Los Angeles Country Club. He has never missed a cut in his national open, recording a best finish of T3 at Pebble Beach in 2019.