Jack Nicklaus Believes the PGA Tour Has 'Guys Who Play Golf for the Game' Compared to LIV

The Memorial Tournament host doesn't have two of the last three major winners in his field.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Jack Nicklaus sent a letter of congratulations to Brooks Koepka following his PGA Championship win, telling him “it was a great competition," and that he "played well and deserved it.’’

But when asked if Nicklaus is sorry not to see Koepka or reigning British Open champion Cam Smith competing at the Memorial Tournament this week, the Golden Bear did not hesitate.

“I don’t really consider those guys part of the game anymore; and I don’t mean that in a nasty way ... or really mean it that way," Nicklaus told a few reporters Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “To me, this is a PGA Tour event and we’ve got the best field we can possibly have on the PGA Tour. Those who are eligible to be here. The other guys made a choice to go where they went. We don’t really talk about it."

Koepka and Smith are part of the LIV Golf League and no longer eligible to compete in PGA Tour events—the penalty for any player who competes with LIV Golf. Nicklaus said he does not believe they should be allowed to play on the PGA Tour or come back.

“No, I don’t," he said. “They’ve made a choice for what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. And that’s fine. I don’t have any issue with any of those guys. I see six or seven of them who are members at the Bear’s Club (Nicklaus’s Florida club). It’s not an issue. They get along with the guys fine. It’s just where they chose to play golf. And I look at what the PGA Tour is and who the members are.

“And they’ve actually spurred the PGA Tour to get better."

Nicklaus was referring to the influx of designated events that have bigger purses. The Memorial, which Nicklaus, 83, founded and hosts, has one of the best fields of the year, with the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking, seven of the top 10 and 38 of the top 50. (It also has nine of the top 10 in the SI World Golf Ranking.)

Now a designated event with a $20 million purse, the tournament that is now in its 48th year has traditionally had a strong field, with the U.S. Open looming in two weeks.

But for the third straight year, it is missing the reigning PGA champion—Phil Mickelson didn’t play in 2021 and Justin Thomas, who is here this year, skipped last year. Smith had played the tournament six straight times.

Billy Horschel is the defending champion and is joined in the field by Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay, among others.

“I think the guys who have stayed on the PGA Tour for the most part are guys who play golf for the game of golf," said Nicklaus, who won 73 PGA Tour events, including 18 majors. “A sporting event, a competition.

“I was all about how good I could be in the sport and the money just took care of itself. Some guys might not really care about playing golf, they’re just pretty good at it. It’s a means to an end to them. And if that’s what it is, that’s fine."

Nicklaus made some $5 million in official money in his PGA Tour career. “Somebody will blow by me this week," he joked, saying he has no issue with the money in the game today.