LIV Golf offered $130 MILLION to Will Zalatoris, says Fred Couple, but the rising star turned down the cash to stay with PGA
Will Zalatoris turned down a delicious nine-figure offer to join LIV Golf, according to PGA legend Fred Couples.
Zalatoris, 26, has made a name for himself with a runner-up finish at the 2021 Masters and last year’s PGA Championship, and LIV has apparently taken notice.
Talking with him Orange County RegistryCouples claimed that Zalatoris had been offered a whopping $130 million, after an initial offer of $35 million, but turned down the Saudi-backed league.
LIV has attracted the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau for reported fees of more than $125 million each ($200 million for Mickelson), and has touted a revitalization of the sport with its shotgun starts and team format.
Some, however, are not impressed by the league.
“I don’t know anything about the LIV Tour except that they get overpaid,” Couples told the Orange County Record.
Will Zalatoris has impressed enormously in recent years, finishing second in two Majors.
Fred Couples and Zalatoris share an agent, which may explain how he knows about the offer
But LIV’s willingness to spend hasn’t translated into ratings, at least not yet.
The league’s 2023 debut in Mayakoba reportedly drew less than 300,00 spectators, according to the sports business magazine.
“It was on the CW a couple of weeks ago, or the channel everyone laughs at,” Couples said of the league.
I turned it on three times. It was so bad that I couldn’t even see someone I liked. They don’t show them. … Who won last? I don’t even know.
The couples also criticized LIV defectors like Mickelson, who have been fired on their way out.
“Just go to the LIV Tour, but stop criticizing something I’ve been a part of for 42 years,” the 15-time PGA Tour winner said.
‘That’s my problem [with LIV players]. Everyone is criticizing the PGA Tour, and that affects me a bit.’
LIV’s next tournament is this weekend in Tuscon, Arizona.