“You’re overrated and overpaid!” Bryson DeChambeau has heard far worse in his colourful, controversial career, but with the Saudi rebel circuit dominating the agenda in the golf world, each and every barb being delivered in this US Open is bound to be accredited overblown significance.
DeChambeau was not the only one of the 15 players who have signed with the LIV Golf series to be the subject of a heckle or two on the first day of America’s national championship. On his 52nd birthday, Phil Mickelson was given a rousing reception on the first tee, but it was not all the usual Lefty hero-worship.
“Phil, I used to love you,” one woman bellowed, while another chap was less direct but humorous all the same. “Phil, greed is good,” he shouted.
Did it affect him? Well after seven holes he was five-over, with his four-putt from 12 feet on the par-three seventh the lowlight or highlight depending on your viewpoint. In fairness, this is only Mickelson’s second competitive appearance in four months (his first was, of course, last week’s $25million LIV opener in Hertforshire), but empathy does not seem to be in abundance when it comes to the former fan favourite. The same goes for the rest of the rebels.
On Wednesday, Dustin Johnson was hit by a cry of “traitor!” as he concluded his practise, while nobody with a brain or a memory was taking any bets on Sergio Garcia experiencing at least a boo. Garcia was the target of verbal abuse from US Open galleries a long time before he took the House of Saud millions.
This is part of the reason why they have received such huge joining fees, ranging from $1m for a player such as Peter Uihlein to $200million for six-time major-winner Mickelson. Sure, take the money, but accept the flak as well.
The hope was that the Boston crowd could retain their anger at seeing their week in the major spotlight hijacked by the issue casting, in the words of Brooks Koepka, a “big black cloud” over the entire golfing landscape.
Rumours are rife of the next players to sign. But the whispers do not stop there. Golf Digest, the influential US magazine, published a long piece in the build-up, claiming that Keith Pelley, the chief executive of the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, has been holding secret discussions with LIV, despite the “strategic alliance” he agreed with the PGA Tour 18 months ago.
However, Paul McGinley, the former Ryder Cup captain who is on the board of the DP World Tour, poured doubt on this story. “The rumours are that Keith Pelley has been playing both sides here, but as far as I know – and I’m on the board – we’re playing one side,” McGinley told Sky.
“We’re very much engaged with the PGA Tour. Our partnership has worked incredibly well over the past couple of years with some great collaborations on events and shared commercials, like new sponsors for the Scottish and Irish Opens both coming from the PGA Tour’s contact book.
“We have outlined plans over the last year or so in terms of what we can do to further value both tours and the members on both, so that’s a pathway we’re on.”
One way in which the traditional tours could hit back would obviously be to pool their resource into the formation of a world tour. McGinley all but acknowledged this.
“Maybe what’s happened over the last month is going to accelerate a bigger partnership than just a strategic alliance” he said. “At the moment we’re waiting on that, and there’s conversations going on between those Tours, so hopefully they’re going to come to fruition.
“Behind the scenes there is a lot of turmoil in the game, a lot of divisiveness, and we’re in danger of having a very diluted product. Hopefully we’re going to have a solution where all parties will be happy with some kind of solution, but that’s going to take a lot of time, a lot of negotiation and a lot of will.”