PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Growing up as the grandson of Arnold Palmer, Sam Saunders brings a perspective on one of the all-time legends of the game. It was Palmer who was his guiding light in the game and whose words of wisdom still serve as the foundation he goes back to.
So, when asked to comment on how he thinks his grandfather, who died in 2016, would have felt about the friction in the game since the launch of LIV Golf, Saunders is quick to say he can’t speak for “The King,” but that doesn’t mean he can’t offer an educated guess.
“It’s not fair to ever assume what anyone would think, period,” he said. “I can’t tell you I think he would think this, but based on my relationship with him and how I feel about the game of golf and how important it is to keep it accessible and fun, I can’t imagine he wouldn’t be disappointed because I know I am.”
Saunders is 36 and after playing in 158 career events on the PGA Tour has dealt with a myriad of injuries the past few years – cyst on his wrist, broken collarbone, broken left leg, just to name a few – but is healthy again and spent the past season on the Korn Ferry Tour trying to work his way back to the Tour that his grandfather helped build. (The players broke away from the PGA of America in 1968.)
“I don’t judge anyone for decisions they make because I’m not walking in their shoes but no one can buy the game of golf, nobody owns the game of golf. It’s a game that should be available for anyone to play. It’s important that everyone remembers that it should be a game that brings people together, not push them apart,” Saunders said. “Personally, I’d love to see the PGA Tour go back to its roots and stick to a little bit more of the tradition of the game. I won’t candy-coat it at all, I’m not a fan of limited-field, no-cut events. That’s not what the game is about. What makes it unique is there is no guaranteed money, it’s a performance-based sport. I felt like we had it pretty solid for a lot of years. I know that the years I played out there I never could have imagined we were playing for that much money. Purses have gone up to a point that I personally don’t feel are sustainable nor necessary.
“How much money does an individual need to make playing a sport? I think it should be performance-based. I hope that all of this will end in a positive way. Right now, I’ll be honest with you, I’m concerned. I know that 90 percent of players and those involved in the game are quite concerned and it’s justified to feel a little confused as to what’s going on. All I can do is hope that something good will prevail.”
Arnold Palmer and Sam Saunders pose for a Golfweek print story. (Photo by Allan Henry)
Saunders said he wasn’t pleased last year when it was initially proposed that the Arnold Palmer Invitational would become a small-field, no-cut signature event. (Later, the Tour reversed the decision and API, the Genesis Invitational and Memorial will all have a small cut.) Saunders, who grew up at the host course, Bay Hill Lodge & Club, and has played in the tournament 10 times, said he met with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan over lunch during the tournament in March and voiced his concerns, while noting, “I didn’t have anything to do in that decision.”
“That was something my grandfather would have been very passionate about, I think he would’ve always wanted to have a competitive event with a cut in it. Personally, I’m disappointed that it is as small a field as it is but I’m glad there is a cut,” Saunders said.
While he needs to take care of business this week at PGA Tour Q-School, which begins Thursday at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club with five Tour cards available, Saunders already is targeting getting back into the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he last played in March 2020.
Sam Saunders tees off at the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“I don’t want to play in it because it’s a limited field, I want to play in it because it’s a great event,” he said. “I don’t like that we are identifying events as good ones and bad ones. They should all be great events. Every single event on the PGA Tour should be recognized as the best players in the world competing. It really upsets me when they’re limiting fields and not having cuts because we’re no longer identifying the best player, we’re identifying the best player in a limited circumstance, basically.
“I want to get back and play in the API and I’m very pleased that we’re going to have a cut there this year. I’d love to see all of the non-majors on a more equal level. Whether it’s Tiger’s event at the Genesis or Mr. Nicklaus’s event at Muirfield or my granddad’s event or the Colonial, obviously those events hold certain value on Tour but in no way did I think the Arnold Palmer Invitational was better or more important than any other Tour event. It has a certain history to it, it has my granddad’s name to it, which holds value. I wanted our golf course to be as good as it could possibly be and have it be the best test of golf for the players. That’s the only competitive nature I felt with my involvement in the tournament.”
Spoken like the grandson of one of the all-time greats.