Playing LIV Golf series is a personal choice and for some it's understandable | D'Angelo

DUBLIN, Ohio —  Rory McIlroy is not impressed.

Give the four-time major winner from Jupiter this week's field at the Memorial. Or next week's at the Canadian Open. In fact, McIlroy would take most PGA Tour event fields over the one the LIV Golf series is rolling out next week in London for its inaugural event.

"I certainly don't think the field is anything to jump up and down about," he said. "Look at the field this week. Look at the field next week in Canada. They are proper golf tournaments."

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The much-anticipated announcement for the Saudi-backed LIV series field came Tuesday night with one surprise: world No. 13 Dustin Johnson. The Jupiter resident is one of two top 20 golfers (Louis Oosthuizen) and 16 in the top 100 to join the start-up series.

And Johnson is one of two who moves the needle when it comes to the sport along with Sergio Garcia.

LIV Golf and its face, Greg Norman, have been through a public relations nightmare since Phil Mickelson's comments about Saudi Arabia's human rights atrocities and his criticism of the PGA Tour. Mickelson, ironically, is not among the first 42 names listed for next week's event, but there is room if he decides to play.

And Norman did not help himself when he said "we’ve all made mistakes," in reference to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi government.

Chase Koepka stands to gain in LIV Golf series

Still, a decision whether to play is purely personal and, for many, understandable. Who are we to judge when someone such as West Palm Beach's Chase Koepka, who has traveled the world attempting to gain access to the PGA Tour and failed, has an opportunity to make more money in three days than he has in the past seven years?

Chase, who is in the field, has made $8,500 this year on three different tours and about $315,000 since turning pro in 2016. If he finishes dead last, 48th out of 48, in next week's event at London's Centurion Club, he is guaranteed a minimum of $120,000.

Koepka, ranked No. 1,543 in the world, could make several million dollars, at minimum, playing the eight LIV Golf events, five of which will be staged in the United States.

"I have some very close friends that are playing in this event in London, and I certainly wouldn't want to stand in their way for them to do what they feel is right for themselves," McIlroy said. "It's not something that I would do personally ... but you at least have to try to put yourself in other people's shoes and see where they are coming from."

That reaction is different when it comes to those like Koepka and David Puig (No. 1,706 in the world), James Piot (1,731) and the dozen or so golfers in the field ranked higher than No. 700 in the world.

Some are fresh out of college and haven't even caused a blip on the money list. Others have made a decent living playing this game for years but are on the back nine of their careers and are seeking one more big payday.

"Everyone's situation is so unique and different," said Jupiter's Patrick Cantlay, the 2021 Memorial winner. "So the motivators that different guys have I think a lot of times guides their decisions. You've seen by a lot of the guys that have chosen to go over there, they are in the later parts of their career in general. They probably feel like they are on the downswing. So they are trying to maximize what years they have left."

McIlroy also understands some players looking to hit it big one more time.

"Another entity comes along and says, we'll guarantee you this amount ... plus you're playing for a ton more prize money, and you're playing less events, you can spend more time with your family," he said. "It's very appealing to some of those guys that are in that position."

Of the 42 players on the LIV list at this point, 13 have PGA Tour membership.

Majority of golf's A-listers want nothing to do with LIV

But there is a reason why the majority of golf's A-listers said from the start they had no interest in a competing league, and that goes beyond PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan threatening bans for players who joined the new league. The likely outcome is fines and suspensions.

Money for many is not a concern — "I'm not in that position," McIlroy said. So for people like Johnson and Garcia, their peers must be asking 'Why?"

Johnson has made more money on the PGA Tour than anyone not named Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. And $74 million is just a portion of what he has pocketed. He recently paid $14 million for a home in  Admirals Cove. Garcia is 10th on the PGA Tour career money list with more than $54 million, again, a number that does not come close to his overall earnings.

"If you're comfortable," Cantlay said, "(when it comes to) happiness, you're not going to get more happiness by getting more money, necessarily."

Tom D'Angelo is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Florida Network. You can reach him at tdangelo@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: LIV Golf series draws Dustin Johnson but Rory McIlroy not impressed