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LIV Golf completed its fifth event of the inaugural season in Chicago amid the raging PGA Tour-LIV Golf debate. While many, like Paige Spiranac, have chosen to remain neutral in the golf civil war, quite a few have also taken sides.
Paige Spiranac, who is a golfer-turned-influencer, recently jumped in on the debate once again, criticizing the PGA Tour’s newly announced changes for the 2022-23 season.
Tour chief Jay Monahan rolled out the changes, which included an increased number of events for the circuit’s “top players”, additional four “elevated events” and an increased prize purse. However, TGL, a new Monday night golf league announced by PGA backers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, stood out as the most "radical" of changes.
While many, including PGA Tour players, lauded the changes, they have failed to impress Paige Spiranac. The influencer has now come out to slam the newly announced changes announced amid the cold war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. While sharing her insights on the PGA Tour move to overthrow their nemesis tour, the former golfer said that they were coming from a place of panic.
Paige Spiranac unhappy with the PGA Tour
It is pertinent to note that the PGA Tour didn’t have any major structural changes lined up until LIV Golf announced its season. It is therefore safe to say that the American circuit’s announcements were in response to the Saudi-backed league. Speaking on her podcast, Playing A Round With Paige Renee, Paige Spiranac said that she was unhappy with the PGA Tour’s changes.
In a recent episode, she said:
“I think that if they didn’t do anything different than what they were doing, and they were just continuing to be the PGA tour without trying to implement any changes without trying to show any panic, that would have been the more successful route for me, because I think now that you had to fly Tiger in and they’re trying to do basically what LIV is doing”.
Spiranac was highly critical of the tour’s changes, including the introduction of TGL. The 29-year-old said that the PGA looked like they were afraid of LIV Golf and called for a merger between the two rival tours.
She added:
“It’s like the PGA Tour saying we’re scared of LIV and we like their ideas. And at that point, why don’t you just combine the tours, and you can do that together kind of what we’ve talked about in previous episodes, but it just almost looks like the PGA Tour scared”.
Paige Spiranac is a fan of the old PGA Tour. It is noteworthy that the influencer had earlier openly slammed players for attacking the PGA Tour after accepting LIV Golf paychecks. She backed the players to use the situation for their monetary benefit but criticized them for being disrespectful to the American circuit. She noted that the fight between the rival leagues was unhealthy for the sport.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman recently accused the PGA Tour of imitating his league. Calling it a “classic case of competition benefiting workers”, the Saudi-backed series boss stated that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Speaking ahead of the LIV Golf’s Chicago event, Norman claimed that his league has managed to end the PGA Tour’s monopoly over the years.
