SUTTON, England — Sir Nick Faldo talks in a press conference prior to the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo 2023 at The Belfry on June 28, 2023. | Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Faldo, the six-time major champion, is hosting the British Masters at The Belfry this week, where he made some bold comments about LIV Golf.
This week, Sir Nick Faldo is hosting the British Masters at The Belfry in England, one of the Ryder Cup’s most famous venues.
Faldo spoke at a press conference ahead of the tournament and revealed his true beliefs about LIV Golf.
“Nobody is really interested [in LIV],” Faldo said, per British outlet Bunkered. “They’re not going to get the sponsorship they want. They call it a team event, not because it’s stroke play.”
“You see your mates on the putting green and say, ‘Play well.’ Then you see them in the scorers’ tent and say, ‘What did you shoot?’ That’s it. A team is out there helping, shoulder to shoulder. That’s a true team.”
Faldo makes these strong comments on hallowed ground.
The Belfry has hosted the Ryder Cup four times, most recently in 2002 when Sam Torrance captained the Europeans to a resounding victory over Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and a favored American side.
Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
SUTTON, England — Ian Woosnam of Wales and Nick Faldo of England halve their opening foursomes match with Tom Kite and Curtis Strange of the USA during the 1989 Ryder Cup match on the Brabazon Course at The Belfry on September 15, 1989.
Faldo sees no comparisons between LIV Golf and the bi-annual competition between the Americans and the Europeans.
“You have the ultimate team event, the Ryder Cup, with the passion and the atmosphere,” Faldo added. “They’re not playing with the same passion and atmosphere as the Ryder Cup. It’s only half a dozen [players] that are really current, half of the field I don’t know, and half the field are there for the very nice last-placed money you still get if you shoot 20-over.”
Yet, the Englishman hopes to see a more global tour, which LIV Golf set out to do.
So far, in 2023, LIV has hosted events in Mexico, Australia, Singapore, Spain, and all over the United States. LIV Golf will also hold its final event of the season in Saudi Arabia.
“I think the bodies have the best interest in trying to create a global game, and if they are truly on board, with a bottomless pit of money, they should be able to make the call,” Faldo said.
“I was one of the few guys who really did genuinely play a world tour back in the day. Seve [Ballesteros], [Nick] Price, and Greg [Norman] did. We went everywhere, all four corners of the world. I would love to see that.”
Faldo won 43 times in his professional career, including 30 on the European Tour. He won all over the world.
But to Faldo, LIV Golf has not won him over, nor has it won over most golf fans.
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Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
