LIV Golf offered $130 MILLION to Will Zalatoris, Fred Couple says, but rising star rejected the cash to stay with PGA
Will Zalatoris rejected a mouthwatering nine-figure offer to join LIV Golf, according to PGA legend Fred Couples.
The 26-year-old Zalatoris has made a name for himself with runner-up finishes at the 2021 Masters and last year’s PGA Championship, and LIV has apparently taken notice.
Speaking to the Orange County Register, Couples claimed that Zalatoris had been offered a whopping $130million – after an initial offer of $35million – but turned the Saudi-backed league down.
LIV has lured players like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau for reported fees of more than $125million each ($200million for Mickelson), and has touted a reinvigoration of the sport with its shotgun starts and team format.
Some, however, are not impressed by the league.
‘I don’t know anything about the LIV Tour, except they overpay all of them,’ Couples said to the Orange County Register.
Will Zalatoris has massively impressed in recent years, finishing second at two Majors
Fred Couples and Zalatoris share an agent, which may explain how he knows of the offer
But LIV’s willingness to spend has not translated to viewership results – at least yet.
The league’s 2023 debut at Mayakoba reportedly drew less than 300,00 viewers, per the Sports Business Journal.
‘It was on the CW a couple weeks ago, or whatever that channel everybody is laughing about,’ Couples said of the league.
‘I turned it on three times. It was so bad, I couldn’t even watch anyone that I liked. They don’t show ’em. … Who won the last one? I don’t even know.’
Couples also criticized LIV defectors like Mickelson who have taken parting shots on their way out.
‘Just go to the LIV Tour, but stop blasting something I’ve been a part of for 42 years,’ the 15-time PGA Tour winner said.
‘That’s my problem [with LIV players]. They’re all bashing the PGA Tour, and that affects me a little bit.’
LIV’s next tournament is this weekend in Tuscon, Arizona.