Danny Lee, the star of LIV Golf, was once considered one of the PGA Tour’s top prospects, but he grudgingly admits that since making the big-money switch, the level of competition has increased significantly.
Danny Lee has acknowledged that he “feels bad” for the PGA Tour because he believes the competition he faces in LIV Golf is unmatched.
As an 18-year-old in 2008, Lee broke Tiger Woods’ record to become the youngest-ever U.S. Amateur winner. When he first emerged on the PGA Tour, many predicted that Lee would become a superstar. But he never got going because of his inconsistent play and a history of injuries.
In 2016, he rose to a career-high world ranking of 34, but the following few years were turbulent, with him struggling with injuries and managing to hold a PGA Tour card for nine of the eleven seasons. But in the end, Kevin Na’s phone call to join his Iron Heads GC team altered his career’s course.
He feels that the 54-player, 14-event LIV Golf season offers a better quality of competition than the traditional top tour, even though he detests criticizing the PGA Tour. Lee said to Mirror Sport prior to LIV Golf Las Vegas, “I mean, the PGA Tour was one of the greatest tours in the whole world.”
“I always enjoyed competing against all the best guys there, and I loved playing in it.” However, things are different now.
“It’s not like I can whine here. I’m up against the world’s finest. Looking at the field, it’s like night and day—I don’t want to say this because it makes me feel bad for the PGA Tour right now, but the last four weeks, I’ve seen on the PGA Tour who is leading the leaderboard compared to here.
For Lee, the move has saved his career and changed his life despite the fierce competition on the LIV Golf circuit. Last March, he prevailed in a playoff match at LIV Golf Tucson, earning $4 million for his victory—his first since a 2015 PGA Tour triumph at Greenbrier.
“I made a sizable financial gain!” He remembers. “It was pretty special because I did pretty well on the PGA Tour and made a quarter of what I made in my entire time there in one week.”
Lee also attributes his ability to finish a whole season following wrist surgery to LIV Golf’s shortened schedule and three-day competitions.
With his surgical scars visible, he candidly acknowledges, “With my wrist last year, I don’t think I would have finished the whole season if I had played on the PGA Tour.” “I would have had to forfeit my season after Florida (end of March), most likely due to its poor state.
It worked well for me since I could play one or two events, take three weeks off, or even a month at a time. To get it under control, receive treatment, and prepare for what was to come, I truly needed that. We’re having a great time out here, and I think it was a great timing to come over.
The turmoil and infighting in golf continue, but there are signs that the conflict may be coming to an end. For Lee, becoming one of the best in the world is his only priority, and he will stop at nothing to achieve this.
“Which tour I play on is not really important to me,” he declares. “Everyone enjoys playing golf and doing it.
Our goal is to perform wherever the greatest tour happens. We put in a lot of effort and sweat here to try to be the best players in the world for that reason.
Leave a Reply