New Zealand golfer Danny Lee says the LIV Golf League can eclipse the PGA Tour for popularity and believes golf’s traditional powers are scrambling to protect themselves.
Lee switched to the Saudi-backed LIV league in February and made an immediate and life-changing impact when he won a tournament in Arizona, pocketing US$4 million ($6.45 million) in prizemoney.
Having failed to win on the PGA Tour since his lone title eight years ago, the triumph in Tucson left him describing his move to LIV as “the best decision I ever made in my life”.
The 32-year-old Rotorua Boys’ High School old-boy also feels comfortable enough to speak about what he describes as a “sudden” push from the PGA Tour to sure up support in the face of a money-rich rival, which has already lured some of the world’s premier players to its ranks.
Lee noted the PGA Tour signed an agreement with the DP World Tour and Japan Tour last year after LIV’s momentum began to gather pace.
“All of a sudden they made an alliance with every tour in the world and it’s like “if you play that tour [LIV], you’re gone’,” Lee told RNZ of a message he says was delivered to players.
“That never happened in 11-plus years I was on the PGA Tour. The sad truth is that they never cared about the European Tour or the Japan Tour or the Korean Tour.
“It’s funny how they’ve changed in the last two years. It’s like, ‘okay. you guys are all my friends. Let’s get along now’. It’s because LIV Golf happened.”
Lee says a host of leading names from the US and beyond are lining up to sign with LIV and believes it will create a logjam in 2024.
He believes the animosity that existed among players towards LIV when it launched last year has cooled.
Danny Lee with the trophy after winning the LIV Golf Invitational - Tucson. Photo / Getty
“There’s a lot of players who want to come over here but sadly there’s only 48 spots over here,” he said.
“You’ll be surprised how many PGA players - all the golfers around the world - who want to be part of LIV golf.
“They know it can be better than PGA Tour in the future, and they can see that. I’ve played three events over here and the atmosphere - no joke - it’s unbelievable.”
A month on from his lucrative win and “several celebrations with my friends”, Lee is ready to focus.
He is in Adelaide this week for the fourth leg of the LIV League, the only time it ventures into the Southern Hemisphere during its 14-round circuit.
He said friends were travelling from New Zealand to watch from the first round on Friday and believed they would enjoy the 54-hole team-based format adopted by LIV.
Lee says criticism of the format is unfounded, saying he feels more pressure with every shot he plays than on the PGA Tour, which rarely varies from the traditional four-round, 18-hole format.
“You feel more pressure out here because it doesn’t matter what place you’re in, your score counts for your team,” he said.
“PGA Tour, if I have one bad first round, or a bad front nine, you can just take it easy and play Thursday-Friday and just move on to the next week.
“But here that’s not the story, your shot counts, your score counts. So you can’t just have a fun round if things aren’t going well.
“It makes me work harder, I think it’s better for me as a golfer. It makes me a better player.
“Actually, I haven’t felt like this in a long time and I’m actually happier while I’m playing golf.”
Korean-born Lee said because the LIV schedule is so much lighter than the PGA Tour, he can see himself returning home to play in the New Zealand Open for the first time since 2009, although he couldn’t commit to when.
