Justin Thomas Wishes PGA Tour Defectors Had 'The Balls' To Say They're Joining LIV Golf For The Money

Justin Thomas has no issue with PGA Tour players defecting for the LIV Golf Invitational Series -- just as long as they're honest with their intentions of joining.

Thomas appeared on the NLU Podcast recently and said he would have more respect for players if they outright said they were joining for the money. Players such as Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson have reportedly received contracts worth more than $100 million guaranteed to join.

"I go back and forth about how involved I should be, how involved I shouldn’t be, what I should say, what I shouldn’t say, what I want to say and what I know I can’t say and back and forth of all these different things," Thomas said. "I understand they’re being fed everything what to say and all this stuff, but it’s just … For them to say that this is all for the betterment of the game, I just, to be perfectly honest, I just wish one of them would have the b---s to say I’m doing this for the money.

"Like, I personally would gain a lot more respect for that. But it’s just the more the players keep talking and saying that this is for the betterment of the game, the more agitated and irritated I get about it."

(Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Of the players who have joined, 22 being in the top-100 of the Official World Golf Ranking, many reasons for joining have been said. Brooks Koepka said the LIV Golf circuit, which will play eight events this year, would allow him to have more time for physical recovery. Patrick Reed is a fan of the shotgun start and said LIV Golf has a more "family environment" feel to it.

Pat Perez, a veteran of the PGA Tour since 1998, said it was like "winning the lottery.”

“For me, it’s real simple. I’m 46. I’ve played 515 events. I’ve been on the road since 1998. I’ve been on the road longer than Matt Wolff has been alive. I have an almost 4-year-old. I missed my son’s birth last year,” Perez said this week. “The bottom line is I’m tired of being on the road every day, and I don’t have to do it now. This opportunity like winning the lottery for me.”