Mike Lorenzo-Vera is holding strong in his criticism of LIV Golf. While some players have softened their stance and opened up to the possibility of LIV Golf members coming back, Lorenzo-Vera maintains a negative feeling towards them.
The golfer said he’s not happy with what some defecting players have done. He said via Bunkered:
“The thing I don’t like is the people spitting on the Tour that has given them a s*** lot of money for years. The players that hammer the tours. If they were angry after Keith, they shouldn’t have said I’m angry at the DP World Tour. How many people work at the DP World Tour?”
The European Tour pro believes that their actions were inappropriate:
“The attitude has been proper s***. Even if they thought they were right. I’m sure there was troubles between the Tour and them, but man you’re getting £50 million to play golf. Just thank everybody and go, no?”
Lorenzo-Vera is not among those who are unhappy with the decision to leave. He understands that it’s a lot of money to turn down, so it’s not surprising that many did. The issue lies in how they acted after being paid to leave and how many golfers talked down on their former tour.
Mike Lorenzo-Vera rips Sergio Garcia
Mike Lorenzo-Vera’s ire has largely been aimed at Sergio Garcia. The LIV golfer has been one of the most vocal people on tour. He has threatened legal action in the past and has generally not been pleasant towards the Tour.
Lorenzo-Vera’s relationship with Garcia has always been fine, but there are things he just couldn’t get past as he said via Bunkered:
“He has always been great to me but it’s that attitude I didn’t get and couldn’t understand. Ego must have been hurt there. The feeling that you can’t play Ryder Cup and can’t come back on the Tour they think they built but they haven’t.”
He did praise Garcia as a singularly talented golfer who deserves to make a lot of money for his play. Lorenzo-Vera just doesn’t like LIV in general:
“Plenty of people are going to say, ‘You’re jealous.’ Why am I jealous? If one guy deserved all the money it’s him for sure. I could have asked for an invite to the first [LIV event]. I didn’t didn’t like the product and the way it’s been done.”
Garcia is reportedly interested in making the difficult and costly journey back to the European Tour. He’d have to pay fines and likely serve suspensions. Once he does get back on tour, it’s unclear what sort of reception he’d have, but some would certainly be unhappy about it. Mike Lorenzo-Vera seems to be chief among them.