NICK FALDO AIMS BRUTAL DIG AT LIV GOLF WHILST POKING FUN AT JON RAHM AND BROOKS KOEPKA

Nick Faldo pointed fun at LIV Golf's recent lack of TV viewing figures, whilst also blaming the recently-formed Saudi-backed series for the recent drop in interest in the men's professional game.

Faldo is on hosting duty this week, taking charge at the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry, a course in which he shares rich history with. The European stalwart has firmly pledged his loyalties to the DP World Tour and PGA Tour in golf's recent fallout, having been a staunch critic of the LIV league.

And he reinstated this stance in Sutton Coldfield this week, highlighting the league's lack of draw to fans watching from home. "I think they [LIV] are an island and go and do their own thing," Faldo said.

"That’s absolutely fine with me, go and play their tour. And I think we are now seeing that, wow, they’ve had three seasons, and they haven’t made much impact on the [viewing] numbers. Quite amusingly, pickleball was bigger than their two stars [Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm] in a play-off.

"The sort of excitement everyone wants. But it got beat for viewership by pickleball. “I think bottom line is that the players have got the last laugh because they are being rewarded so much either through the size of the prize money or appearance fees and they are not moving the needle."

LIV are not the only circuit struggling for viewership though, with the PGA Tour failing to attract the large numbers it once did. Recent data revealed that this month's opening FedEx Cup playoff, the FedEx St. Jude Championship saw viewing figures drop 30% from the year prior.

For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US .

For Faldo, he believes LIV's financial impact is to blame. "It’s been so damaging to the public’s attitude to golf," he went on. "I still talk to my producer friends in TV and people are just not watching [it]. It’s hurt the attitude towards golf.

“I did 18 years of television, and I was told not to talk about prize money. When the FedEx Cup went to 10 million, I went ‘wow, look at this, this putt is worth 10 million!’ That was about the only time I mentioned money and now, all of a sudden, it’s ridiculous amounts. It’s really changed it.”

The man leading Faldo's event at The Belfry is LIV Golf's own, Tyrrell Hatton, who is making his return to the DP World Tour in a bid to keep hold of his Ryder Cup eligibility for 2025. The Englishman burst to the top of the leaderboard on Friday, carding a superb seven-under-par 65 with eight birdies, to leave him at 10-under, one shot ahead of the chasing pack behind him.

2024-08-31T10:41:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd