Nick Faldo Rips LIV Golf’s Future at British Masters: ’Nobody’s Really Interested’

Faldo spoke his mind on the future of LIV Golf and again criticized its team format.

Nick Faldo, the six-time major champion and retired CBS golf analyst, has never been one to mince words when it comes to the start-up LIV Golf league. 

Faldo once said LIV golfers should be banned from the Ryder Cup, and now, he’s taking another firm stance on the team-format tour in the wake of the alliance between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund, LIV’s backer. 

At the British Masters—which Faldo is hosting this week at The Belfry—the Englishman spoke to a group of reporters about the event, his career, the golf course, and eventually the topic everyone wants to discuss: LIV Golf and the newly announced framework agreement with the PGA Tour.

When asked about the future of LIV Golf, Faldo didn’t hold back. Faldo is sure that LIV as it currently operates will not exist once the PGA Tour-PIF agreement takes shape. 

“I don’t think so, because nobody’s really interested,” he said to reporters. “They’re not going to get the sponsorship they want. They call it a team [event], and it’s not, because it’s stroke play.”

Faldo went on to rip apart the league’s team structure. 

“You see your mates on the putting green and say, ‘Play well.’ Then you see them in the scorer’s tent and say, ‘What did you shoot?’ That’s it. A team is out there helping, shoulder to shoulder. That’s a true team.

“You have the ultimate event, the Ryder Cup, you know the passion and atmosphere of that. They’re not playing with the same passion and atmosphere as the Ryder Cup.”

Faldo even critiqued LIV’s roster of players, telling reporters that he isn’t familiar with “half of the field.”

“It’s only half a dozen that are really current. Half of the field I don’t really know, and half the field are there for the very nice last-placed money that you still get if you shoot 20-over.” 

The Englishman did end his scrum with reporters on a positive note, however, when talking about the influx of money in professional golf. 

“When the dust settles, whether it takes six months, a year, whatever, my goodness pro golf is in an overall better position financially than we were back in the day,” Faldo said.