Tempting promising amateur golfers and newly-minted professionals with guaranteed money to compete in LIV Golf events is a strategy Greg Norman has openly acknowledged. Multiple reports have noted that top players on the PGA Tour University ranking of college seniors had been contacted about playing in LIV Golf events.
One of those appears to have been recent University of Texas graduate Pierceson Coody, who helped lead his UT Longhorns to an NCAA title earlier this month. Coody ended the 2021-22 college season No.1 on the PGA Tour University ranking, which earned him immediate membership on the Korn Ferry Tour. This week, Coody, the 22-year-old grandson of former Masters champion Charles Coody, is playing in his third KFT event, having earned $US31,125 in his first two starts.
According to a report from Golf.com, as Coody was finishing his college career in May and preparing to begin playing in KFT events, he and his family were approached through Coody’s agent by LIV Golf officials and presented with a “multi-million-dollar” offer to jump to the rival series. The story goes on to say that Coody’s twin brother, Parker, was also offered a deal for a different amount to help entice the two to join. Parker also played at Texas; he finished 13th in the PGA Tour University standings and earned membership on PGA Tour Canada.
The family were reportedly told they had 12 days to make a decision, never interacting directly with LIV officials (the story says that offers all went through the Coodys’ agent). According to the story, Norman hoped to get Pierceson’s cellphone number to make a direct pitch to the Texas All-American, but Coody’s father, Kyle, wouldn’t allow it.
In the end, Pierceson turned down the offer (which would have voided his KFT membership), noting that his dream growing up was to play on the PGA Tour and that he didn’t want to cut that off for a quick—albeit big—payday.
“I might be sitting on my couch with millions in my bank account watching my friends play on the PGA Tour, and that would have been devastating,” Pierceson said. “Seeing that kind of money was kind of a wow moment for me. It was a crazy amount of money, but I love the American tour. I never saw myself as a LIV golfer, but a PGA Tour golfer.”
