Might Players Boycott a Major In Response to LIV? Davis Love III Could See It

The captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team is frustrated at how LIV Golf is taking players and throwing the game into flux, and outlined a drastic measure to Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. – Davis Love III is frustrated about what the new LIV Golf Invitational Series could be doing to both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and he believes PGA Tour players might have recourse if the new entity continues to be disruptive.

Love, 58, a World Golf Hall of Famer, told Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic that he could foresee players banding together to boycott a major championship if the various governing bodies don’t step in to ban LIV players from competing in them.

“Well, here’s the biggest lever; and it’s not the nice lever,’’ Love said. “But if a group of veterans and a group of top current players align with 150 guys on the Tour, and we say, “Guess what? We’re not playing,’ that solves it, right? If LIV guys play in the U.S. Open, we’re not playing. If they sue in court, and they win, well, we’re not playing. You know, there won’t be a U.S. Open. It’s just like a baseball strike.’’

The PGA Tour has given indefinite suspensions to players who are participating in LIV events, thus making them ineligible for this year's Presidents Cup and severely impacting their ability to play in the Ryder Cup because they need to earn qualification points through Tour events and also be a PGA of America member.

So far, three of the major championships – the PGA, U.S. Open and the British Open – have expressed their concern over the disruption that LIV Golf has caused but have stopped short of denying players who are qualified entry to their championships. The Masters has yet to make an official comment on the matter, although chairman Fred Ridley said at the Masters in April that Phil Mickelson – who at the time was in the midst of a lengthy leave and eventually signed with LIV Golf – was not prohibited from playing as a past champion.

The major championships find themselves in a precarious position not of their making. Do they want all of the top players? Do they want to ban past champions, who at the Masters and Opens especially, are a big part of the tradition? Do they forego existing exemptions that see major winners typically get a five-year invite to the other majors?

Love, who is this year’s U.S. Presidents Cup captain and captained the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2012 and 2016, has been frustrated in seeking out players who have either defected to LIV Golf or considered it.

He had numerous text messages with Mickelson, one of the first players to go. Love also tried to convince some that they could be making a long-term mistake. He’s asked others if they are comfortable with the idea of never playing in a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup again.

“Some of them understood it,’’ Love said. “Some of them think they are going to court or whatever and are going to prevail, and they’re gonna get to come back. What they don’t seem to understand is that players make the rules. So we can strengthen the rules rather than loosening the rules, right?”

Some players, including Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, have wondered if perhaps the two sides need to have a discussion and see if something can be worked out.

Love has just a few weeks before he is to make his captain’s selections for the U.S. Presidents Cup team that takes on an international team in late September at Quail Hollow in Charlotte. Players for both teams could potentially leave prior to then and after the FedEx Cup; LIV has two September events prior to the Presidents Cup.

Love said he’s asked some players if they are leaving. “You know ... I’ve been lied to already. Why would you say, “Yes, I’m going after the FedEx Cup?’ No, they’re not gonna tell me that.’’