LIV golfer Bubba Watson claims that while he was on TOUR, he was paid guaranteed money for appearances at certain events despite it being against the organizer's policy.
"It makes me laugh because on the PGA TOUR, I got paid behind closed doors to show up at tournaments, many tournaments," said Watson, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach. "And if Bubba Watson's not the best, that means the best were getting paid better than me and more than me. And so it's guaranteed money. I miss the cut, I still make money. I make the cut, I make extra money."
Watson said the money came from sponsors and organizers of the tournaments.
In a statement obtained by Schlabach, the TOUR said it "prohibits the payment of appearance money to players as an inducement to play in a particular tournament." It also mentioned that compensation for sponsor-related contract activity during the week of a tournament is not against the rules.
Former World No. 1 Greg Norman, who is the CEO and face of LIV Golf, said he was prohibited from accepting such fees while he was on TOUR.
"I can only say that if Bubba is saying that, it's got to be factual and it wouldn't surprise me at all," said Norman. "Back in my day, we were not allowed to take appearance money, we were not allowed to get our hotels paid or any expenses paid for."
LIV Golf's recent season-ending team championship held a $50-million purse with $16 million going to the four-member winning team. The last-place team was still guaranteed to split $1 million. The seven individual events each held a tournament purse of $25 million, with $4 million going to first place and $120,000 guaranteed for the last-place finisher in the 48-player field. It was previously reported some players also signed lucrative contracts to join the league.
Some TOUR players, like Tiger Woods ahead of the Open Championship, have questioned the league and its incentives when players are earning hefty amounts even if they finish last in the no-cut events.
