At Texas Golf Hall of Fame Ceremony, Legends Discuss Loyalty vs. LIV Golf

Lee Trevino said LIV players will just be a ‘ripple in the road,’ while the grandson of one Hall of Famer was appreciated for not joining the rival circuit.

FRISCO, Texas — Charles Coody, the 1971 Masters champion, grew up in Abilene, Texas, and spent his entire golf life in the Lone Star State, but said Sunday night at the lavish Texas Golf Hall of Fame anchor site dedication that he can’t believe where the game of golf is headed.

“I didn’t know we would get here, so how could I know where we are headed?” Coody said at the modern new digital museum at the Northern Texas PGA headquarters on the Omni PGA Frisco campus.

With 27 members of the Texas Golf of Fame on hand for the grand opening—the largest in-person attendance of honorees—the talk of LIV Golf, big money and the game’s future swirled around the cocktail hour and dinner.

Lee Trevino and other Texas golf legends offered strong opinions on LIV Golf.

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“I don’t want to really tell you about what I feel about LIV Golf, because I don’t want to see it in the media,” Coody said.

His grandson Pierceson said in June 2022 that he turned down what he called a multimillion-dollar offer from LIV Golf while still on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Both Pierceson and brother Parker, of Plano, Texas, earned PGA Tour status for the 2024 season, something Charles said he was very proud of.

“I just told them to be nice to people on the Tour and help out others. I’m only upset because I won’t get to see them much because I don’t travel anymore,” said Coody, 86.

The relative lack of Texans to commit to LIV Golf since its inception was not lost on Coody, along with current Tour players Ryan Palmer (from Colleyville) and Jimmy Walker (San Antonio) and Texas native turned golf analyst Brandel Chamblee (Irving).

“I think it’s just the culture of Texas, its friends and family and values,” Walker said. “It might sound corny as hell, but I think Texas players value Texas pride, and that’s one of the reasons they have stayed loyal.”

“I think most Texas golfers are a down-to-earth, tight-knit group. Every Texan is true to his core, and that is a big part of it,” added Palmer.

San Antonio–born Patrick Reed is one of two native Texans in LIV Golf; the other is Abraham Ancer, born in McAllen with dual American and Mexican citizenship. Bryson DeChambeau went to school at SMU and lives in Dallas.

“I think it’s fair to say professional golf is under attack a number of angles, but who better to defend it than great young Texas players like Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris and I think Pierceson and Parker Coody?” said Chamblee, who attended the University of Texas.

“It’s been widely reported that Will Zalatoris turned down more than $100 million to join LIV Golf. Pierceson turned down millions to join LIV. Many others did because they care about the character and the fabric and intrinsic values of the game.

“I always like coming home to Texas because I know not many people here support LIV Golf and paying players on the Ryder Cup.”

Dallas’s Lee Trevino said the money generated by LIV Golf and now the PGA Tour with the designated tournaments has been good for many but has hurt the culture and the values of the game he transcended from the humblest means as a local caddy.

“It’s a different world today, but I think it’s hurting the game because the young people don’t know the history and the tradition,” Trevino said.

“Still, I think LIV golfers will just be a ripple in the road. It won’t change things because, in the end, golf wins. Golf will always win because it’s a game you can play with your family and friends and play it for competition. That will never change.”

Blaine McCallister, who grew up in tiny Fort Stockton, said he was humbled to be on the list of Texans who have won multiple times on the PGA Tour.

“In high school, we made a car trip to the Colonial (Fort Worth) tournament, and I got to see Lee Trevino play. Then I went to college and became a pro and got to play with him on tour,” he said.

“The problem is pro golf tried to out-money people who have more money than us. That won’t work. We have to get back to competition and including the players in the decision-making.”

“It’s being part of a legacy,” added 42-time LPGA winner Sandra Haynie, of Fort Worth. “It’s what motivated me when I was playing and still does.”