Rickie Fowler has revealed PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan made a surprise visit to his Florida home during LIV Golf’s recruitment drive in an attempt to persuade him not to join the breakaway circuit.
The rebel league launched in June 2022 with a plethora of major champions, ageing Ryder Cup stars and multiple PGA Tour winners.
Fowler’s name was constantly linked with LIV Golf but the 37-year-old eight-time PGA Tour winner decided to ultimately reject their “mind-boggling” offer.
In a recent interview with Golfweek, Fowler opened up on LIV’s attempts to woo him.
He struck up a relationship with former LIV chairman, Yasir Al Rumayyan, during a DP World Tour event in Abu Dhabi and held plenty of discussions about a potential move as he believed the PGA Tour had “got complacent”.
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To his surprise, PGA Tour commissioner Monahan – who will leave the circuit at the end of this year – turned up at his door one day out of the blue.
Rickie Fowler
“It wasn’t something he had to do and I told him I never really was in a position where I wanted to go,” Fowler told the publication.
“What made me want to meet and learn a bit more was that the Tour wasn’t directly meeting with them.
“I wanted to have a better understanding of why they felt there was a door open into the world of golf.
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“I felt like the Tour had gotten lazy, a little complacent, like, ‘Hey, we’re good, we’re the PGA Tour.’
“LIV Golf and Premier Golf League saw that they could tap into the golf space.
“I wanted to learn why, how and what they were up to. I wouldn’t say it actually worked out the way they envisioned it.”
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LIV Golf are currently undergoing a funding crisis.
The future of the series has been plunged into doubt after Saudi Arabia said it will withdraw its muti-billion dollar backing at the end of the season.
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Should that be the case, then there will be plenty of professional golfers looking to tee up on the PGA Tour again.
Brooks Koepka is the highest-profile player to leave LIV and re-join the PGA Tour, taking advantage of a “returning member programme”.
But whether other players will be extended the same treatment as Koepka remains to be seen.
Fowler, though, doesn’t have any issues with players returning to the fold.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” he said.
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“I’m not against it but it’s not going to be like, ‘Oh, you had full status when you left, well, come on back and pick up where you left off.'”
LIV Golf pro rules out PGA Tour return
Elsewhere, at least one current LIV Golf pro has ruled out ever returning to the PGA Tour.
Thomas Pieters, who joined LIV in 2023, recently told Dan Rapaport of Skratch that he never enjoyed playing in the United States.
Should LIV Golf fold, Pieters said, then he is likely to try and play on the DP World Tour again.
The 34-year-old revealed he may even retire from the sport altogether.
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His comments came as LIV issued a major update on its long-term future.
LIV have hired a team of heavyweight financial advisors to help it secure a funding lifeline.
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