Golf legend Sir Bob Charles, and patron of the Christchurch Golf Club, wants nothing to do with LIV Golf after representatives from the Saudi-backed tournament visited.
"The traditional game that I've played for 50 years traveling around the world is in total upheaval and they're causing havoc - they're causing problems, and I just have no time for LIV whatsoever," Sir Bob, 1963 The Open winner said, according to the Otago Daily Times.
LIV launched in 2022 and it is being bankrolled by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. Its CEO is Australian golfing legend Greg Norman. Several top PGA Tour stars jumped ship for LIV Golf - Jon Rahm being the most recent, inking a nine-figure agreement with the Tour.
Others such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy remained loyal to the PGA Tour, while lesser names collected a big cheque. "They've been offered some obscene sums of money and some of the guys that play, I've never ever heard of… I don't know that they deserve the money which they have been offered," Sir Bob added.
"It's not the traditional game… we had a certain set of rules, we had an organization and they're a bunch of boys playing in short pants. So I've got nothing nice to say about them whatsoever," Sir Bob concluded.
PIF, the PGA, and the European Tour are in merger talks but an official deal has yet to be struck. staunch PGA loyalist McIlroy even softened his stance on LIV Golf and its defecting players after merger talks were announced.
The Kiwi was pleased to see compatriot Lydia Ko take gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Women's competition. She also became the first athlete since Inbee Park to automatically qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
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“I actually don't know if it has sunk in yet,” said Ko. “I didn't sleep Saturday night because of travel logistics and all that, so I went to sleep for the first time on Sunday night. It was pretty surreal. I woke up, like, was that a dream?
"Did that just really happen? I've gotten an overwhelming amount of support from the players and the people that I know, and I’m very grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Sir Bob heaped praise on Ko. "That was fantastic. I'm proud of her," Sir Bob said. "She's certainly had her ups and downs recently, and most of them have been downs… But she enjoyed a lot of success, prior to this event and I think this gold medal at the Olympics is the icing on the cake."
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