Robert Allenby: LIV Golf Downfall, Trump, DeChambeau 'Fool,' PGA Tour Ban

Speaking exclusively to Casinolyze, former PGA Tour pro Robert Allenby has revealed the exclusive inside track on the downfall of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, with reports claiming the Tour will lose its Public Investment Fund support at the end of the season 

Allenby, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and a four-time winner on the European Tour, also said Bryson DeChambeau - one of the faces of LIV Golf - acted like a “fool” during the Masters at Augusta. 

The Australian native also revealed his prediction for the upcoming PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, why Matt Fitzpatrick is the hottest ticket in Golf right now, Rory McIlroy’s chances of winning more majors and why Royal Lytham - awarded the 2028 British Open - is a “cr*p” course and he has sympathy for US president Donald Trump, whose Turnberry course in Scotland was overlooked once again for the Major championship. 

My inside scoop on the downfall of LIV Golf 

The first sign of trouble was when they pulled the Louisiana event and all the rumbles in Mexico about late payments recently. 

Then last night [Wednesday] I was sent a copy of a note from a LIV executive to the players. It said: “Hi all, thanks for the time earlier today. 

“You’ll see the media announcing that we will not be funded by the PIF after the season. As you know, this was confirmed to us today (April 29). Formal statements from all parties are coming tonight/tomorrow. 

“As you know, we are now 100% focused to complete the build of LIV 2.0 and work to find new investors. 

“We will dive deep on all in Virginia during our time together on Tuesday. Your input is highly encouraged and needed. 

“Any questions or feedback beforehand, feel free to call me or Scott anytime.”

I can’t see Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm not coming back to the PGA Tour and it made no sense for Cam Smith to join LIV 

I can't see them not coming back to the PGA Tour. Maybe Rahm can go to the European Tour first. I know if I was in their position right now, I'd probably just find a way to buy out and make a comeback to the PGA Tour. 

They're not the players they were judging by the Masters. 

There are so many players out there that are just not playing well anymore. Cameron Smith is the best example. He's a world-beater and if he had stayed on the PGA Tour he would have won more majors. 

I think he would have won TPC again and I think he would have done really really well. But instead, he went for the money and he went for the big payout. If he had stayed on the PGA Tour same with DeChambeau and Rahm, their endorsements would have been huge and been more than compensation. 

To me it never made sense. It makes sense for a Lee Westwood and the older guys to get one last payday. 

Bryson and Jon are the glue that has held the LIV show together. That's what it is, it's just a show. 

The players who joined LIV that were critical of the PGA Tour shouldn’t be allowed back - they can’t have their cake and eat it 

Not just Tom but Fred Couples too. They both made it clear that in their opinion of players taking the LIV money they can’t come back. 

I think it's unfair for them to come back because they just got paid hundreds of millions of dollars, it goes under and then they want to come back. That is not fair. 

The bit that I don't like is all the bad stuff that they said about the PGA Tour. The likes of Patrick Reed and Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter said the PGA Tour sucks. They could not have been more critical of the PGA Tour. 

But why should they be allowed back? You can't have the whole cake and eat the whole cake. 

I don't think they should be allowed back. That's my view because you left the PGA Tour and you said that the PGA Tour wasn't a good place to play on and that LIV was going to be the best place to play on. 

We all knew eventually, it was only a matter of time, that LIV eventually would probably fold and close its doors. If they're not making money, why would they keep it going?

I never thought Rory McIlroy would play as well as he did at the Masters - but I really wanted Justin Rose to win 

It all panned out nearly the way I anticipated. I really wanted Justin to win. I would never have thought that Rory would have actually played as good as he did after last year. He had so many commitments coming into this event and so many distractions. 

I just thought that was a lot of extra pressure, and huge emotional and physical energy would weigh on him. 

So, to see him come out in those first two days and just blister it, was amazing. I predicted that Patrick Reed was going to be close by and he was. I knew Rosey was going to do well. 

It was just a shame that holes 11 and 12 proved his downfall. 

You cannot let up when you come to that area of the golf course. I give all credit to McIlroy for doing what he did and hanging on. He had to scramble hard. But he’s got a great imagination, he's got a great short game, and I know that Brad Faxon works pretty hard on his putting so that part of his game has improved hugely. 

A Majors’ slam for Rory McIlroy? I’m not sure but I believe he will win another Major this season 

Not sure. There are too many good golfers for him to win the Grand Slam. Scottie Scheffler is actually coming into form right now. He's definitely going to win a Major, I believe, this year. 

Rory has missed out on two signature events this year. His schedule is all different now that he's won another Masters. I'm not really sure what he's thinking is but he obviously doesn't need the money! 

He knows how to get his game up for the majors now, I really do. The Open at Royal Birkdale will be a place that he could win at. I really do. 

But don’t rule out Justin at Aronimink [the PGA Championship]. It's a beautiful golf course. Rose won in 2010 there and I know Fooch, his caddie, was there last week and he went out and checked out the course. He said the golf course is amazing. 

I asked him what he felt Justin’s chances were and he said: ‘I can't tell you, but I like my chances!’ 

Rory is up there in the greatest golfers of all time and he should be knighted 

Look, he's up there with some of the greatest golfers of all time now and I believe that he's going to contend in the next three majors for sure. There's no question about it.

I saw that he was at the dinner with the King earlier in the week. The King’s speech was absolutely amazing and during President Trump's speech, he acknowledged Rory and asked him to stand up. Everyone applauded him for winning The Masters. 

I think he should be knighted. There's no reason why he shouldn’t be. You’ve got Sir Nick Faldo, and he also won six Majors. Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain so watch this space. 

This year wasn't Justin Rose’s last chance at winning a Green Jacket - he’s going to be a contender in all three majors left this year too 

I want to say no, I don't think it's his last chance. I think he has another chance. 

Obviously that's his place. He'll do anything to stay in top shape as far as physical ability and mentally to be able to get there next year and try and put himself in that position again. You learn from your mistakes, you don't ever learn from the good doings. 

When you make a mistake trying to win a tournament you gather so much evidence of what went wrong you can eliminate those mistakes for the next time. 

What an amazing effort from Rosey after losing in a playoff last year to Rory, then going neck-and-neck with Rory all the way down the back nine. It was an amazing effort. 

You have got to think that he has a chance. It's unbelievable he’s only won one major. 

He’s always had the game. I don't think his putting 10 or 15 years ago was consistent enough, whereas now his putting is consistent and that's why we're seeing so much greatness come out of him right now. He's going to be a contender for all of the three majors left this year. I guarantee it. 

Scottie Scheffler is the best ball-striker in the world 

I look at all the different swings over the world and over the eras from the Jack Nicklaus's, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, and now McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. Scottie Scheffler has the most interesting swing on planet Earth. No-one has ever swung that way. 

It’s not so much the swing, it's the foot movement. You look at him and wonder,’ Are you trying to hurt yourself?!’ 

Somehow Scottie has mastered it and it's how he clears his body through the shot. 

He is the best ball striker in the world. McIlroy's great, Scottie Scheffler is way better. There's no question. He has an ability, when he's on, that every shot goes close. 

The Scottie/Rory rivalry is fabulous for golf 

It is. Golf needed that because Tiger went away. We needed those figures to come alive.

Bryson De Chambeau acted like a fool at Augusta in The Masters 

Bryson didn’t cover himself in glory. He definitely let his emotions get to him. You can't do that at Augusta because they're watching every shot and everything you do and they don't like that type of attitude. 

He, Sergio Garcia and Rob MacIntyre acted like fools. You just don’t behave like that at Augusta. You’re not going to gain anything by doing that and again, Augusta doesn’t like it. 

Matt Fitzpatrick is the hottest ticket in Golf right now 

I see Matt all the time around town in Jupiter, where I live. My wife plays with his wife at Trump Jupiter. We play golf together. Golfers are a close-knit family anyway. 

To see both brothers do so well was uplifting. Alex has been playing great for the last few months too. 

Matt now has won three times in like four tournaments. It’s pretty remarkable. He’s the hottest ticket in golf right now. 

I think his swing is consistent. His chipping is amazing but his putting is making the difference. 

On Sunday while I was watching, he made so many clutch putts. He made some great 10, 12 foot putts for par to help stay ahead and keep level and not drop behind. 

His putting has really come to life. But his ball striking is fantastic right now. He's driving the ball beautifully. 

Donald Trump’s Turnberry course missing out on the 2028 Open is 100% political - Royal Lytham is a piece of cr*p 

It's 100% political because it is owned by President Trump. 

There's no question about it and it's such a shame because we, as players, know that Turnberry is one of the best links courses in the world. 

I know from people that I've spoken to over the last year that the changes that President Trump made to the course were unbelievable, like seriously unbelievable. 

It literally is the best links course in the world and it's a shame that they've bounced over the top of that to take it to Royal Lytham because I think Royal Lytham is a piece of cr*p. 

I do [feel sympathy for Donald Trump]. The R&A need to look at the golf courses, not who owns them. It’s totally to do with politics but they should be choosing golf courses by the quality of the golf course.

Trump is the biggest golf fan in the world. He loves golfers. I'm a proud Trump ambassador at Trump Jupiter Golf Club. 

He’s created golf courses around the world which are unbelievable. 

Ludvig Aberg will win a major soon enough 

I hope so. He’s such a great player. His freedom is through his swing, his fluency is just incredible. 

I just think he needs to tighten everything up a little bit, a little bit of focus and really relax a bit more with the putter and the putter will come through and when he putts well, he's going to win by a long way. His talent is endless, it really is. He's going to win majors, it's just which one and how many. 

South African golf is in the doldrums 

It is. They’ve got Branden Grace who was amazing, he is an amazing golfer, but he went to LIV. So, he missed out on the opportunities to play in the Majors. That’s another player who I think made the wrong decision. 

It's a shame that he went when I believe that his golfing career on the PGA Tour would have taken him into the Majors to win Majors. In golf, our legacy is made on majors and everyone has said that for years and years. 

People only ask how many Majors did you win? 

I understand why Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel went to LIV 

I know them very well. I understand why they went to LIV as they’d had their successful PGA careers. 

It's funny because I know they have some young guys coming up. They've always got talent coming up but it's really which way they channel them is going to be the future for South African golf. 

I’m surprised Keegan Bradley wasn’t asked to captain Team USA at next year’s Ryder Cup 

I'm actually surprised that Keegan Bradley wasn't asked to do it again. I'm very surprised because I thought in the end it was very close. 

Going into the last day, it looked like the Europeans were going to win by a mile. But the Americans did what the Americans do and they came out strong on Sunday. If it wasn't for Shane Lowry, they wouldn't have won. They would have lost.

Why did they not say Keegan, we'd like you to do it one more time overseas? Honestly, I think he did a pretty good job, but I also thought he probably learned a lot, and he would have the experience now of going to Adare Manor. 

We all thought it was going to be Tiger Woods, but once he rolled his Range Rover, that was all over, wasn't it? 

Jim Furyk is a great guy. He's an awesome person. He's been a great golfer over the years and I think he'll do well because he's a smart man. He's a good thinker and he's been involved with a lot of Ryder Cup’s and Presidents Cup’s. 

But I'm always rooting for the Europeans, you know, with my Mum and Dad being British and I love Luke Donald. He’s been a great friend of mine for such a long time. We've played a lot of golf together, we've flown around the world together, we've done a lot of things together, our families and so forth. He'll be another great captain. 

He has such a great strategy and he's another very smart man when it comes to these types of team events. He’s proven it in the last couple of Ryder Cup’s. 

It's going to be very hard for the Americans to beat the Europeans, it really will especially be in Ireland. They do have the best crowds on the planet. Adare Manor is a perfect setting. The crowds will be amazing and the crowds will be fair. Irish crowds are the best in the world. 

What Shane Lowry needs to change to win another major 

I would love to say yes. I think his focus coming down the stretch just needs to tighten up. You know, just in recent times, you can see his focus wavered and he’s hit some bad shots in the water and made a double to lose. 

He has such a great game, his short game is amazing. His talent is endless. I see a British Open for him. I really do. That's his kind of golf. The way he hits it, his imagination around those types of courses is really good. 

Nelly Korda can become the greatest female golfer of all time 

She is the Tiger Woods of women’s golf. She's just a good human being. He comes from a great family. Peter, her father was a great tennis player. 

I think so [be the greatest female golfer of all time]. It's all there, it's all in the mind. As long as your mind stays fresh and in the moment and not wonder of what could happen in the future, you have got to always stay present. Staying in the present is the most important part of golf. 

My PGA Championship prediction 

So, my top three:

Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler. DeChambeau is such an amazing golfer that you just can't leave him out.