LIV Golf is Swooping Up Top Amateurs with Potential for Easy Money

With the announcement of James Piot (2021 US Amateur winner) and now Eugenio Chacarra (World #2 Amateur) to the LIV GOLF Series, the rival tour is threatening the PGA Tour from a new angle. Enticing the most promising young players of the future and building up from the bottom.

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It was always the fear for the PGA Tour, I had mentioned this several times throughout recent months; the easier targets will be young pros who can pay off their college debts with one LIV event appearance.

And now the LIV Series can have it both ways. They have some bigger names who are perhaps past their best but bring significant clout and experience, like Phil, DJ, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood. And now they are seeking out the best of the younger crop, the amateurs that are chomping at the bit to make a name for themselves in the professional game.

To the people saying “who?” when Chacarra was announced, you can’t have it both ways.
Either:
– you value big names (DJ, Phil, Brooks, Bryson…)
– you value young talent like the number two ranked amateur in the world.

So, which is it? The fact is LIV are getting both. #LIVGolf

— LIV Golf Latest (@LIVGolfLatest) June 26, 2022

The second ranked amateur in the world, Eugenio Chacarra played his college golf at Oklahoma State, now following in the footsteps of former OU graduate Abraham Ancer. The 22 year old Spaniard has made three PGA Tour appearances, and now has decided he has achieved everything he has aimed for in the amateur game.

Chacarra was quoted simply saying that he has not been paid while playing amateur golf, so can play on the LIV Tour “without problems”.

One thing that could keep the college and mini-tour players from joining LIV is self-motivation to achieve certain things specifically as part of the PGA Tour. James Nicholas is one pro who currently plays on the Korn Ferry Tour, and made the headlines recently for travelling from New York to Kansas to make a qualifying event after receiving the call at 9.30pm the night before. It’s a lot less glamorous than it sounds, having to borrow, shoes, gloves and cubs half an hour before he teed off.

He has ambitions to play on the PGA Tour, period. The LIV money is great, but can’t buy your dreams, and that’s what he and other budding young pros are hanging on to. This motivation explains booking overnight travel just on the off chance they might play well enough to take them one step closer to the big leagues.

The attraction of the LIV Series for the majority of younger players will remain, and justifiably so. They might get paired with DJ, or Brooks Koepka. Their team might win the grand prize. They could make millions and not play particularly well.

The LIV Tour is a shortcut to financial security and consistent competition, like being told you can be a lawyer without having to pass the Bar, or a big-time comic without having to do the smaller gigs – or an international podcaster without having to build up the audience.

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There must be something valuable in the journey that accompanies the achievements. Not just for professional sportsmen and women, but in life. If you wanted to build a successful company, the process of failing and re-building adds satisfaction to the final product. If you were responsible for a long term construction project, there is something beneficial about the long nights spent organising the teams and seeing it through, rather than just fast-forwarding to the end.

There is intrinsic value in carving one’s own career path, even if it means doing it the hard way. No free lunches.

The LIV Series offers just that – a serious shortcut.

But after the money is secured, I feel there will be something missing in the minds and hearts of young professional golfers. Even if it is just a feeling that it all happened too fast, their lifelong goals were achieved by 24 years old. By focusing on the short-term financial security, the experience of fighting for one’s place on the most competitive stage in the golfing world is a challenge they have chosen to avoid.

Cover Image via Twitter