Justin Rose is a staple of professional golf and is no stranger to LIV golf chatter, but he is loyal to the PGA Tour.
On Thursday after his round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Rose detailed his conversations with the Saudi support circuit and why he ultimately decided to stay on tour.
“For me, it never felt good to give up my childhood dream of making it to the majors, and I didn’t think that was going to change anytime soon,” Rose said. “I was in a position and situation where I had to make money to get into them, so there was no long-term exemption to cushion that.”
Players like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson have been exempted from playing in the majors because of their wins in recent years. However, they will eventually run out.
But the vast majority of players who leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf don’t have the same luxury.
At the end of last year, news broke that OWGR would no longer award points for LIV events, resulting in players on rival tours dropping significantly in the world rankings. Therefore, it will become increasingly difficult for them to play in the majors.
As Rose alluded to, it’s a place where dreams are born.
Players from both sides have often talked about wanting to end the divide in golf. But little, if any, progress has been made in this regard. So for those who received the money without receiving a waiver, their dreams of playing and winning a major may be over.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
