Non-golfers:  there’s an attack on the PGA and it’s seismic in the golf world. For years, the PGA has been the dominant golf tour in the U.S. (and world), but a tour named LIV Golf has been formed with the explicit purpose of undermining it.

Briefly, LIV’s financial backer is Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman – the man widely recognized as having arranged the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi; the man who essentially rules over a country that notoriously violates human rights. Bin Salman is giving LIV seemingly infinite funds – so many funds, in fact, that PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan (who’s referred to the situation as an “existential threat”) admitted that if the LIV attack were solely a battle of money, the PGA couldn’t compete.  Staggering signing bonuses have already been spent to siphon off some PGA players for LIV.

But here’s the thing: when I look at the lists of the guys who are staying and the guys who are leaving, it sure feels like this is turning into a “Good Guy” vs. “Bad Guy” thing. And, no surprise, the LIV players are the bad guys.

Let’s start with Greg Norman, the guy hired as LIV’s CEO. His egotism has always rubbed me the wrong way, and he’s been around since the 70’s so I’ve been not liking him for 50 years! Oh wait, there was a 15-month period when I thought he might be ok. Tennis legend, and one of my all-time favorite athletes, Chris Evert married him. I thought, “hmmm, if Chris Evert likes him, maybe I’m wrong about him.”  They divorced after just fifteen months. Hey Chris, the next time you want to marry someone, let me approve him.

Then there’s Patrick Cheatin’ Reed, who’s been caught cheating… TWICE! And he’s been accused of it even more times. The only thing I’ll miss about Reed leaving the PGA is the fun of making hex signs at my TV.

Brooks Koepka, about whom I’ve also written? Did you see how he defected? I won’t call him a liar, but he sure misled the public and his fellow PGA players into believing he was going to stay with the PGA.  Rory McIlroy called him “duplicitous,” which may actually be worse than liar.

Dustin Johnson? The guy who smoked too much dope in High School?  Okay, I don’t have any proof of that, but it sure feels like it. I won’t miss him. And I know I won’t miss his camera-grabbing wife – my goodness, honey, this is golf, not women’s wrestling, put some clothes on. OMG, I sound like my grandmother.

And, somehow, I’ll survive never again having to watch Sergio Garcia spit into a golf hole after he misses a putt, or yell at an official, or throw a club.

Which brings me to superstar Phil Mickelson who, along with Norman, is a LIV mastermind. Publicly, he says things like “LIV is good for golf,” “LIV will help grow the game.” But when he thought he was off the record, he told a reporter “They’re [the Saudis and bin Salman] scary motherf**krs to get involved with… We know they killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights…They execute people over there for being gay.”

What kind of man can think this about someone and then choose to work with them? And worse, choose to help promote them? How mercenary can someone be?

Golf is the greatest sport because of its intrinsic values: sportsmanship, honesty, and integrity. Which brings me to the good guys who, I’m sure having been offered huge sums of money to leave the PGA, chose to stay.

There’s Jordan Spieth, who exudes so much humility and class I felt compelled to write this piece. Then there’s Justin “JT” Thomas, who had to apologize after making a gay slur.  His apology was so heartfelt, I wrote this piece to defend him (and I’m gay). And what of Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau?  Has a bad word ever been said about any of these guys?

So, I’m posing a question: will we really miss the guys who are defecting to LIV? Especially given only two are currently in the top 20, with #16 being the highest-ranked player to leave? I won’t.

Look, I know there will come a day when I’ll have to suffer one of the good guys leaving for LIV, but so far, I’m pretty happy with the way this is playing out.