Pierceson Coody received a massive contract offer from the LIV Golf Invitational Series, but the recent Texas grad opted to keep his focus on joining the PGA Tour.
“It was a crazy amount of money,” Coody told Golf.com. “But I love the American tour.”
Coody won the Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) event in Maine over the weekend — in his third start on the tour — and said he has no regrets turning down the LIV last month. By winning the PGA University Series in 2022, Coody earned KFT membership.
“I might be sitting on my couch with millions in my bank account watching my friends play on the PGA Tour, and that would have been devastating,” he said.
Coody was reportedly offered a “multi-million dollar” deal that included a contract for his twin brother, Parker, and covered two years of travel expenses in full.
The third-generation golfers in the Coody family have familiar lineage as the grandson of 1971 Masters Tournament winner Charles Coody.
A Big 12 conference competitor did jump at the LIV offer.
Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra, the No. 2-ranked amateur in the world, turned pro to join the LIV Golf Series, reports the Spanish newspaper Marca.
Chacarra, 22, is signing a three-year contract worth between $8 million and $15 million and will make his debut with the PGA Tour’s rival circuit next week just outside Portland, Ore.
“This contract gives me peace of mind and ensures the future of my family,” he told the newspaper, according to a translation by SI.com.
Chacarra earned first-team All-American honors in each of the past two seasons at Oklahoma State.
The Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series played its inaugural event earlier this month outside London. The tournament at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (June 30-July 2) in North Plains, Ore., will be the first LIV event in the United States.
Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and several other former PGA Tour players have joined the new tour.
–Field Level Media
