LIV Golf star Bubba Watson has claimed that is on the "right side of history" after departing the PGA Tour for the Saudi Arabian circuit - as he cited Scottie Scheffler's earnings in 2024 as evidence of the tour's positive influence on the game.
The two-time Masters victor defected to the Gulf State league back in 2022, agreeing to the move to the tune of an approximately $50 million. The American was the captaincy of the RangeGoats team on a four-year contract, with fellow household names such as Phil Mickelson , Dustin Johnson , Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm also joining the project.
Now, Watson has defended his decision to leave the PGA Tour two years ago as he praised the PIF-backed LIV for transforming the sport since its inception. For the former world No. 2, the steady increase in earnings for stars still operating on the American circuit is an example of its impact on the wider game.
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With purses for PGA events having grown exponentially in recent times, world No. 1 Scheffler has set new records in terms of PGA Tour earnings in the last three years, for example. Back in 2022 he took home $14 million, with this jumping up to $21 million in 2023 - as his earnings stand at $36 million so far in 2024.
Convinced he made the right decision to join LIV, Watson said: "Yeah, this is exciting times. When I think about going through the motions of deciding I wanted to come to LIV, I thought about the 10-year plan, on paper, what the goals were, and it's met my expectations.
"It's been better than that. We've changed the face of golf. So to be on that side of history is pretty special," he continued. "I know years ago when the PGA Tour made that same decision, and when I'm saying years ago, we're talking '50s, '40s, whatever year Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus and them made the other tour, so we're a part of that.
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It's an honor and a privilege to say I'm a part of that. Scottie Scheffler has made a lot of money this year because of the changes that we've started putting in place. I believe that golf is actually growing in the right spot, and I think team golf is here to stay. So I'm excited for the next few events, the next few years, and hopefully the RangeGoats can beat the Crushers."
Meanwhile, fellow LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau also spoke of his confidence in the LIV project as he discussed the tour's progress since he made the switch. He said: "I expected there to be a lot of progress, but the progress has been amazingly awesome.
"From everything that we’ve done, everything that each team has individually done, the players, what they’ve done to make this league what it is now today is quite impressive. As I look at a five-year vision, 10-year vision, I just see this thing exploding here shortly."
The 2020 and 2024 U.S. Open winner added: "When people start to see the true value that we’re bringing, that intrinsic value is only going to exponentiate over the course of time, which is what I’m excited for. I’m waiting for that kind of domino effect, for it to start falling in that cool direction that we see here on our side at LIV, especially with the team aspect."
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