Tommy Fleetwood admits he is in the dark over what will come next in golf’s interminable civil war between the PGA Tour and LIV but he can confirm one thing: they didn’t get in touch with him this winter.
The latter is relevant in the context of a question he was asked at the Dubai Desert Classic on Tuesday, concerning the hypothetical of which is more likely to happen in the near future: will LIV sign a big-name player or lose one?
That thought has taken on extra importance since Brooks Koepka walked out on the final year of his LIV deal in order to return to the American circuit. In consideration of the fact that LIV have not made a marquee signing since Tyrrell Hatton in early 2024, it appears that the tides of Saudi spending are ebbing, which might explain why a player of Fleetwood’s calibre no longer seems to be on their radar.
Along with the rest of the game’s elite, he was sounded out at the onset of the breakaway league in 2022, and he has only gone on to get better in the intervening years. So it is perhaps telling about the current state of LIV, and indeed where they head next, that no approach was even attempted for the world No 3.
‘They haven’t sniffed around me in this post-season,’ he said. ‘I think you definitely see changes, and some very good golfers have gone over to LIV. It’s probably going to cost a lot of money, right, to get some big-name players.
‘I don’t know what their strategy will be, who they will be looking at, or how they want to go about it, but they didn’t talk to me.’
Tommy Fleetwood says LIV have not been in touch with him during the post-season, which, given his standing, is perhaps a sign of where the Saudis’ spending is at
Brooks Koepka – pictured with wife Jena Sims and son Crew – has taken a hit of at least $20m to walk out on the final year of his LIV deal in order to return to the American circuit
The most notable LIV signings ahead of their new season, which starts next month in Saudi Arabia, are the highly-rated Australian Elvis Smylie and world No 61 Thomas Detry.
They are solid players, but as needle-movers they are far removed from the signings of Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Koepka and Dustin Johnson. More to the point, they also won’t come close to concealing the PR damage of losing Koepka.
The five-time major winner joined LIV for a signing fee of around $150million in 2022 and Daily Mail Sport understands he wrote off approximately $15m from that agreement in his negotiations around an early exit last month.
That sum was derived from the staggered structure of the signing fee – sources have told us he received half of the $150m up front, with the remaining $75m due in $15m instalments across each of the five years of his deal. With that final year nullified at his request, he therefore took a substantial hit to leave, not even counting for the $5m charity donation and other penalties he accepted from the PGA Tour to smooth his return.
The impression of LIV in such circumstances would appear to be less than favourable and has only served to strengthen DeChambeau’s hand in his own negotiations.
With his deal up at the end of this year, the Saudis will reportedly have to pay him around $500m to stay on, or else risk losing their most marketable asset. His public remarks on the topic, including the posting of a picture next to an ‘Exit’ sign, have indicated he is revelling in the uncertainty.
As it stands, each of DeChambeau, Rahm and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith have been presented with an opportunity by the PGA Tour to rejoin through the same loophole opened for Koepka. No other rebel meets the deliberate criteria set out by the PGA Tour, which mandates that a returning golfer must have won a major or the Players Championship since 2022, suggesting that they can happily live without the remainder of a predominantly ageing cast.
The deadline for the gilded trio that the PGA Tour do want is February 2 but none of DeChambeau, Rahm or Smith is currently minded towards triggering a minor explosion by accepting it.
Bryson DeChambeau’s hand in his own negotiations with LIV has been strengthened by the defection of Koepka
DeChambeau’s cryptic Instagram upload earlier this month, in which the 32-year-old posed next to an ‘Exit’ sign
Jon Rahm (top row, with beard) has been stalked by rumours of buyer’s remorse ever since his departure to LIV in 2023 and is still operating under the threat of a Ryder Cup ban amid the unresolved saga of unpaid fines to the DP World Tour
That being said, DeChambeau and Rahm were lukewarm at best in pledging their immediate futures to LIV when asked in the wake of Koepka’s defection.
Rahm, for one, has been stalked by rumours of buyer’s remorse ever since his departure in 2023 and, along with Hatton, is still operating under the threat of a Ryder Cup ban amid the unresolved saga of their unpaid fines to the DP World Tour.
Time will tell if LIV’s bigger names can find enough satisfaction on their circuit in the longer term, even if there are promising developments on that side – they are finally likely to be granted recognition from the world-ranking authorities in the coming year and expanded broadcast coverage has also been delivered.
Those positives are offset somewhat by knowledge that LIV is haemorrhaging cash and even the Saudis have their limits.
One driving range theory that has long stirred intrigue is rooted in the inflammatory idea that the Saudis and DP World Tour could one day join forces. That cannot happen until 2027 at the earliest due to the DPWT’s strategic alliance with the PGA Tour, which contains a break clause next year, but it would at least make theoretical sense for two circuits that presently occupy lesser seats at a table dominated by their American big brother.
Such a move would be highly controversial, but with the Saudi powerbrokers and Dubai-based logistics giant DP World sharing a good relationship at corporate level, it isn’t a prospect that ought to be discounted.
Daily Mail Sport understands there are elements of the DP World Tour hierarchy who are open to the thought.
For his part, Fleetwood spoke for much of golf in admitting he has no clue what will come around the corner, and whether others will take a leaf from Koepka’s book in quitting LIV. At the very least, momentum appears to be siding with the PGA Tour for now.
There is a loophole that would allow Cameron Smith to return to the PGA Tour should he wish
Fleetwod plays out of a bunker in Dubai. ‘I’m playing where I feel like I can still chase my dreams,’ he says. ‘And I’m in the best place to be the best golfer I can be. Other people may feel differently’
Fleetwood said: ‘In general, I think people want to play where their goals or dreams are aligned,’ he said. ‘You know, they want to play in the place where they feel they can chase them. Personally, I’m playing where I feel like I can still chase my dreams, and I’m in the best place to be the best golfer I can be. Other people may feel differently.
‘I think that’s what Brooks is doing. He wants to play where he feels like he can get the most out of himself and play his best golf, and that’s obviously why he’s ended up coming back.
‘I saw the interview with the guys, Jon and Bryson and Cameron, and they are obviously well set on playing LIV Golf and that’s where they want to play. But who knows? I think nobody really knows what’s going to happen next.’
Golf always was a slow-moving sport.