Does Xander Schauffele feel betrayed by PGA Tour/LIV deal? Let him tell you

Xander Schauffele has offered his take on the PGA Tour deal with LIV Golf's Saudi backers.

11 Jun 2023

Does Xander Schauffele feel betrayed by PGA Tour/LIV deal? Let him tell you

PGA Tour pro Xander Schauffele has joined a chorus of players criticising the lack of transparency from the circuit after Jay Monahan agreed a secret deal with LIV Golf's Saudi backers.

The network involved in that deal was small. Alongside Monahan, only PGA Tour chairman Ed Herlihy and LIV Golf mastermind and prominent Saudi businessman Yasir Al-Rumayyan were privy to the meetings across the globe.

This stunning deal was brokered after Jimmy Dunne, who sits on the PGA Tour's policy board and reached out to Al-Rumayyan via text message.

Schauffele found out the news like everyone else. On social media. Asked for his thoughts on the deal, he told The Times of London:

"What does loyalty mean these days? I don't quite know. From a long-term perspective, more money being dumped into the game again is a good thing.

"The product was always going to be better with the [LIV] golfers we know, the major winners, all included, but trying to put my own emotions and sentiments on the matter aside is going to be hard."

So does he feel betrayed? The 29-year-old American, who will be hoping to finally make his major breakthrough at the forthcoming US Open, added:

"Yeah, I guess [betrayal] would be the charged word. Irony comes to mind as well. From the messages I've had, everybody is taking it a bit personally, which is fair, to an extent.

"I was definitely left in the dark, like most guys, which is frustrating from the transparency side.

"I thought we were making some headway in that department, but obviously not, because there wasn't a whole lot of trust in the first place.

"As tour pros, we try to rationalise situations when we compete, but some guys are feeling hot-headed, some are more confused, some are emotional. We have a really interesting group [of players] that are trying to deal with this situation."

Schauffele's comments come as former World No. 1 Martin Kaymer lashed out at LIV Golf hypocrites and the aforementioned Monahan revealed why he caved and agreed a deal with his once bitter rivals.

Here's a look at what we know about the 'deal' so far and the questions we have.

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