After causing a stir with recent comments regarding the rumoured Saudi Super Golf League, PGA Tour pro Kramer Hickok says he will be avoiding the topic going forward.
Speaking on the Stripe Show podcast back in February, Hickok told host Travis Fulton that "a lot of big names" had signed up to the prospective F1-style breakaway tour, before adding: "I think there's already been 17 guys that have jumped over.
"Some of these guys are probably getting a little bit greedy. We’re starting to realise how money-hungry a lot of players on the PGA Tour."
The 29-year-old's comments were picked up and given widespread coverage as speculation ramped up around this year's Saudi International. And after posting an opening five-under 67 at The Players Championship, Hickok was asked if he was surprised by the reaction his comments garnered.
"Yeah, I was," he said. "It was a weird situation. It was probably something I shouldn't have said because it didn't concern me, and so I've tried to stay out of it recently. You know, news spreads like wildfire, especially surrounding that Tour."
However, with the very public threat of a lifetime PGA Tour ban for anyone deciding to defect, the man rumoured to be behind the new series hit back. In an open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, LIV Golf Investments CEO Greg Norman threatened legal action before insisting that "this is just the beginning."
In response to the two-time Open champion, Monahan said the PGA Tour was "moving on" and that he was concentrating on "legacy".
