LIV Golf top secret REVEALED and why Patrick Reed's PXG contract was not renewed
PXG founder Bob Parsons gives damning verdict of LIV Golf and why he declined to renew player contracts such as Patrick Reed.
Golf equipment contracts on LIV Golf has been something of an elephant in the room the past 12 months. Step forward Bob Parsons, the founder of PXG.
Parsons confirmed this week how he would never have renewed the contracts of LIV Golf players such as Patrick Reed because he has a "hard time getting involved" with the Saudi-bankrolled league.
Having served with the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, the 72-year-old Parsons admits he cannot have anything to do with LIV Golf moving forwards as a result of "the stuff that went down at 9/11".
Parsons made his feelings be known about LIV in an exclusive interview with Esquire.
Parsons said:
Parsons, who recently spoke to GolfMagic following a PXG 0311 GEN6 irons launch in Arizona, also let out during his latest interview that players "cannot contract with sponsors with the LIV Tour".
Patrick Reed and Pat Perez were both under contract with PXG prior to their moves to LIV Golf. But Parsons admits there was never any doubt he was going to decline to renew each of their contracts as soon as they got involved with the Saudi Arabian regime.
This explains why Reed was seen having departed with his PXG cap back in June 2022, when we revealed all in this article.
The anamolies in all this are LIV Golf's Jason Kokrak and Hudson Swafford, who are both seemingly still under contract with PXG (at least since they still appear on the brand's website as PXG Troops).
Kokrak was still wearing a PXG cap at The Masters, and he still plays some of the brand's irons and wedges.
Swafford, on the other hand, has been ruled out of the rest of the LIV Golf season as a result of a hip injury. He had also been using the company's irons and wedges prior to being forced onto the sidelines.
But both of their deals are coming to an immediate end as they will not be renewed.
Parsons confirmed to Esquire:
A similar story of broken down equipment deals has occurred elsewhere in recent months with Dustin Johnson no longer part of any commercial activity with TaylorMade.
The 4 Aces GC captain is still a TaylorMade staff player, however, and he continues to play a full bag of the company's clubs.
Johnson has seen his long-term deal with adidas come to a bitter end though, with those on LIV Golf now expected to wear team logos on their apparel.
Sergio Garcia's long-term adidas deal was also terminated following his ties to LIV Golf, while Bryson DeChambeau's long-standing partnership with Cobra Puma Golf has seemingly reached the end.
This will become a story of things to come in the golf equipment world, or so it seems.
Parsons is the first founder of a golf equipment supplier to come forward with such information about what's really happening with player contracts on LIV Golf. Or at least to his knowledge.
As it stands at LIV Golf tournaments, none of the manufacturers send their Tour vans to the range like you would typically see on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. There is just an independent supplier on hand to help players with their equipment and answer any queries they may have during events.
Equipment manufacturers have remained silent on all things LIV Golf ever since its inauguration last summer. None of the equipment brands promote LIV Golf wins on their social media channels, unlike when a player etches their name on a trophy on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
With Parsons' comments now out in the open, it remains to be seen how many other equipment CEOs come forward with more details about the future of player contracts on LIV Golf.
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
