Xander Schauffele criticises father, 'open' to change in PGA Tour leadership

Xander Schauffele says he would be open to a change in the PGA Tour's leadership as talks between the North American circuit and LIV's financiers intensify.

Xander Schauffele criticises father, 'open' to change in PGA Tour leadership
Xander Schauffele criticises father, 'open' to change in PGA Tour…

Xander Schauffele says he wouldn't mind seeing change in the PGA Tour's leadership as he criticised his father and coach for speaking to the media. 

Speaking to Today's Golfer, the American said he has since hashed things out with his father Stefan. 

But he wasn't too pleased his father spoke to reporters about whether or not Ryder Cup players deserve to be compensated.

Stefan revealed his son was reportedly almost booted out of the Team USA side over the delayed signing of a player benefit agreement. 

It was an issue to do with allowing the Netlfix cameras in the locker room, he said. 

"I was pretty unhappy that he was talking to the media," Schauffele said. "We've already hashed that one out.

"That stuff didn’t need to be said. You know, I would say there was some miscommunication originally, but it came late and we just wanted to adjust a few things legally in the framework before we signed it (the contract).

"At no point did I ever feel personally threatened that I was not going to be on the team."

It's no secret Schauffele was among a number of high-profile stars left blindsided by the PGA Tour's decision to try and form a new, for-profit company with LIV Golf's wealthy financiers. 

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has a long way to go before he can regain the trust of the North American circuit's membership. 

The framework agreement marked a stunning, about-face Tour management policy. 

Schauffele has never publicly spoken about how much money he was offered to join LIV but it's clear the announcement of the 6 June framework agreement has irked him. 

"I wouldn’t mind seeing some new leadership take place on our circuit," Schauffele said. 

He added:

"I would be lying if I said that I have a whole lot of trust after what happened. That’s definitely the consensus that I get when I talk to a lot of guys.
"It's a bit contradictory when they call it 'our Tour’'and things can happen without us even knowing.
"It's hard. I'm sure there are reasons for what happened, but at the same time, it puts us in a really hard spot to trust the leadership that did some stuff in the dark and is supposed to have our best interests at heart.
"I am a bit in the dark still. I hate to sit here and hope for the best."

Elsewhere in the interview, Schauffele wanted to make it clear the Team USA Ryder Cup side wasn't fractured. 

Patrick Cantlay, you'll likely know, was accused of not wearing a hat as a sign of protest players weren't being paid. 

Schauffele told TG reports the team was divided was humourous more than anything. 

He continued: "I'm not sure how or why any of that was printed. 

"If I'm going to set the record completely straight, there was zero fracturing in our team room.

"To say that we didn't eat with our teammates was pretty funny. Everyone in our locker room had a pretty good laugh at that part." 

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