ROCHESTER, N.Y. — PGA CEO Seth Waugh had some fiery takes — literally — about LIV Golf ahead of this week’s PGA Championship.
“Their logic about the team play being something significant that people can get behind I think is flawed,” Waugh told The Times. “I don’t think people really care about it. And I don’t see how it’s a survivable business model.
“They can fund it for as long as they want to, but no matter how much money you have, at some point, burning it doesn’t feel very good. I don’t see they are accomplishing much. It seems logical to me, then, that you would work towards some sort of agreement. I hope the game comes back together in some form.”
On Tuesday, Waugh spoke during the PGA’s annual state of the association press conference ahead of the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill, and he didn’t exactly walk back his previous comments.
“We don’t think division is in the best interest of the game,” Waugh said. “As a former businessman who looks at things, I think disruption is a good thing. I think good things have happened from that. Certainly, the players are better off in a lot of ways from what it was. I think having more the fans deal with — get to see more of the great players together more often is a good thing. I think there’s more interest in the game frankly as a result of all this disruption.
“But when asked, I struggle and I have since the beginning, even before the beginning, with understanding how it’s a sustainable business model.”
Waugh and PGA’s Kerry Haigh, chief championships officer, addressed a wide assortment of questions. Here are five more things to know from their press conference.