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‘Entirely driven by money’ – R&A Chief rips LIV Golf
On the eve of the final major of the year, R&A Chief Martin Slumbers has spoken out against the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf in an explosive presser.
Addressing the media on Wednesday morning, Slumbers stated that the breakaway tour is “not in the best interests of the sport” and “entirely driven by money.”
“I firmly believe that the existing golf ecosystem has successfully provided stable pathways for golfers to enter the sport and develop and realise their full potential.” said Slumbers.“Professional golfers are entitled to choose where they want to play and to accept the prize money that’s offered to them. I have absolutely with that at all.
“But there is no such thing as a free lunch. I believe the model that we’ve seen at Centurion and Pumpkin Ridge is not in the best long-term interests of the sport as a whole and is entirely driven by money. We believe it undermines the merit-based culture and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.”
The R&A Chief continued saying:
“I would also like to say that, in my opinion, the continued commentary that this is about ‘growing the game’ is just not credible and, if anything, is harming the perception of our sport, which we are working so hard to improve.
We believe the game needs to focus on increasing participation, achieving greater diversity and making sure that golf is truly open to all rather than this narrow debate involving a small number of players.”
Slumbers also stated that there is currently no intention to prevent LIV pros from competing at future Opens but hinted that they reserve the right to change the exemption and qualification rules.
“Looking ahead to The Open next year, we have been asked quite frequently about banning players. Let me be very clear. That’s not on our agenda. But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for The Open.
We will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for the Open. We absolutely reserve the right to make changes.”
I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear
OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.
LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break
Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.
Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.
On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.
On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.
On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.
PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home
Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.
On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.
Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?
Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.
Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?
PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates
Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.
Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.
Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.
Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.
We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025
GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.
Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.
Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.
General Albums
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX
7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
geohogan
Jul 14, 2022 at 8:31 pm
Liv pays for signing up, showing up…period.. NO CUT..
Essentially “participation trophies” …
R&A Chief, Martin was being polite(politically correct)
Essentially he said, “a whore is a whore.”
Bob
Jul 13, 2022 at 11:39 pm
Only gold and silver are money.
Fiat currency printed from nothing is not money.
BD57
Jul 13, 2022 at 7:16 pm
I have NO problem with that criticism.
LIV is essentially bringing a “professional sports” model to golf (guys have guaranteed contracts, they play the games scheduled by the league, there’s additional money for winning championships, etc.)
Granted, LIV pays a LOT more money for “winning” than guys in MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA get.
In the golf world, LIV is more akin to “exhibitions” than “golf tournaments / championships.”
It’s the “morality preening” by people who have no problem with tours playing events in Saudi (or the ‘not LIV’ tours playing events in Saudi), who have no problem with events in China (or taking Chinese money). If they don’t like human rights abusers, they ought to be after the PGA / DP Euro / LPGA tours for having anything whatsoever to do with China . . . .
but they don’t.
geohogan
Jul 14, 2022 at 8:27 pm
Liv pays for signing up, showing up…period.. NO CUT..
Essentially “participation trophies” …
R&A Chief, Martin was being polite(politically correct)
Essentially he said, “a whore is a whore.”
M’Balz is-Hari
Jul 13, 2022 at 10:48 am
Martin must hate the world. The world is driven by money. People work to obtain money legally and illegally. Some are gifted it, some steal it, some earn it. All these silver spoon jags keep arguing. These people have never had trouble paying a cell phone bill, utilities, a mortgage, or struggled to put food on a table. I’m just making a comparison as who knows the debt a typical professional golfer has compared to an average citizen. I’m sure the guys who jumped to LIV saw a smoother path financially for them and they’re families. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and let’s not get into the blood money BS. It’s no different than getting dollars from China. Money is not the sole root to happiness, but if you don’t have it it’s sure a root to unhappiness. Enough is enough. All a bunch of whining silver spoon lickers.
Tom Kay
Jul 13, 2022 at 2:51 pm
Amen
Chuck
Jul 13, 2022 at 4:20 pm
Good. You’ve made your case; now I’ll make mine.
There’s absolutely nothing about the LIV Tour that represents anything like, hardscrabble work or a meritocracy or anything about growing the game of golf.
LIV is an invitation-only publicity stunt. Offering massive guaranteed money to a handful of guys who are golf stars entirely due to their now-fading careers on the PGA Tour. It’s exploiting the old credibility that they soaked up from years on the tours, and in USGA events, and in R&A events.
The “silver spoon jags” you ridicule — the PGA Tour, the USGA, the R&A — they have done about a hundred billion times more to preserve the game, organize the game, and GROW THE GAME. The USGA and the R&A do the thankless work of maintaining the Rules of Golf and the technical rules on equipment. And conducting national and international championships. To a great extent, even the PGA Tour has been a free-rider. But by any reasonable accounting, the undisputed champion free rider of this moment is the LIV Tour.
And as I have been cautioning for several weeks now; we have been in the most mild phase of the LIV debate so far. It’s going to go nuclear, and soon. As soon as the LIV Tour goes where the PGA of America and the PGA Tour and the R&A wisely declined to go; to Trump golf properties. The media circus associated with Trump venues is about to begin. And none of us should forget that the media circus is what the ruling bodies chose to avoid (for the good of the game) and what the LIV Tour chose to engage in (for the corrupt/Trump/Saudi interests).
You have no idea, how much I want this fight. Your post epitomized everything that I want to take on, in the most forceful and direct way possible.
Joe
Jul 13, 2022 at 5:48 pm
MBS is that you?