Stephen A Smith blames PGA Tour for LIV Golf saga, moronically says defectors shouldn't face any punishment

Smith believes that the only figure to blame in this entire, ridiculous saga is the PGA Tour, therefore, it should welcome back players with wide-open arms.

"If the PGA decides to punish these golfers, we should be all - excuse my language - we should stay in their a-- like white on rice. They should not be punishing anybody. It was their negligence, their abuse, their taking golfers for granted that forced the existence of LIV to begin with," Smith said on Thursday's edition of 'First Take.'

"The players didn't want to leave the PGA. They were forced to because they were looking for better opportunities based on how they were treated. And we know this because the PGA stepped in afterward, once LIV came into existence, and expressed a willingness to make modifications. They knew they had done the players wrong."

"All they wanted was to be treated better," Smith continued. "And the PGA stuck their nose up like the arrogant people that they were, and they mistreated these guys. Now that this is going away, supposedly, and these players from LIV are looking to come back, I don't want to hear anything about punishment.

Phil Mickelson earned $96 million on the PGA Tour before leaving for LIV Golf. Dustin Johnson earned nearly $76 million, Sergio Garcia made more than $55 million and Bubba Watson was just shy of $49 million in PGA Tour earnings before jumping ship.

Smith is absolutely correct in saying that players left the Tour looking for better opportunities, but those opportunities had absolutely nothing to do with legacy or the fabric of the sport in general. The opportunity was to make more money, and for stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, to become generationally wealthy with nine-figure contracts.

As for Smith's comment about the PGA Tour making "modifications" after players left, well, of course it did, because it had to. The Tour, a nonprofit organization, was suddenly facing a foe being funded by the Saudi PIF valued at over $1 trillion.

LIV Golf undoubtedly forced the PGA Tour to evolve and change its operations to better benefit players, specifically the top-end talent. Smith didn't just say that; he went to bat for a Saudi regime with a record of human rights atrocities that decided to throw blank checks at players to disrupt professional golf.