Report: Patrick Cantlay leading PGA Tour players' 'coup d'état' against LIV deal

PGA Tour pro Patrick Cantlay is reportedly one of the leading players rallying hard against the deal with LIV Golf's Saudi backers, according to a report.

Ben Smith

25 Jun 2023

Report: Patrick Cantlay leading PGA Tour players' 'coup d'état' against LIV deal — Report: Patrick Cantlay leading PGA Tour players' 'coup d'état' against…

Patrick Cantlay is reportedly one of the leading players rallying hard against the PGA Tour's deal with LIV Golf's Saudi backers.

When rumours of the rival league financed by Saudi Arabia's PIF began to gather steam in early 2022, Cantlay told of how he was a 'curious observer'.

To this day he has remained loyal despite multiple reports he was ready to turn his back on the PGA Tour with Xander Schauffele.

Through the last 18 months, it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest that his comments in public have demonstrated that he has sat on the fence.

Rory McIlroy he is not.

According to Golfweek's Eamon Lynch, Cantlay is one of the golfers who is really unhappy with the proposal to align the commercial interests of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF.

A new, for-profit company is said to be created in the not too distant future. The deal between the PGA Tour and LIV was brokered over a series of secret meetings across the globe between the PGA Tour's Jay Monahan and Jimmy Dunne, alongside Saudi businessman Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

All litigation between the two organisations has now been withdrawn. It's clear that nobody really knows anything.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by . (@golfmagic)

"There are so many unanswered questions that at this point I wouldn't want to waste time thinking about it," Jon Rahm said before the Travelers Championship.

Per Lynch, one of the reasons why Cantlay is speaking out against the proposal is that he allegedly doesn't feel as though he can reap the benefits should PIF and the PGA Tour's deal get over the line.

In other words, he would lose leverage. Despite being an accomplished player more than capable of winning major championships, Cantlay is not a 'needle mover'.

Cantlay came 19th in the 2022 Player Impact Program, earning a $2m bonus cheque. He didn't any bonus money from the inaugural PIP.

Reported Lynch:

"Patrick Cantlay, who carries himself with the assurance of a man convinced he'd be a partner at Goldman Sachs if he wasn't merely sporting its logo on his cap, has been trying to rally players against the deal with the Saudis, and against members of the Tour’s policy board who architected or support it.

"It hardly needs to be stated that his objections aren't based on the morality of dealing with human rights abusers. Existing PGA Tour incentives won’t much benefit Cantlay. He won't get rich from the Player Impact Program that bonuses stars on fan engagement since the only needle he moves is the gas gauge on his car.

"So the logic of Cantlay's coup d'etat is that if LIV disappears as a threat — a likely occurrence under the deal — then players like him have no options, no leverage over the Tour, and no prospects for the lucrative payday to which they feel entitled.

"Multiple sources say Cantlay has romanced LIV for some time, including while being a sitting member of the Tour's policy board, all while maintaining a gymnast's balance as a fence-sitter in public."

Cantlay isn't the only player to voice his frustration publicly. Cantlay's good friend Schauffele slammed the lack of transparency.

Adam Scott, too, also expressed some frustration with the top brass.

Watched our latest YouTube video?