With One 10-Minute Rant in England, Ernie Els Showed the Significance (and Emotion) of Golf’s Great Divide

As 2023 comes to a close, SI Golf’s writers and editors will look back at memorable moments from the year. Here Bob Harig recounts a conversation he had with a fiery Ernie Els.

Golf gave us plenty of on-course fodder in 2024, including a fifth major for Brooks Koepka, a stirring Augusta back-nine duel between Koepka and Jon Rahm, who won his first Masters, and an impressive European Ryder Cup performance.

But the off-course-drama continued to be among the biggest stories in the game, more so than at any time in decades, if ever. There has been disruption and derision and disappointment. A “framework agreement” that nobody saw coming.

And still no peace.

The June 6 announcement of the proposed agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia was about as shocking as it gets. On the eve of the U.S. Open, the game endured a serious jolt, one from which all parties involved were stunned.

All these months later, there is still no clear understanding of what will emerge from all of this, as the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League are set to embark on their 2024 schedules with negotiations continuing.

Els was stunned and angered by the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf / USA Today

And the discontent really hit home for me in July at Royal Liverpool, where Brian Harman was the surprise winner of the Claret Jug.

On Thursday, following the first round, two-time British Open winner Ernie Els was brought to an interview stand outside of scoring. I initially thought he must have put together a low round, but he had started the tournament with a 75, and I noticed that just one person was interviewing him, asking him questions about the course.

I waited until Els was done answering and intended to just say hello and make some idle chatter. He mentioned something about how his game was close and then said, “Wild times, huh?” I acknowledged that, indeed, that is exactly what the current climate was like.

And then I simply asked him: “What do you make of it all?”

And much to my surprise, Els went off.

The Big Easy was clearly ready to let loose, and he didn’t hold back. The winner of four major championships and 19 PGA Tour titles in addition to dozens more around the world, Els has been part of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour for the better part of 30 years. And he was upset about what was—and is—taking place in the game.

“If this happened in my day, in my prime, there’s no way he’s around,” said Els, referring to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who helped secretly negotiate the framework agreement. “No way. And the board has to change. (Tiger Woods has since been added as a player director.) You do s--- like this. I’m sorry, it’s not right. Talk to us, tell us what you’re going to do, plan on negotiating. Don’t just go rogue as a member of the board and come back with a deal and think we’re all going to say yes. You’re affecting people’s lives. You’re affecting the professional game. It’s just so bad.”

Els didn’t stop there. Then, as now, there is little known other than what was announced at the time: that the PGA Tour would form a new, separate for-profit company called PGA Tour Enterprises. Monahan would be the CEO. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, would be chairman of the board.

“I know Yasir, I know some of those Saudi guys,” Els said that day. “They love the game. But this [LIV format] is circus golf. That’s not where I stand.

“Team golf doesn’t work. It works maybe in a two-month, three-month happy season. Get these guys together, get teams together and play around the world. But [then] play real golf.

“That’s what this thing is all about. That’s what I prided myself on. Like Tiger and some of these guys. Playing that type of golf. Getting yourself into majors. And grinding.

“And for these guys [the PGA Tour leadership] to go out there and do what they did, just off the cuff, as a board member, do a deal, nobody knows. The commissioner is supposed to be the guy running our tour. These board members make a deal or a so-called deal and with no input from the players. It’s absolute shambles. I’m worried.”

Els had plenty more to say, including that the PGA Tour should have had a discussion with the PIF from the beginning, and that he wasn’t as concerned about the source of the money as he was the direction of the game.

The discussion lasted less than 10 minutes, but it landed hard. Here was a respected, revered Hall of Fame golfer calling out people on both sides of the divide—on the first day of the Open.

It shined a light on why this story remains at the forefront, and why LIV Golf—despite its large number of detractors—remains relevant.

And for now, there is no sense of when there will be any resolution.