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One can only imagine how awkward the awards ceremony will be with the audience split into separate PGA Tour and LIV Golf sections.
The Rexys, however, remain above it all and offer an equal opportunity assessment of the most contentious year in golf.
All the Shade Award: Rory McIlroy.
No one ever asks to land in the middle of a media maelstrom, but the Northern Irishman has embraced every awkward and headline-provoking minute of it.
In September at the BMW PGA Championship, a reporter sheepishly apologized for another “LIV question,” and McIlroy shot back, “I want you to. I want you to. Give me it all. It’s fine.”
His performance on the course in ’22 was impressive by any measure, but it was off the course where McIlroy made the difference.
With Race to Dubai triumph, Rory McIlroy proves he’s got the strength to lift more
Wag the Dog Award: Brooks Koepka.
One player dubbed it “LIV Golf fatigue,” the nonstop trickle of news and rumors coming from the Saudi-backed league, and for some, like Koepka, the incessant noise reached a crescendo at the U.S. Open.
“I think it kind of sucks, too, you are all throwing this black cloud over the U.S. Open. It’s one of my favorite events. I don’t know why you guys keep doing that,” Koepka chided reporters at The Country Club. “The more legs you give it, the more you keep talking about it.”
Eight days later LIV Golf announced Koepka was joining the circuit. That’s it, no punchline.
Brooks Koepka says LIV talk ‘throwing a black cloud’ over U.S. Open
Chicken Little Cup: Matthew Fitzpatrick.
In October 2021, the Englishman said what many of his Tour brothers were thinking as Bryson DeChambeau was on the verge of breaking the ancient game over his knee with his unique brand of power and muscle.
“It just makes a bit of a mockery of the game,” Fitzpatrick said.
In a classic “if you can’t beat ’em …” moment, Fitzpatrick reworked his swing and body to increase his average drive from 287.9 yards in 2019 to 298.1…
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