What he's trying to say is that Mickelson has played terrible on LIV, Koepka had too, until the week of the Masters and I guess Reed isn't tearing it up either. He's saying they don't care about playing well, they mail it in on LIV but get their grind on when the stage is real at Augusta.
Is it clear whether these guys actually get the prize money on LIV or if its simply subtracted from their giant contracts? I've read it both ways.
But I don't think any golfer shows up and mails it in.. If you're out there, you're grinding.
Phil fed off Spieth, conjured up ghosts from the past, got energy from the crowd and had a day. Koepka is healthy again and Reed is a great course manager and obviously Augusta suits him. Nothing surprising about that.
Better for LIV to have guys finish near the top of the leaderboard than if they all missed the cut. But does it move the needle? No. The only way LIV survives is if they pay way up and get Scheffler, Rahm and another top gun or two. As it is, watching a handful of the mostly unlikable Tour pros, in an exhibition, isn't nearly as compelling as watching the other 80% in a real tournament. That doesn't change because a few guys played well at Augusta.
