Charles Barkley would ‘kill a relative’ for $200 million LIV Golf payday

The Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour has generated a lot of emotions over the past two weeks as several major golfers have joined the tour, earning themselves a suspension from all PGA Tour events. 

Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and Bryson Dechambeau are just a few of the golfers who took LIV’s massive payday, setting off controversy in the world of golf. 

On Friday, NBA Hall of Famer and TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley sounded off of the drama, telling “The Pat McAfee Show” that he was rooting for chaos at the U.S. Open. 

“I want all the LIV guys on top of the leaderboard,” Barkley said when asked about this weekend’s U.S. Open . “I want to see the PGA Tour shaking in their d–n boots. Listen, I’m not a religious dude, but I want chaos this weekend at the U.S. Open.”

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Barkley went on to say that he didn’t judge the golfers who chose to take the money, joking with McAfee about the massive amounts of money being thrown around.  

“I don’t judge other people,” Barkley said. “Listen, if someone gave me $200 million, I’d kill a relative.”

“I’m serious. They said Phil Mickelson got $200 million and Dustin Johnson got $150 million. For $150 million, I’d kill a relative, even one I liked!”

Though the PGA Tour has suspended the golfers who chose to join LIV Golf, those golfers are able to play in the U.S. Open in Brookline, MA, due to the fact that the tournament is run by the USGA. 

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Though LIV golfers are allowed to play in the 2022 U.S. Open, USGA CEO Mike Whan said that could change in the future. 

“I could foresee a day,” Whan said on Wednesday, per ESPN. “Do I know what that day looks like? No, I don’t. To be honest with you, what we’re talking about [LIV Golf] was different two years ago, and it was different two months ago than it is today. We’ve been doing this for 127 years, so I think [the USGA] needs to take a long-term view of this and see where these things go. So we’re not going to be a knee-jerk reaction to kind of what we do.”

Four LIV golfers made the cut at the U.S. Open, including Johnson and Dechambeau.