Padraig Harrington Reveals He Turned Down LIV Golf Offer
Speaking on The Late Late Show, Harrington also revealed that his 'friends' who joined LIV have remained his friends
Appearing as one of Ryan Tubridy's guests on The Late Late Show on Friday night, Padraig Harrington was asked about the LIV Golf League, with the three-time Major winner revealing that he turned down an informal approach to join the league, with Harrington claiming that his friends who had joined LIV still remain friends.
"If I can get you to play golf when you retire, I can get anyone to play golf"Lovely gesture from Padraig Harrington on the Late Late last night!pic.twitter.com/PsyKfkNZY7April 22, 2023
"I got a text message but I didn't want the temptation. If somebody comes around and offers you a hundred million, five hundred million, that's a lot of temptation. It's a lot of temptation and I didn't want it. Sometimes you just don't need it", revealed Harrington.
He went on to add "I'm not going, but I've lots of friends who went and they're still my friends. I can see why people would go and I can see the good of it in terms of inclusion if things change. Some of the guys have gone for free, but there's a lot of prize money. Whether they should go or not is up to the individuals - some of the guys who've gone wouldn't have been in good financial situations.
"I wouldn't want to live in Saudi Arabia as it is now, but I do believe inclusion changes things. The more international inclusion of Saudi Arabia, the more the people will go, 'you know what - we want to change things.' It's not that long ago here we used to put pregnant women in mother and baby homes. 1996 was when the last of them closed so we're not that far away from it."
Back in September, Harrington said that LIV Golf players should be allowed to play in Majors, with the 51-year-old telling The Times that protecting the Majors should be paramount.
At the time, he said: “I have a lot of friends who have gone to LIV and I don’t want to throw them under the bus. Nobody is paying me to support LIV and the PGA is my bread and butter. I strongly believe the Majors should stay above everything."
Now, just over six months later, Harrington has backed up the claims with the Irishman stating that: "I also see that the competition for the PGA Tour has turned out to be very good. Everybody tuned in to the Masters to the LIV and PGA players."
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Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.
Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.
Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?
Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°
Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
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