‘Definitely pushing’: Major move for LIV players

Nine months into the biggest golfing determination of his life, Lucas Herbert remains adamant his displacement to LIV Golf was the champion determination he’s made and says determination are parties “definitely pushing” to code the lone standout contented and make paths backmost to the majors for his tourmates.

But portion the play satellite wrestles with wherever LIV sits successful the aboriginal landscape, Herbert said the Saudi-backed breakaway could person inadvertently opened the doorway for amended fields much often astatine Australia’s biggest events having debunked the story astir making agelong journeys to play.

LIV brought big-time play backmost to Australia via the mega-successful lawsuit successful Adelaide, and aft shifting the 2025 lawsuit from April to February volition play successful Hong Kong and Singapore, making level trips southbound of the equator a indispensable for the ample cohort of players truthful utilized to being locked into the bluish hemisphere.

Herbert, who on with his chap Australians successful the US person been permanently selling the virtues of playing events similar the Australian Open, said the abbreviated LIV docket and changeless agelong question were “in our favour” of getting much stacked fields for the summertime of golf.

“The quality to get down to Australia to play 1 oregon 2 events becomes a batch much tenable for them,” Herbert said from the US connected Thursday.

“Guys privation to triumph the Australian Open, I deliberation that that lawsuit carries a batch of prestige with it. You’ll perceive guys speech astir it successful in property conferences, and they aren’t lying.

“But erstwhile the priorities travel down to it, I conscionable deliberation it’s hard to warrant for them erstwhile they’re playing a afloat docket to travel down. So I deliberation with a lighter schedule, guys person got much of a accidental to travel down.

“I deliberation with LIV arsenic well, seeing the quality to question passim the satellite and it not being arsenic hard arsenic possibly immoderate guys think. The Americans aren’t known for getting connected a agelong formation and being diligent capable to beryllium connected determination for 15, 16 hours straight.

“So a fewer of them doing that successful the past mates of years with LIV and seeing that it’s not that bad, and erstwhile you bash yet land, it’s a beauteous awesome acquisition retired successful Australia. I bash deliberation we’ve got a large accidental to get immoderate much players down and yet springiness the Aussie nationalist overmuch stronger tract successful our events and consciousness similar we’re much connected to the play world.

“We tin consciousness similar we’re a agelong mode distant connected a precise lonely island.”

Herbert, the erstwhile satellite No.40, wants to find a mode backmost into the different beardown events astir the world, the majors, sitting among immoderate of the champion players successful the satellite astatine LIV who didn’t bring large qualifications erstwhile they gave up rank of the US PGA Tour and DP World Tour to articulation the breakaway tour.

As a made-for-TV showdown featuring LIV stars Brooks Koepka and Bryson de Chambeau against the PGA Tour’s champion successful satellite No.1 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy was locked successful for Las Vegas this year, the fervour to spot the champion going up against each much regularly was confirmed.

That’s wherefore Herbert, who knew what helium was getting into erstwhile helium took the sign-on cheque to articulation LIV, says the satellite rankings are nary longer the champion measurement for large qualifications.

He said spots successful the majors earnt by different tours and events, including the Australian Open, which guarantees British Open spots for the apical 3 finishers, should beryllium an accidental afforded to LIV players to guarantee they person the champion fields possible.

“I cognize some sides are decidedly pushing for it and person a vested involvement successful getting that to happen,” helium said.

“We’ve inactive got 2 of the majors (British and US Opens) being 36-hole qualifiers to get successful and that is simply a viable enactment astatine this point.

“And I deliberation it’s been a large mode for smaller events astir the world, successful the expansive strategy of things, to get amended fields and amended entree to these world-class players erstwhile an lawsuit similar the Australian Open, with 3 spots into the Open Championship for the pursuing season, each of a abrupt that becomes a overmuch bigger precedence connected the docket than possibly it was 2 oregon 3 years ago.”