Fred Couples has trolled LIV Golf and its members on several occasions, including calling Phil Mickelson a “nutbag” and Sergio Garcia a “clown.” Well, he did it again Monday night on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.
While Couples doesn’t have a problem with PGA Tour players — the most recent being world No. 3 Jon Rahm — making the move to the Saudi-backed circuit for the money, he also doesn’t want to hear them spew recycled lines about how great the product is.
“$100 million doesn’t get it, $200 million doesn’t get it, $300 million doesn’t get it, but for $400 million it’s a great product, and it’s a great show?” Couples said. “My a**, OK. Tell me the next guy, whether it’s Tony Finau, ‘I’m going for free, boys. I love this Tour. I don’t like the PGA Tour anymore.’ No one’s gonna do that.”
Jon Rahm has said the size of his offer from LIV weighed into his decision to join the tour.
Fred Couples has no problem with that, but he'd like for everyone to stop telling him how great LIV's product is.@fredcouplesgolf | @coachgeorge805 pic.twitter.com/E0CzcR3EgI
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) December 12, 2023
Finau announced Monday he’s not going anywhere.
“I wanna see the next superstar say, ‘I’m going to LIV, you know why I’m going? Because it is unreal.’” (The PGA Tour plays) Riviera, and they play TPC, Phoenix in front of 300,000 people. I want ’em to go for free. Then go on CNN, and every TV show, and say why they’re going is because it’s that good,” Couples said.
At the 2022 U.S. Open, Rahm said the LIV format “is not really appealing to me. Shotgun three days to me is not a golf tournament, no cut. It’s that simple.” He also added: “Will our lifestyle change if I got $400 million? No, it will not change one bit,” he said.
Well, things changed for the Spaniard over the last year and a half.
“Obviously the past two years there’s been a lot of evolving on the game of golf, things have changed a lot and so have I,” Rahm said when he signed with LIV. “Seeing the growth of LIV Golf, seeing the evolution of LIV Golf and innovation is something that has really captured my attention.”
Despite LIV’s unique format and schedule, Couples says the league isn’t changing anything.
“Don’t sit there and then go on and say ‘they’re changing the game,'” he said. “What are they changing? Actually, for 50 years, golf has been changed. Arnold Palmer changed it. Jack Nicklaus changed it. Tiger Woods changed it.
“The LIV Tour ain’t changing a thing.”