Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka mocked by golf legend in brutal dig at LIV Golf

Nick Faldo took a cheeky jab at LIV Golf for their dismal TV ratings, while also attributing the decline in interest in men's professional golf to the new Saudi-backed series.

While hosting the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry, a venue steeped in his own personal history, the European golf legend reaffirmed his allegiance to the DP World Tour and PGA Tour amidst the sport's recent schism, maintaining his critical view of the LIV league.

He underscored the league's failure to captivate the home audience, remarking, "I think they [LIV] are an island and go and do their own thing," and added, "That's absolutely fine with me, go and play their tour.

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"And I think we are now seeing that, wow, they've had three seasons, and they haven't made much impact on the [viewing] numbers. Quite amusingly, pickleball was bigger than their two stars [ Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm ] in a play-off."

Faldo couldn't help but find humor in the fact that pickleball outperformed LIV Golf's playoff featuring big names like Koepka and Rahm in terms of viewership.

He concluded with a pointed observation: "The sort of excitement everyone wants. But it got beat for viewership by pickleball. "I think bottom line is that the players have got the last laugh because they are being rewarded so much either through the size of the prize money or appearance fees and they are not moving the needle."

LIV isn't the only golf circuit struggling to pull in viewers. The PGA Tour has also seen a decline in its audience, with recent data showing a 30 percent drop in viewing figures for this month's opening FedEx Cup playoff, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, compared to last year.

According to Faldo, LIV's financial impact is the culprit. "It's been so damaging to the public's attitude to golf. I still talk to my producer friends in TV and people are just not watching [it]. It's hurt the attitude towards golf.

"I did 18 years of television, and I was told not to talk about prize money. When the FedEx Cup went to 10 million, I went 'wow, look at this, this putt is worth 10 million! ' That was about the only time I mentioned money and now, all of a sudden, it's ridiculous amounts. It's really changed it."

Leading Faldo's event at The Belfry is none other than LIV Golf's own Tyrrell Hatton. He's making his return to the DP World Tour in an attempt to maintain his Ryder Cup eligibility for 2025.

The English golfer shot to the top of the leaderboard on Friday, carding a fantastic seven-under-par 65 with eight birdies, putting him at 10-under, one stroke ahead of the rest of the field.