Bryson DeChambeau will again attempt to prevent Rory McIlroy from breaking his Masters curse.
Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka or Phil Mickelson could all don the Green Jacket at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club this weekend.
GettySir Nick Faldo won three Masters and six PGA majors[/caption]But the reunion between PGA Tour and LIV golfers will be brief and temporary, since golf’s bitter split continues with not even United States President Donald Trump able to broker a peace deal between the divided sides.
Nick Faldo, a three-time Masters champ and six-time major winner, doesn’t believe that a PGA Tour-LIV reunion is required.
“Personally, I think they should just go and do their own thing,” Faldo, an analyst for Sky Sports coverage of The Masters, exclusively told talkSPORT.
“LIV is LIV. Go and play the tour. You know, it’s caused the ruckus. The players have done incredibly well — they’ve found a way to double the bloomin’ prize money. They’re all making a fortune, both sides.”
McIlroy, who recently won the Players Championship and is ‘out for blood’ in 2025, has surpassed $100 million in career PGA earnings.
DeChambeau, who edged McIlroy in a thrilling 2024 US Open, captains his Crushers team on the LIV circuit.
That breakaway tour has seen some golfers earn more than $50 million on the course, despite minimal media coverage and a scattered schedule.
DeChambeau appeared to question LIV’s overall state during a media interview last week.
“There definitely needs to be some continued thought on what LIV Golf is doing for the global game of golf,” DeChambeau said.
Koepka added: “We all hoped it would be a little bit further along, it’s no secret.”
GettyUS President Donald Trump has tried to end the PGA-LIV split[/caption] AFPFaldo helped Tiger Woods put on the famous green Masters jacket in 1997[/caption] Faldo also supported a young Rory McIlroyGetty Images - GettyLIV returned to play last week at Trump National Doral in Miami – just its fifth event of the 2025 season.
The PGA Tour was at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio at the same time.
Money drove the PGA Tour-LIV split, and money is mentioned more than ever in modern golf.
“I sat there for television and I did not mention prize money that many times in 18 years,” Faldo said.
“We were told not to mention – just keep talking about points.
“Then all of a sudden we’re saying $10 million, $20 million, $100 million – everything was about money.
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“I think the average person would say, ‘Hang on a minute. You’re waltzing around the bloody field hitting the golf ball, and it’s gotten preposterous, it’s gotten out of hand.’ “
The 67-year-old Faldo started golfing at 14 when he was inspired by watching Jack Nicklaus on TV in the 1971 Masters.
Lessons, borrowed golf clubs and a two-year total swing makeover eventually produced two decades of dominance from Faldo.
The Welwyn Garden City native said the personal pride of making a Friday cut can be lost when millions of dollars are constantly being offered.
“I saw it many a time,” Faldo said. “The guys would fist pump – I made the cut, I still have a chance to win.
“That’s more important than, ‘Oh, thanks very much. I’ll waltz around for 54 holes and I’ve got a guaranteed check.’ That’s not sport. It’s not good for you, that sort of thing.
“Sport is bloody tough. The fear of failure is just as powerful as the quest to win.
“And I think when you’re on a fail-free tour, you can’t fail. It makes you go soft. I think some of those players have gone soft.”
Faldo, who won the Masters in 1989, ‘90 and ‘96, also questioned LIV’s overall financial system.
“It’s the one and only business model in the world where the money’s going out the window and very little’s coming in,” Faldo said.
“No company – you couldn’t go to your bank manager and say, ‘This is my business model.’ He’d say, ‘Excuse me? We’ve only got this coming in and that going out?’
“I say the players are the luckiest things in the world, because you’ve got guys we’ve hardly heard of, who’ve never won, playing in $20 million tournaments.
x@JoshACarpenterDeChambeau, left, and Koepka, right, discussed the state of LIV Golf[/caption]“You’ve got guys who are into their careers getting 10 times what they would earn on tour, guaranteed. And then you’ve got these couple of guys getting paid an absolute fortune, and they haven’t moved a needle, really. So, hey, good luck to them. Go and do their own thing.”
The brief reunion of Xander Schauffele, McIlroy, DeChambeau, Rahm and Koepka will take over TVs across the globe as the Masters shines again in 2025.
“Augusta is such a is such a mind game,” Faldo said.
“It demands 100 percent assessment, decision making, commitment.
“You’ve got to be completely, ‘I want this. I’m going to do that. This is how I do it. Crack on.’
If the PGA Tour and LIV remain divided, Faldo also feels strongly about how the former should move forward without the other.
“The (PGA) Tour has just gotta keep promoting personalities and that sort of thing,” Faldo said. “Tell the story, get the public interest and we’ll see.
“Augusta – got a feeling we’ll have a good one and the viewership will be good. Maybe things are picking up on the TV side in America. Let’s see how it goes.”
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