Money In Golf Has Changed The Game For The Worse… Player Behaviour Is More Childish Than Ever

As I watched JJ Spaun make a remarkable closing-hole birdie to win his maiden Major Championship at the US Open, I reflected on how different I’d have felt about his victory a couple of years ago.

Spaun is very much in the Scottie Scheffler mould – he’s not brash, extravagant or flamboyant. He doesn’t get too high or too low. If we’re being honest, he’s not the most riveting player to watch.

In the past, I’ve tended to root for the likes of Bryson DeChambeau over the slightly robotic professionals such as Spaun, Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. But, given the wider context of men’s professional golf, I’ve pivoted somewhat.

I’m now happy to support those who behave with dignity and retain a sense of perspective, because plenty of other professional golfers have gone the other way. I suppose if people keep throwing money at you, eventually you’re going to develop a superiority complex.

LIV Golf has a lot to answer for in this regard. Many who went over to the Saudi-backed circuit tried to justify their decision with ignorant statements or by biting the hands that had previously fed them, which left a sour taste in the mouth.

Dustin Johnson was one of the only players whose reputation didn’t really take a hit, because he admitted he’d made the move to earn more money and play less golf. Whatever you make of that, at least he was honest.

Meanwhile, plenty of those who stayed on the PGA Tour felt they deserved a bigger slice of the pie, which led to constant – and tone-deaf – rhetoric about money and the introduction of things like signature events and a Player Equity Programme, none of which have made professional golf any more compelling for the people who actually matter: the fans.

A bizarre turn of events

Modern professional golf has never been laden with gregarious, larger-than-life characters and mavericks who go against the grain, but most of the players have traditionally been fairly likeable. Each week that goes by, I seem to re-evaluate that viewpoint.

I used to crave exciting, swashbuckling golfers who got me off my seat, but now I’ll settle for those who don’t make me angry by being self-absorbed, petulant or both.

One of the main talking points in men’s pro golf at the moment is whether or not players should be obligated to speak to the media after their rounds. I don’t want to labour the point here, but here’s what I wrote in a previous piece on the subject:

“If players don’t speak to the media, fans lose out. If the media stops attending events because they’re unlikely to speak to the protagonists, fans lose out. If fans lose out, they start losing interest. If fans lose interest, so do sponsors. If golf becomes less commercially viable, purses and sponsorship money goes down.

“The trouble is, this won’t affect the current crop of players, who are already richer than 99.9% of the world’s population. Relying on people to make choices that put other people first is increasingly difficult.

“The emergence of LIV Golf and the massive boom in PGA Tour prize pools hasn’t helped, either – in fact, it’s exacerbated some players’ sense of superiority and self-importance.”

The main protagonist in this debate has been Rory McIlroy and I think he deserves a lot of criticism for his recent behaviour. He’s not doing himself any favours at the moment.

He’s talked to the media after just two of his last eight Major rounds and he didn’t interact with reporters between round one at the PGA Championship and round two at the US Open.

He’s the biggest star in the game right now and it’s been bizarre to witness how he’s conducted himself of late, especially given everyone was so thrilled about his Career Grand Slam achievement.

He’s appeared irritable and at times hostile to reporters. He’s making concerning statements like “I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want” and he’s setting a poor example.

Saying you're not bothered about making the cut and that you’re frustrated with the media as a whole – when 99% of them had nothing to do with the failed driver test story and that leak must have come from someone who had the data – isn’t a good look either.

If you’re the biggest star in the game, you speak to the media. It’s as plain as that. You simply have to understand why it’s important. If you don’t, you’re just ignorant. But a lot of players are putting themselves first these days.

What is happening?

In recent times, Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa have made some questionable comments about interviews. Both have gone down in my estimations, especially Lowry, who I used to view as genial and fun-loving. He’s come across as quite sullen and ill-tempered recently.

And he’s not the only one. Inevitably, some players, like Matt Fitzpatrick, made comments about the course set-up at Oakmont being ‘unfair’ – a real US Open trope.

It’s almost as if players want the red carpet rolled out for them at every tournament. You’re playing in a Major where the winner’s cheque is $4.3m – you absolutely should be tested to your limits!

We witnessed quite a lot of distasteful behaviour at Oakmont, too. McIlroy threw clubs and destroyed a tee marker, which is unacceptable. Other players flung clubs and damaged the turf as well.

Images also appeared on social media of smashed panels in a locker room. At last month’s PGA Championship, Wyndham Clark hurled a club into an advertising hoarding.

What is going on? Why is there so much petulance? It’s a better time than ever before to be a professional golfer, but you wouldn’t know it.

Some of these players – and there are more that I haven’t mentioned in this article – should be concerned about the damage they’re doing to their reputations. I doubt they are, however.

The other issue is this sort of behaviour tends to lead to more. Players at the top of the game have to set an example, not just to the fans but to their peers.

If golfers see McIlroy constantly skipping media, they might be inclined to take the same approach. Similarly, if players throw clubs and damage the course with impunity, it’s likely to become more widespread.

But could you imagine the outcry if a PGA Tour player were to be fined for such an outburst? How dare anyone reprimand the stars of the show! Have you ever wondered why so few players are penalised strokes for slow play when there’s a process in place for just that?

The men’s game isn’t in a great place right now, especially when you consider a lot of LIV’s supposedly world-class stars just aren’t performing in the Majors.

The likes of Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Joaquin Niemann and Louis Oosthuizen aren’t making a mark in the big events and Brooks Koepka hasn’t recorded a top-ten since his victory at the 2023 PGA Championship.

The golfing gods need to grab everyone involved by the scruffs of their necks and give them a big shake. At the moment, the concept of the greater good appears an alien one as far as men’s professional golf is concerned.