With the future of LIV Golf still very much in doubt, one LIV pro is considering his future in the sport. That future “will not” include the PGA Tour.
Thomas Pieters, who played on the DP World and PGA Tours before joining LIV, opened up about his vision for the future with a tough start-up tour on the “Dan on Golf” podcast.
With his appearance, Pieters shed light on the “sad” situation when the latest news of LIV’s sponsorship came out, and also announced that he “will not” return to the PGA Tour.
Thomas Pieters to retire before PGA Tour return: ‘I’ll forget’
When the first reports appeared that the PIF of Saudi Arabia would withdraw funding from LIV Golf, Pieters did not know what to believe. Neither did the rest of LIV’s compatriots.
They were all in Mexico preparing for the LIV Golf Mexico City event. With no official word from the league, players began to speculate whether that week’s tournament would take place.
Pieters said the “atmosphere is very bad,” and called home to tell his family he was ready to “retire” immediately if necessary.
“I drove home and felt like I was ready to retire on Monday if they pulled the plug right away, and that was fine with me,” Pieters said on the “Dan on Golf” podcast. “The atmosphere was terrible … I had enough of it after three or four hours.”
The veteran, who has won six DP World Tour events in his long career and spent time on the PGA Tour, tried to explain his unique perspective, saying that unlike the top players, “he’s going to be forgotten.”
“I’ve gained a lot from it, and I’ve gained a lot of things that I didn’t think I could get as a child growing up in Belgium,” said Pieters. “But I’ll forget, that’s okay. I’m not Brooks Koepka, or Rory, and that’s okay.”
Retirement, however, is not a certainty for Pieters if LIV Golf is no longer available. He said he might try to play the DP World Tour and be closer to home. But one thing is certain: he will not return to the PGA Tour.
“I’m not going back to the PGA Tour. I’ve never liked that life. And I’m not going to go to the PGA Tour, it’s not for me,” explained Pieters. “I tried and I was happy there [LIV Golf] it’s going, maybe I’ll try and play some more on the European Tour or I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
He continued: “It doesn’t bother me at the moment because I feel like I still have a job to focus on the next six, seven competitions in LIV and then we’ll see, obviously they’re trying to put it together next year, we’ll see.”
