Jack Nicklaus is hosting this week’s Memorial Tournament 2023 at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. Ahead of the event, the PGA Tour legend has come out to slam LIV Golf and its players. Nicklaus took a jibe at the Saudi-backed series’ players by stating that “all the top players in the world” were at the Memorial this week.
Dubbing this week’s Memorial Tournament ‘probably as good a field as he’s ever had,’ Jack Nicklaus said that the field wasn’t missing top players from LIV including PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka. Nicklaus, a staunch backer of the traditional American circuit, stated that he ‘didn’t even consider those guys (LIV Golf) part of the game anymore’ and added that he didn't mean the comment in a ‘nasty way.’
Speaking about this week’s Memorial Tournament 2023 field in a press conference at the Muirfield Village Golf Club, Jack Nicklaus said, as quoted by Golfweek:
“They’re all here. For all intents and purposes, all the top players in the world are here.”
When asked about certain reigning major winners from LIV Golf missing this week’s event, Nicklaus said:
“I don’t even consider those guys part of the game anymore. I don’t mean that in a nasty way. This is a PGA Tour event and we have the best field we can possibly have for a PGA Tour event for those who are eligible to be here. The other guys made a choice of what they did and where they’ve gone and we don’t even talk about it.”
Jack Nicklaus on players joining LIV Golf
Jack Nicklaus went on to state that he congratulated Brooks Koepka after he won the PGA Championship two weeks ago at Oak Hill. However, the legendary golfer, who won the Wanamaker Trophy in 1980, said that he really didn’t care about players joining LIV Golf anymore.
He added:
“There were certain players that it was probably the right thing for. It probably spurred the PGA Tour, I don’t think there’s any question about that, either, to move it to greater heights. But it wasn’t for me, it wasn’t for what my legacy was. Obviously, I pretty much started what the Tour is out here… It’s just where they chose to play golf. I wish them all well.”
Furthermore, the ace golfer said it was a doubt whether he’d allow LIV Golfers to join back on the Memorial field. He said that the players who made the choice of defecting from the PGA Tour must be ready to follow the rules.
It is pertinent to note that the Memorial Tournament 2023 will tee off on Thursday, May 1 with a stacked field. Several big names on the PGA Tour including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Jon Rahm and No. 3 Rory McIlroy will be at the event. The 120-man field will have 38 of the top 50 as its top contenders.