Another week, another set of LIV Golf defections – though there was one notable omission.
Hideki Matsuyama is staying put on the PGA Tour.
Though many reports had pegged the Japanese star and 2021 Masters champ as one of the handful of players expected to bolt to LIV Golf after the Tour’s season concluded on Sunday, a source previously told The Post that the 30-year-old eight-time Tour winner would not be making the move.
The reason, the source said, was that Matsuyama was torn between his legacy — he was the first player from Japan to win a men’s major championship — and ditching his career for what amounts to nothing more than a cash grab.
According to multiple sources, Matsuyama would have landed a nine-figure deal had he gone to LIV.
Then again, it’s likely that he has already has cashed in in more ways than one.
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Following Matsuyama’s historic Masters victory, one sports marketing exec told Sportico that the win could easily be worth $600 million, or $20 million a year off the course for the next three decades. Matsuyama also won twice this season, at the Zozo Championship and Sony Open in Hawaii, and over the course of his career has banked more than $40 million in just on-course earnings.
Going to LIV would have also meant being banned from next month’s Presidents Cup — Matsuyama has played in the event on each of the last four occasions and is one of the leaders on the International team.
A representative for Matsuyama also confirmed to The Post that Matsuyama will play in the Presidents Cup, as well as defend his title at the Zozo in October.
Meanwhile, six others, including British Open champ and world No. 2 Cameron Smith, officially bolted from the PGA Tour to the controversial Saudi-backed circuit on Tuesday, as expected. They will make their debut at this week’s tournament outside Boston.
“[Money] was definitely a factor in making that decision, I won’t ignore that or say that wasn’t a reason,” Smith told Australian Golf Digest. “It was obviously a business decision for one and an offer I couldn’t ignore.”The others who left for LIV are Harold Varner III, Marc Leishman, Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Tringale and Anirban Lahiri.
Varner, who previously sought the advice of Michael Jordan and then waited until after the Tour season finished to commit, said his decision was also about the money.
“The opportunity to join LIV Golf is simply too good of a financial breakthrough for me to pass by,” the 32-year-old who has made just over $10 million in his career on Tour said in a statement. “I know what it means to grow up without much. This money is going to ensure that my kid and future Varners will have a solid base to start on — and a life I could have only dreamt about growing up.”
