Chesson Hadley will have been pleased with his day's work on Thursday, with an opening round 67 sufficient to put him tied in the lead at the Canadian Open.
The American golfer is tied with home hero Corey Conners, along with fellow Americans Justin Lower and Aaron Rai at the top of the leaderboard entering day two in Toronto, setting the pace at five under par after a round for Hadley which only included one bogey.
Hadley spoke to the media after his round and was understandably asked for his thoughts on the impending merger of the LIV and PGA Tours.
It's the hottest topic in golf, with some of the biggest names in the game sharing their opinions on the controversial move - but Hadley offered a perspective which may have been lost thus far with regard to players lower down in the world rankings.
Chesson Hadley calls for rewards for those loyal to the PGA Tour
It's common knowledge that the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods turned down huge sums of money on offer from LIV Golf in order to stay a part of the PGA Tour.
Woods and McIlroy, in particular, have led the charge for the PGA Tour in the face of a new adversary, and even those who signed up to LIV right at the beginning believe that they should be compensated by the PGA Tour for a perceived betrayal of their loyalty.
Speaking to the media after his opening round 67 at the Canadian Open, PGA Tour winner Chesson Hadley pointed out that players further down the world rankings who had stayed on the tour were being forgotten about in the debate about player compensation.
Now that the new reality is sinking in, this feels like an increasingly popular sentiment among pros.
Chesson Hadley would like to be rewarded for his loyalty to the PGA Tour this last year. pic.twitter.com/6UweUycQBc— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) June 8, 2023
Hadley, ranked 297th in the world, name dropped both McIlroy and Woods as he appeared to take a dig at PGA commissioner Jay Monahan for focusing on the higher-ranked players
I know as much as you know.
Is it true that Jay [Monahan] said he's going to reward those who stayed loyal to the tour? Did he say that yesterday?
I think he said that about Rory and Tiger, didn't he?
I would like to be rewarded for some loyalty. Those guys who went to LIV didn't do the wrong thing, they made a business decision, and I don't hold that against anybody.
But I would like to be rewarded for my decision to stay loyal.
This is not the first incident this week which has shown the divide which exists not only between PGA Tour players and their LIV counterparts, but also within the tour itself.
In the direct aftermath of the news of the impending merger, reports emerged of a heated clash between Rory McIlroy and fellow tour pro Grayson Murray during a crisis meeting with Monahan to discuss the tour's future.
The fallout to this bombshell decision is likely to continue for some time yet.
SEE ALSO: Paul McGinley Raises Concerns Over Scheduling After PGA/LIV Merger
