Blood money spends as easily as any, I guess.

That’s the first thought that came to mind when Dustin Johnson, a former world No. 1, currently ranked 13th and winner of two majors, last week became the biggest name to jump from the PGA Tour to the new LIV circuit, fronted by Greg Norman and backed by the Public Investment Fund of the Saudi Arabia government.

In other words, it is the vehicle of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the latest mechanism for an oil-rich kingdom to sportswash its human rights failures. These include the 2018 murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi – a critic of the Saudi regime and an American citizen – at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

When that was brought up recently, Norman reportedly responded, “We all make mistakes.”

You really want to do business with these people?

Phil Mickelson had it right even when he was wrong, in those quotes disseminated months ago by golf writer and author Alan Shipnuck in which Lefty attempted to justify his support for the new venture. Mickelson, you’ll remember, talked of it as an opportunity to toss a grenade at the PGA Tour’s modus operandi. But he also allowed that the Saudis are “scary (so-and-sos)” – you can fill in the blank, I’m sure – and have a “horrible record on human rights.”

Mickelson, interestingly, is not currently on the entry list for next week’s first LIV Tour event in London. That’s a surprise, considering what he’s already thrown away with those comments, but there are still a few openings to be filled.

Mickelson ducked out of the public eye once his earlier comments were published, skipping the Masters and opting not to defend his title at the PGA Championship. And he was dropped as the host of the American Express, the former Bob Hope Classic, in the Coachella Valley.

Second thoughts, perhaps? Or will this be a dramatic “Lefty’s back” announcement on the eve of the event?

What to make, then, of Johnson’s involvement? When the PGA Tour was at Riviera Country Club in February and the Norman-Saudi circuit was a topic of conversation, Johnson was one of those who said he was staying where he was. “I am fully committed to the PGA Tour,” he said then in a statement disseminated by the Tour’s communications office. “I am grateful for the opportunity to play on the best tour in the world and for all it has provided me and my family.”

But when asked about it again before last month’s PGA Championship, this was his response: “I mean, I think golf is in a good spot, and I think what they’re doing is – could potentially be good for the game of golf. I’m excited to see what happens here in a few weeks.”

I wonder if that was before or after he’d signed a $125 million deal with LIV Golf, as reported by James Corrigan and Tom Morgan of London’s Telegraph. The old adage is that money talks, but when the numbers are big enough it screams, baby.

The LIV circuit is the logical extension of all of those oil kingdom cash grab events with their lucrative appearance fees early in the calendar year. On this tour there will be 48-man fields, no cuts, everybody gets paid and … well, that $125 million sounds like a whopper of an appearance fee.

But there’s already been fallout. Johnson and Graeme McDowell, another LIV entrant, had their sponsorship deals with the Royal Bank of Canada terminated, and it’s probably not a coincidence that RBC is sponsoring the Canadian Open in Toronto the same week as the LIV London event.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan made it clear from the outset that players would have to choose one circuit or the other and would not be welcome back on the PGA Tour if they jumped. None of its members have been authorized to play LIV events, a Tour statement reiterated this past week, and those who do “are subject to disciplinary action.” Presumably, the lawyers have weighed in on the Tour’s authority to suspend or ban the renegades.

Beyond Johnson, it’s not an overwhelming field in London. McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia are the other major winners committed, while others on the list include Ian Poulter, Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Kevin Na and Lee Westwood. Only Johnson, No. 20 Oosthuizen, No. 33 Na and No. 35 Gooch are in the top 50 of the world rankings.

LIV Golf announces field for first event in London next week. Among the big names: Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell, Talor Gooch. Not listed: Phil Mickelson. pic.twitter.com/AUlcFD5oS4

— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) June 1, 2022

Back in February at Riviera, Rory McIlroy noted, “Greg Norman would have to tee it up to fill the field,” he added. “Who else is going to do it? I don’t think they could get 48 guys.”

They might. Of course, the tournament fields probably will consist of maybe a couple of studs and a slew of has-beens and never-weres. (Three amateurs are helping to fill out the field in London.)

If it’s a decision on which tour to pay attention to, then, it’s not much of a choice at all.

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This week before the Memorial, when asked if he felt the PGA Tour should come down hard on those who jumped, McIlroy told reporters on-site he didn’t, noting that “I have some very close friends that are playing in this event in London, and I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in their way for them to do what they feel is right for themselves.”

But, he added: “Look at the field this week. Look at the field next week in Canada. They are proper golf tournaments.”

Ultimately, this standoff might come down to how the tournaments that most define a player’s legacy decide to handle the defectors. Curiously – ominously, perhaps – as of Friday afternoon there had not yet been a peep from representatives of the majors, and the first test will be in a couple of weeks at the U.S. Open.

Hopefully, they’ll show some spine and shut the gates to the renegades. Blood money may be spendable, but legacies – and clear consciences – are forever.

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