Currently, Mito Pereira (Chile) is ranked first in average drive distance on the PGA Tour. Originally, he is not a player with overwhelming long hitting ability, but it is still early in the 먹튀검증 season, so his name is ranked first in long hitting after participating in three competitions. But he recently packed up and left for live golf, which the PGA Tour hates so much. Sooner or later, his name will disappear from the PGA slugging statistics.
It is not wrong to say that live golf is a ‘black hole for long hitters’. There are quite a few players who made a name for themselves as long hitters on the PGA Tour and then moved to Live Golf. There is Bryson DeChambeau (USA), who once boasted that he would hit 400 yards, and there is Bubba Watson (USA), who monopolized the PGA Tour long hitter title for a while. In addition to these, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Matthew Wolf, Jason Kokrak, and Charles Howell III (above USA) are long hitters who have moved from the PGA Tour to live golf.
From the point of view of Live Golf, which had to draw the attention and interest of golf fans in a short time while facing the PGA Tour, there would have been no better story than a long shot. It might have been much easier to recruit long hitters known for their long hitting ability rather than skill, rather than the cost and time involved in attracting top ranked players with excellent skills. It would have been difficult to resist the temptation of live golf, where you can make a lot of money in one shot, even for long hitters whose grades are declining after passing their heyday. Both live golf and long hitters in the downtrend needed a ‘oriental shot’, and the goals they were pursuing were just right.
The problem is that those long hitters are dying players.
Above all, DeChambeau’s performance and long hitting power, which he trusted more than anything, is disappointing Liv Golf. Last season, he ranked 21st in the Liv Golf points rankings, and recently declared, “I will no longer pursue long hits,” which must have embarrassed Liv Golf, which invested in his long hitting power.
DeChambeau also participated in the Asian Tour PIF Saudi International, which ended on the 5th, but was humiliated by being eliminated from the cut after hitting 7 over par during the second round.
Watson, who has been ranked first in long strokes after Daly, who recorded 11 PGA long strokes, is also not satisfied with Liv Golf. Last year, he was unable to participate in the tournament due to knee surgery, and chose the Asian Tour PIF Saudi International as his return stage this year, but he also failed to escape the cut. However, Watson showed ‘possibility’ by hitting 76 on the first day and 66 on the second day, 10 strokes less than that.
At least, Liv Golf will be encouraged by the performance of Dustin Johnson, who won the 2015 PGA Long Hitting Championship. There are only seven players who have been crowned the PGA long stroke champion since 2011: Rory McIlroy, Cameron Champ, JB Holmes, and Luke List, in addition to Watson, Johnson, and DeChambeau.
Of course, there are players who will never fall into the ‘long hitter black hole’. It is McIlro who claims to be the guardian of the PGA Tour. McIlroy, who became the PGA long hit king in 2017 and 2018, would be a player like the ‘eye thorn’ that Liv Golf thinks most awkwardly and wants to get rid of.