LIV Golf Denies that Prizes Subtracted from Bonus Money

LIV Golf is pushing back against an allegation that it is not as generous as advertised.

In a U.S. District Court hearing on Wednesday in San Jose, California, an attorney representing three LIV Golf players implied that prize money won by players counts against their initial bonuses.

• Responding to a point made by Judge Beth Labson Freeman that players receive bonuses just for showing up to the first tournament, attorney Robert Walters replied, “Well, they do, but then they have to win money in order to recoup against the contract.”
• Many LIV golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Cameron Smith, have received bonuses of at least $100 million. Tiger Woods turned down an offer of $700 million to $800 million, per LIV CEO Greg Norman.

LIV Golf was quick to deny Walters’ claim.

“Prize money is of course separate from the contractual monies that players earn,” said LIV COO Atul Khosla. “As you already know, prize money is not subtracted from a player’s contractual earnings.” 

Bubba Resigns

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson announced his resignation from the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf. Watson is reportedly securing a bonus of around $50 million to join the Saudi-backed league.

Watson is recovering from a torn meniscus and is not playing this season. He has earned $48 million across his PGA Tour career, per Sportrac —15th all-time.