LIV Golf rebels to lose equipment deals due to Saudi Arabia involvement
Equipment brand PXG has announced it has decided not to renew contracts with players who have joined LIV Golf due to the breakaway circuit's links to Saudi Arabia.
LIV rocked the world of professional golf last summer, and has since found itself in a bitter war with the PGA Tour. The Tour took the decision to suspend any player who joined the breakaway league following LIV's inaugural event at the Centurion Club in St Albans last summer.
The biggest question mark surrounding the rebel circuit though has proven to be its backing from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
A number of companies opted to end their relationships with players who made the contentious move to LIV Golf. One man who felt the effects more than most was LIV poster boy Phil Mickelson, who saw his relationship with KPMG and Amstel Light end, whilst club manufacturer Callaway 'paused' their deal with the American.
The latest brand to distance themselves from the Saudi-funded series is equipment producer PXG. A number of LIV stars were donning PXG clubs when signing with Greg Norman and co, including Patrick Reed, Jason Kokrak and Charl Schwartzel.
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Claiming PXG's relationship with LIV players was now over, CEO Bob Parsons told Esquire : "I haven’t given it any though. Mostly because I don’t have a dog in that fight. But I will say this here, on the LIV tour, I consider myself a patriot.
Bob Parsons decided to cut ties with LIV Golf players“With the stuff that went down at 9/11, I have a hard time getting involved with them. I know – bygones got to be bygones, and I’ve forgiven a lot of people. “But I just cannot bring myself to do anything with [LIV], and the guys who are heroes, they all agree with that.
“We really don’t have guys on that tour. We’ve had some guys that had contracts that went on that tour, and I honoured the contracts. But now that the contracts are up, I have no contract with them, and I don’t think they can contract with sponsors with the LIV tour, at least. I don’t know. I could be speaking out of school, but if I had an opportunity to come up and do it, I wouldn’t do it.”
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