The Saudi-backed league could be a huge risk for young players. (0:54)
The Super Golf League, which is backed by Saudi Arabian money and fronted by Greg Norman, was dealt a pair of serious blows on Sunday when two of golf's biggest stars pledged their support to the PGA Tour.
Two-time major championDustin Johnson and 2020 U.S. Open championBryson DeChambeau both released statements in which they said they would continue playing on the PGA Tour.
While there has been a lot of speculation surrounding my support for another tour, I want to make it very clear that as long as the best players in the world are playing the PGA Tour, so will I. I would like to thank all of the support.
The statement from Johnson was released by the PGA Tour on Sunday.
Over the past several months, there has been a lot of speculation about an alternative tour, which has included me and my future in professional golf. I am committed to the tour.
With Johnson deciding to stay put, the top eight players in the current Official World Golf Ranking have pledged their loyalty to the PGA Tour.
Other top players have also said they are not leaving.
Speculation about the Saudi-backed splinter league raiding the PGA Tour for many of its best players gained steam in recent weeks, especially after a handful of stars, including Johnson and DeChambeau, skipped the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to play in the Saudi International.
Several top players, most notably McIlroy, Morikawa, Rahm and Thomas, were very outspoken about the divide on the PGA Tour.
Right now, you look at the best players that I see and they are all on the PGA Tour, and that's where I belong.
When asked if the SGL would end if DeChambeau and Johnson decided to stay with the PGA Tour, he called it a "not-so-super league". Who is left? Who is left to go? There is no one. I think it is dead in the water. I can't see why anyone would go.
Greg Norman would have to hit it to fill the field. I mean seriously? Who else is going to do it? I don't think they could get 48 guys.
The main issue is whether Norman and his company can pull away enough lower-profile players to cobble together a competitive tour. The new circuit was going to play many events in the US on golf courses owned by former President Donald Trump.
Adam Scott said earlier this week that the shortened season was intriguing. The Super Golf League had plans to have 54-hole tournaments with 40-man fields, no cuts and potentially $20 million purses.
The Saudi-backed circuit seemed to be leading the charge for Phil Mickelson, who was one of the biggest critics of the PGA Tour. In an interview with Golf Digest, he accused the PGA Tour of "obnoxious greed" for not allowing players to use their media rights without paying the tour for licensing fees.
In an interview with author Alan Shipnuck, who is writing an unauthorized biography of the six-time major champion, Lefty said he was only using the Super Golf League as leverage in dealing with the PGA Tour. The Fire Pit Collective published excerpts of his interview with Shipnuck earlier this week.
According to the player, he enlisted three other players to help pay for attorneys to draft an operating agreement for the new league.
Since the Farmers Insurance Open at the beginning of the year, Lefty has not started a tour event.
I don't want to kick someone while he's down, but I thought thatMickelson's comments were naive, selfish, egotistical, and ignorant. It was very disappointing. Sad. I am sure he is rethinking his position and where he goes from here.
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