"Strange and arrogant thing to do" Rory McIlroy's former agent blasts PGA Tour
The former agent of Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood has accused the PGA Tour of behaving arrogantly in its approach to LIV Golf.
The former agent of Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy says it was "strange and arrogant" for the PGA Tour not to engage in a discussion with LIV Golf.
Andrew "Chubby" Chandler has given an interview to the Mirror, where the renowned agent said he doesn't believe "it is such a bad thing anyway" that Saudi Arabia are attempting to legitimise their being.
LIV Golf and their players have been accused of trying to soften the global image of the kingdom in a practice known as sportswashing.
Related: Greg tells Tiger and Rory he's going nowhere
It has become an increasingly ill-tempered debate. There are accusations of hypocrisy on both sides.
McIlroy has taken centre stage in golf's civil war in 2022. He recently claimed Sergio Garcia told him to "shut up" about LIV over text message.
Chief of Chandler's gripes appear to be the PGA Tour did not at any stage want to sit down and talk to LIV Golf and their backers about what they were trying to do with the bottomless pit of money that have at their disposal.
LIV have now completed their inaugural season, which gave away $255m in prize money.
In total, it has been reported the Saudis have spent as much as $2bn on the breakaway tour so far.
They have lured the likes of Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and a host of former Ryder Cup Europe stars.
The aforementioned Garcia appeared to have inadvertently confirmed the next LIV signee.
The LIV Golf League schedule for 2023 is already shaping up, with four venues confirmed. The prize money has risen to a whopping $405m across 14 of their global stops.
Chandler told Mirror Sport:
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Chandler said he enjoyed the $50m season ending team championship at Trump National Doral, which was won by the 4 Aces GC side.
Of the format of LIV Golf, he told the publication:
When asked about LIV Golf's commissioner Greg Norman, Chandler said:
Next page: Nine players who changed their mind about LIV Golf
Ben joined GolfMagic as Content Executive in September 2021 just before the Ryder Cup and has contributed significantly to the growth of the site. Ben now assumes our Content Manager role, specialising in PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf content.
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