“People want a lot of money"- Bubba Watson on LIV Golf's struggle to attract top players

Bubba Watson lost his place as a player on LIV Golf when he was relegated after the 2024 season. However, Watson is not only busy trying to regain his spot, but also signing new talent to his team.

According to Watson, everyone in the league is having a hard time getting top players to sign with them and the reason is money. Watson stated that teams are fighting for the same players because there are very few available.

Bubba Watson (Image via Getty).

This was part of what Watson said (via Sports Illustrated):

"People want a lot of money. After we took the chance, we did all the stuff to make the league start, people think they’re owed as well."

He added:

"There’s a few [names] out there. There’s a couple teams battling for the same person. We’re looking everywhere, the best amateurs. I’m not looking just for an American. Someone who can help us going forward. I would love to see a bit more youth on my team ... we’ve got to make moves fast."

During the interview, Bubba Watson explained that as owner of the RangeGoats GC team, he has the ability to sign himself despite his relegation. He added, however, that he had not yet decided to do so, as he was waiting to see the outcome of ongoing negotiations to sign new players.

RangeGoats GC played the 2024 season with Watson, Peter Uihlein, Matt Wolff, and Thomas Pieters. The team currently has two open spots, with the captain's departure coupled with Pieters' move to Dustin Johnson's 4Aces GC.

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Bubba Watson's 2024 season at a glance

Bubba Watson played in 14 events during the 2024 LIV Golf season. He did not finish in the top 10 and his best finish of the year was a tie for 15th at the Las Vegas event:

• Mayakoba T21
• Las Vegas T15
• Jeddah T46
• Hong Kong T29
• Miami T32
• Adelaide T34
• Singapore T45
• Houston 51
• Nashville T35
• Andalucía T47
• United Kingdom T39
• Greenbrier T28
• Chicago T42
• Team Championship Dallas T40

These results gave him only 3.66 points, which placed him 53rd in the league's individual standings. Only the top 48 were able to keep their LIV Golf contract for the next season.

As for RangeGoats GC, the team finished on the podium twice, with a second-place finish at the Miami event as its best finish of the year.

Watson also played in three other tournaments in 2024. The first was the Masters Tournament in April, where he was cut. More recently (November), he played the Asian Tour's BNI Indonesian Masters, where he tied for 13th. Finally (December), he played the PIF Saudi International, also on the Asian Tour, where he also missed the cut.