Gary Player slams PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide: "When you win a tournament, you're half a champion"

Gary Player has once again taken aim at the fractured nature of men’s professional golf, offering a candid assessment of the ongoing divide between tours.

The nine-time major champion has never shied away from sharing his views, and during a wide-ranging Q&A with The Fried Egg, the South African - now 90 - spoke openly about several key issues shaping the modern game. 

Among them is the uncertain future of LIV Golf.

Player questioned whether the breakaway league will be able to secure the financial backing required to sustain itself long term. 

Recent developments suggest LIV Golf is attempting to raise $250m to ensure its survival, while reports from Bloomberg indicate that groundwork may also be being laid for a potential bankruptcy scenario.

"It's unlikely,” Player said when asked whether LIV would be able to raise the necessary funds.

"I'm not saying it won't happen, but to that degree, you might find somebody saying, 'Well, we'll take it over, but we'll cut the prize money by 10.’ Or some theory."

The ongoing uncertainty has also raised questions about the future of players who made the move to LIV Golf and whether they could return to the PGA Tour.

Some have already done so. Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka managed to exit his LIV contract early and rejoin the PGA Tour through a returning member programme. 

His return did not come without consequences.

Koepka accepted a series of penalties, including a reported $5m donation to charity, forfeiting equity in the PGA Tour, ineligibility for FedEx Cup bonus money, and the requirement to play his way back into the biggest events on the calendar.

Player believes such measures are justified and expects similar conditions to apply to others seeking a return.

"But now if they want to come back, these other guys that have fulfilled the role, are you going to kick them in the ass? No,” he said.

"So now how do you bring them back? Whatever reason they’re accepted back, there is going to have to be some sacrifice, some penalty, something.

"They cannot just say, 'I'm coming back.' Whatever it is, I don't know. I'm not running the Tour, but it's a big problem."

Beyond the financial and logistical challenges, Player also expressed a deeper concern about what the divide has done to the sport's sense of unity and prestige.

He reflected on an era when the world's best players competed regularly against one another outside of the majors. 

"When Arnold, Jack, and I won a tournament, we were the champions of the world that week," he said.

"Now you've got half a champion. When you win a tournament now, you're half a champion.

"Don't ever tell yourself you're the champion of the world because you're not."