PGA Tour Caddie Geno Bonnalie On LIV Golf Merger: Might Feel 'Yucky' But Hard To Ignore Positive Financial Implications
The announcement of a merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf rocked the golf world on Tuesday. PGA Tour caddie Geno Bonnalie, who starred in episode four of the Netflix documentary "Full Swing", talked to OutKick about his thoughts.
Bonnalie caddies for Joel Dahmen, the world's 124th ranked golfer. Despite the consternation around the PGA Tour partnering with LIV Golf -- which is funded by the Saudi Arabian government -- Bonnalie noted that there are positives to the new partnership.
"I think I think having all of the best players in one location, competing on a more regular basis, is what's best for professional golf," Bonnalie told OutKick through a promotion for SAXX underwear. "I know it feels yucky, doesn't feel right just feels very hypocritical ... But I think it's going to be fine.
Joel Dahmen and caddie Geno Bonnalie during the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
"And I know it's a big knee jerk reaction to this news, a lot of people are up in arms and it doesn't necessarily feel good. But it's all going to be okay."
I agree with Bonnalie. It's easy to get preachy and moral about other people's money.
But I have to be honest.
If someone said to me, 'Hey Dan, The Saudi's bought OutKick and they're going to start paying you $2 million per year,' my response would be to tell them exactly where to mail the checks.
PGA Tour caddies rely on their players, and more money coming from LIV Golf merger is a positive for them and their families
Caddying is a tough job since their pay is almost entirely determined by the results of their player. If Dahmen misses a cut, for example, Geno Bonnalie makes virtually no money. And, he has a wife and two young children to support.
Adding more money to the prize pool might not mean as much to the guys at the top, who are already making big bucks on-and-off the course. But for those middle-tier guys, as Bonnalie says, this could be huge.
"This might be some speculation on my part, but it's probably going to be beneficial to some of the mid-tier guys, and caddies," he said. "I don't see us playing for less money going forward.
"Granted, I know it's very sensitive as to who's behind that money and all that stuff, but from a financial standpoint, it's probably going to be beneficial to everyone."
Joel Dahmen and caddie Geno Bonnalie will be part of a new partnership between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Charles Barkley said it best when PGA Tour players started committing to LIV Golf: “People use a word like ‘sportswashing,’ ‘blood money,’ and that really pisses me off,” Barkley said to OutKick's Clay Travis. “These guys have the right to make money any way they want to.”
And that was for players choosing to go to LIV Golf. For players like Dahmen and his caddie, they didn't choose to play in this entity. That's just where professional golf is heading.
Bonnalie prefers to look towards the positive side of that.
And, honestly, it's exactly what anyone else would do in the same position.
Save the selective and moral outrage.