Justin Rose divulges LIV Golf offer, points to ‘major’ problems for Saudi circuit
Justin Rose is a professional golf staple, and while he has been no stranger to the LIV Golf chatter, he is loyal to the PGA Tour.
Thursday following his round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, Rose detailed speaking with the Saudi-backed circuit and why he ultimately decided to remain with the Tour.
“For me it was always I could never get comfortable with the giving up on the childhood dreams of the majors and I just couldn’t see that changing anytime soon,” Rose said. “I was in a position, a situation where I was having to earn my way into them so I didn’t have those long-term exemptions to buffer it.”
Guys like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson have earned exemptions into the majors due to victories in recent years. Those will however eventually run out as well.
But the vast majority of players who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf do not have that same luxury.
With the news late last year that the OWGR was not going to award points to LIV events, players on the rival tour have tumbled down the world rankings. That is going to make it increasingly difficult for them to ever play in any of the majors.
As Rose alluded to, that’s where dreams are made.
Players on both sides have often spoken about wanting to end the division within golf. But there has been little, if any, progress on that front. So for those without exemptions who took the money, the dreams of playing in and winning majors might pass them by.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
