PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Collin Morikawa, winner of two of golf’s past seven major championships, said he is committed to playing on the PGA Tour after listening to an offer from organizers of the Saudi-backed Super Golf League.
“I’m all for the PGA Tour,” Morikawa said Tuesday, during a news conference ahead of this week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. “I’ve been a pro for two and a half years. My entire life I’ve thought about the PGA Tour. I’ve thought about playing against Tiger [Woods], beating his records, whatever, something that might not even be breakable. But I’ve never had another thought of what’s out there, right? I’ve never thought about anything else, it’s always been the PGA Tour.”
A handful of high-profile PGA Tour players, including Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson, have reportedly been mulling over offers from the potential new golf circuit being fronted by Greg Norman. Other players from the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) have also been approached. England’s Lee Westwood told reporters at the Saudi International earlier this month that he had signed a non-disclosure agreement with organizers of the new league.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Saudi-funded golf tournaments will be played in Great Britain and the Middle East as part of a new 10-event series on the Asian Tour. Norman said future events will also take place in the U.S.
“Right now, you look at the best players that I see and they’re all sticking with the PGA Tour and that’s where I kind of stay and that’s where I belong,” Morikawa said. “I’m very happy to be here.”
Morikawa, 25, said he didn’t hear enough specific details about the proposed breakaway league to seriously consider jumping from the PGA Tour.
“Look, so we had conversations,” Morikawa said. “That was later down the road. There’s guys that have been earlier. I took my time, I wanted to find out more details. Yeah, there’s money. I don’t think anyone’s signing up for free, right?
“The only way I can start thinking about other tours, other leagues, whatever you call it, I need concrete evidence. I need to be able to see a sheet in front of me and know what’s out there, right? And as of now, for what I know, I don’t know what’s out there. All I’ve heard are rumors, all I’ve heard is talk and that’s hard to do.”
On Monday, PGA Tour pro Kramer Hickok suggested on the Stripe Show podcast that more than a dozen players have already committed to play in the Saudi-backed league.
“You’re going to see a lot of big names jump over there,” said Hickok, who finished fourth in the Houston Open earlier this season. “I think there have already been 17 guys jump over. I can’t say who they are, but there are going to be some big names going over there. From what I’ve heard, the money is very, very appealing.”
Hickok said the proposed league would have 12 to 14 events with “huge purses,” no cuts and 40-man fields. He said 10 of the events would be staged in the U.S.
“I want to know the details, too,” Morikawa said. “I don’t want to keep hearing it from other people saying you need to go talk to this person, you need to do this, this is what they have, this is what they don’t have. If there were more details, maybe I would have thought about it more, maybe I would have given it more of a decision, and I would have had to sit down and ask more questions. But it’s hard to ask questions when you’re not getting answers, either.”