World-class Athletes Comment On Proposed Saudi League At Riviera

After one of the PGA Tour’s biggest events, the projected Saudi Golf League appears to be in trouble.

 

From world No. 1 Jon Rahm to Rory McIlroy, many of the Tour’s greatest names have spoken out against the rival concept at the Genesis Invitational. Tiger Woods, who hasn’t played since the 2020 Masters, backed the Tour.

 

Before the week was up, practically every top-10 player had stated their intentions — and they all backed the Tour. Patrick Cantlay described himself as “a interested observer” at Pebble Beach a few weeks ago, although Scottie Scheffler and Hideki Matsuyama were not interviewed. Only Xander Schauffele, who played the Asian Tour event in Saudi Arabia the week before Pebble Beach, hasn’t ruled out moving up.

 

While Bryson DeChambeau, long reported to be joining the Saudi league, delivered a statement Sunday in favor of the PGA Tour – as long as everyone else was. Dustin Johnson, a previous champion of the Saudi International, made a similar statement earlier in the day. Only Adam Scott at Genesis seemed amenable to the Saudi notion.