(AP) — Charles Howell III says it was never about the money when he joined Saudi-funded LIV Golf in July 2022 during its inaugural season. A few eyes rolled, no doubt, especially when he borrowed from the book of (Greg) Norman that golf can be a force for good.
Howell mentioned his 22 years on the PGA Tour ($42 million in career earnings) and the 609 tournaments he played (two as an amateur). It was something different, and the 44-year-old certainly has not looked back.
He has not played any other tournament but LIV Golf since joining. Howell is not eligible for any of the majors and did not attempt U.S. Open qualifying the last two years.
That’s true for some of the other players who defected from the PGA Tour who had exemptions to all four of the majors.
Dustin Johnson has played only the six majors outside of LIV. Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau have played seven times — six majors and the Saudi International. Brooks Koepka has played eight times, once in Oman on the Asian Tour and the other at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan, where he has won twice.
And then there’s Patrick Reed, who said upon joining that the LIV schedule would allow him to spend more time with his children. In addition to the 26 LIV Golf events since joining, Reed has played 15 times in events that count toward the Official World Golf Ranking.
It’s still down from the 30-plus tournaments he used to average per year.
LIV Golf plays its fifth event of the season this week at Trump National Doral, a tuneup for 13 players in the field who will be at the Masters next week.
