Max Homa is on record of being critical of the LIV Golf League, however that didn’t stop him from saying the PGA Tour potentially would be better off if it welcomes back some of the defectors from the upstart circuit.
“I’m not super-duper close with a ton of guys, but like it does feel like we’re all kind of in this together to push competitive golf and push the game forward,” Homa, the No. 7-ranked golfer in the world, said Tuesday. “So I think my petty side would be a little bit annoyed, but also kind of smiling underneath thinking, ‘OK, welcome, welcome back to what you could have just been doing.’
“But I think my unselfish side and my realistic side is that as I just mentioned, all of those guys that you can name that left are great for golf. Champion golfers, interesting golfers, so many great stories across their careers. So, of course, I think if I could put my selfish part aside and maybe put on my big-boy hat, I would realize that having them back would be a good thing for golf at large.”
Homa, 32, shouldn’t hold his breath, however. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan dismissed the notion of welcoming back LIV players with open arms.
“For some reason I’ve been hearing that a lot lately, and I’m not certain where that’s coming from,” Monahan said. “The players that are playing on that tour are contractually obligated to play on that tour. So any hypotheticals at this point really aren’t relevant, and I think you know me well enough to know I’m not a big fan of hypotheticals. But our position, to answer your question directly, has not changed.”
Still, Homa noted that certain LIV golfers — such as Bryson DeChambeau, for example — move the needle in terms of interest.
“Yeah, I think that certain TV shows and movies aren’t great, like a Hallmark movie, when everything is just all perfect. And I think all of it is interesting,” Homa said. “I do think that it is a shame that I find Bryson to be one of the most interesting people who has probably ever swung a golf club. He thinks about it differently.
“… It was something like, you know, sixth at Bay Hill last year or two years ago, it was like must-see TV, and it was awesome. As I talk to my friends who are far removed from my standing in golf and how close I am to it, I ask them quite often, you know, who are their favorite players and least favorite players, and it’s interesting because when they mention someone who is maybe not their favorite, they always seem to like light up and love talking about it. I’m not saying that those players are anyone’s least favorite, but they obviously have brought some controversy when they have played in events here and there, whether that’s good or bad, but for the, for golf I feel like that’s good. For entertainment that’s good, for fans that’s good.”
–Field Level Media