The PGA Tour has returned to Doral for the first time in a decade, and it feels like a victory lap. The right side won. Sometimes that's how sports works. Thursday's Cadillac Championship marks more than just a tournament—it's a symbolic moment, as if to officially declare that the LIV experiment has left everyone with the sour taste of a failed hustle.
The big question now? What to do with the bank-rich, morally-bankrupt LIV players who want to come back to the PGA. Should they have to qualify all over again? Play without a 5-iron as penance for their career detour?
"I'm not sure," said Jordan Spieth, who shares the lead at 7 under par with Cameron Young after the first round. "I'm not sure if it should be the same for everyone. I know olive branches were given out a couple months ago. Brooks (Koepka) took them up on it. So I'm not sure what would now change."
As the dust settles, what's LIV's real legacy? There was Greg Norman's militant nuttiness. There were players in shorts, music on greens, and "Golf but louder" slogans. But its primary legacy was exposing what a pile of Saudi Arabian blood money can do to people—and to the games they play.
Fans usually ignore the big money at most sports events and just enjoy the game. But with LIV, the scorecard literally was the money. That's not to say money isn't in all golf. But this became a civil war between millionaire golfers with some moral backbone and tens-of-millionaires without any.
"I hate LIV—hate it," Rory McIlroy once said, adding later that he felt "betrayed" by its defectors.
So was it worth it for the LIV players? Grab your calculator. Koepka reportedly signed a five-year, $100 million deal to play with LIV. He made roughly $45 million in prize money. Then he reportedly didn't take his final year's installment to start his return to the PGA as part of that olive branch Spieth mentioned. Subtract that final year, pro-rated at $20 million. Subtract another $5 million charity donation woven into his PGA agreement. Image rehabilitation has a price.
Still, all told, Koepka made roughly $120 million in four LIV years. Compare that to the $30 million in total purses he earned over the three years before leaving for LIV. For the right price, some players were willing to trade their reputation for a Saudi paycheck. Now, as the PGA moves forward, the question remains: should the door be left open for those who jumped ship, or should they have to earn their way back the hard way?