
Mickelson and liv golf defectors called out by woods' protegee thomas
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PGA Tour star Justin Thomas has taken aim at his fellow professionals that have made the controversial switch to LIV Golf. The breakaway series has taken the golfing world by storm in recent
months, with a number of big names making the controversial, mega-money move. The likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka have all signed on the dotted
line with the Saudi-backed circuit, receiving signing on fees in excess of £100 million in the process. Thomas however is one man who has remained loyal to the PGA Tour, and has openly
criticised the LIV Golf regime. One aspect in particular that has clearly got under the skin of the recently crowned PGA champion is the refusal from the Saudi rebels to admit the importance
of the financial incentive behind their decision. Speaking on the No Laying Up Podcast, he said: “When it first happened and when it came out, guys, they’re going to do what they want to
do, and yeah, do I wish they wouldn’t have, but they’re entitled to their own opinion and decision and so be it kind of thing." Wanting one of his fellow professionals to ‘have the
balls’ to admit their thirst for the lucrative amounts on offer, he added: “I just, to be perfectly honest, I just wish one of them would have the balls to say I’m doing this for the money.
Like, I personally would gain a lot more respect for that. JUST IN: PHIL MICKELSON HIT WITH TIGER WOODS TAUNT AS LIV DEFECTOR'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE “But it’s just the more the players
keep talking and saying that this is for the betterment of the game, the more agitated and irritated I get about it.” It has been no secret that both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour have
strongly opposed the new rival circuit, with those who chose to defect being handed suspensions and fines for their switch. As a result a faction of the breakaway players have threatened
legal action against their punishments, something Thomas sees as a ‘betrayal’. He added: “I heard someone that brought up a good point, they're saying that I’m sure at some point, you
know, some sort of lawsuit will be going. “And if any of those guys that left to go play the other tour sue the [PGA] Tour, they’re suing me, they’re suing Rory, they’re suing Tiger, they’re
suing every single one of us that they’ve looked in the face. So like, to me, that’s where a little bit of the betrayal and the upsetting and sad feelings come from.” The second event of
the breakaway circuit got underway this week in Portland, following the inaugural event at Centurion Club in St Albans last month. After the opening two rounds, arguably the series’ marquee
signing leads the way in Dustin Johnson, alongside Mexican Carlos Ortiz on eight-under-par.