LIV Golf reportedly missed out on another big name, with 2021 Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama reportedly turning down a huge payday to join the breakout golf league.
Matsuyama, who confirmed he’s staying with the PGA Tour on Sunday, is currently No. 16 in the world golf rankings and the highest-ranked Japanese player. Matsuyama is an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the Zozo Championship and Sony Open.
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Matsuyama was joined by Cameron Young in staying with the PGA Tour, with Young – for his part – citing the recent changes promised by the PGA Tour to compete with LIV Golf’s lucrative payouts.
Matsuyama’s highest finish this year at a major was fourth in the U.S. Open. Rumors of him staying on the PGA Tour had been swirling before his confirmation Sunday.
How much money did Hideki Matsuyama turn down?
As with so many other players in LIV Golf, Matsuyama was offered a large sum to defect from the Tour.
While no number is confirmed, according to Dan Rapoport, the number was in the $300-400 million range.
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge that Hideki Matsuyama just turned down a *ridiculous* sum of cash—numbers I’ve heard thrown around are in the $300-$400 million range.
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) August 30, 2022
He could still go at a later date, but that couldn’t have been an easy call.
Phil Mickelson reportedly pulled in $200 million, while Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and others earned a $100M+ contract for signing on with the Saudi-backed league.
It’s the largest reported rejected sum since Tiger Woods rejected a $700-800 million offer from LIV Golf.
While Greg Norman tried to walk back that reported number for Woods, the reality is LIV Golf is trying to outsize its competition with its offers. If the Matsuyama offer was even in the reported neighborhood, that remains true.