SEATTLE — It was back to the swing of things for Rick Fehr today at The Golf Club at Newcastle.
The day was jampacked with lessons—a day after learning a valuable lesson.
"I think greed won this time as it often does," he said.
Fehr is a former PGA player—a two-time winner on tour and now a coach in the Seattle area.
He says he's worried about where the game is headed.
"This is what happens when you trade Arnold (Palmer) and Jack (Nicklaus) and Tiger (Woods) for Greg (Norman) and Phil (Mickelson)."
Tuesday's PGA-LIV merger had Fehr livid for much of the day.
"It kind of feels like a hostile takeover to me and I don't know how good it's going to be for professional golf," he said.
Like a divot in the fairway, the decision is groundbreaking.
For months, PGA commissioner Jay Monahan condemned the Saudi-funded alternative league.
"I would ask any player that has left or any player that would consider leaving, have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?" Monahan said in June of 2022.
Tuesday he decided it was best they join forces.
"I think you could probably throw that in the dictionary as the definition of hypocritical," Fehr said.
"I accept those criticisms," Monahan said in a press conference. "But circumstances do change and looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that's what got us to this point."
Fehr said just like current players, he was blindsided by the merger and is now left to wrap his mind around why.
"The pitch from Monahan is going to be, 'We don't have a choice guys. Our financial well-being has been put on bad footing and we need to do this,'" Fehr said.
Rory McIlroy says the takeaway is a tough one.
"It's very hard to keep up with people that have more money than anyone else," he said.
It's a lesson learned, and one that swings professional golf into a new chapter.
"It's just too bad that's it come to this," Fehr said.
