Geno Bonnalie Weighs in on the PGA-LIV Merger at the U.S. Open

When news broke last week about the PGA Tour and LIV Golf thumbing their noses at the families of 9/11 victims and getting in bed together atop a $3 billion-dollar mattress stuffed with cash from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, professional caddie Geno Bonnalie thought it was a joke. Literally.

“I had just woken up when somebody sent me a link while everything was going down. The news was very shocking,” Bonnalie, who will be carrying the bag for Joel Dahmen at the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club this weekend, tells InsideHook. “I didn’t think it was real and was trying to find the root of it being a satire. I thought it was an Onion article. Then I saw the press release from the PGA Tour shortly after that. It was very out of the blue, but here we are.”

Planning to wear SAXX gear this weekend as part of a promotion for the underwear brand that will benefit the Testicular Cancer Foundation, Bonnalie reached out to Dahmen and discovered that the world’s 124-ranked golfer had no prior knowledge about the PGA-LIV merger. “He was in the same boat as us common folk: finding out on Twitter,” Bonnalie says. “I would’ve thought the players, not necessarily the caddies, would be well-informed, but it sounds like the players were in the same boat as us. It’s kind of wild.”

So what does the caddie who stole the show in the Netflix reality series Full Swing think the future holds for professional golf now that the PGA and LIV are allies instead of rivals? We asked him ahead of the U.S. Open.

Joel Dahmen stands with his caddie Geno Bonnalie at the Charles Schwab Challenge. — Joel Dahmen and Geno Bonnalie will be rubbing elbows with LIVers at the U.S. Open.

Aric Becker/Icon Sportswire via Getty

InsideHook: How do you think the merger is going to affect you and Josh in the short- and long-term?

Geno Bonnalie: I know it will change our schedule and how the PGA Tour landscape looks going forward, but for the immediate future everything looks pretty much the same for us. We’re still going to play the tournaments we were planning on playing the rest of this season and even into the fall. I don’t anticipate the fall schedule changing, but who knows what to expect nowadays in the world of golf? But I think in the short term, there’s probably not going to be a whole lot of difference for us. Now, next season might look totally different. Nobody really knows what to expect on that front. I know a lot of it feels very wrong after everything that’s been said and done over the last couple of years, but I think it’s going to be good overall in the long run. There’s probably not a lot that’s going to change for Joel Dahmen and Geno Bonnalie in the near future. We’re just going to keep trying to get that stupid little white ball in the hole as quickly as possible and hopefully good things will happen.

IH: How will PGA guys and LIV golfers competing for the first time since the merger impact the Open?

GB: Truthfully, the LIV guys and the caddies — we’ve all been friends for a long time. It was good to see all of them at the PGA Championship a couple of weeks ago. I’m good buddies with Abe Ancer’s caddie and I haven’t seen him in a year or whatever. We text here and there, but it was great to see him and sit down and have lunch and just BS about his family and stuff. I’m not mad at anybody for making the decision they made. For me, there’s no ill will or hostility in that direction. I think from the players’ standpoint it’s totally fine. It is going to have a different vibe, but I think it’s going to be good in the long run.

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IH: From the people you know who have switched over to LIV, have you heard any regrets?

GB: Everyone has sounded like they’ve really enjoyed it to be honest. I’ve had four or five pretty good caddie buddies go to the LIV tour and they really enjoy it. They felt well taken care of and have enjoyed being at home a little bit more with their families. Obviously, the purses are good. All the things I’ve heard from them have been positive.

IH: Will the merger lead to sour grapes for the PGA players who didn’t switch to LIV?

GB: I don’t want to speculate, but there are a lot of guys who turned down a lot of money all maybe for the guys who went to just be welcomed back. There’s probably some animosity there. I can’t speak on any of those guys’ behalf, but I’d guess they feel just like anybody else would. When you’re talking nine digits, that’s some serious cash. I assume that the rich will keep getting richer, but I think it’s going to be good for golf overall. Having all the best players compete on a regular basis is only going to be good for the game, which in turn will be good for the purses and good for everybody. I hope that’s the case anyways.

IH: How do you anticipate that Full Swing will document the merger and the fallout?

GB: I don’t think Joel and I are going to be the focal point of season two. I don’t know what sort of footage they have or where they were when the news broke, but it sounds like they have something. It will be interesting to see. They’ve been with us a lot this season, so you will see some Geno and Joel in there. To what extent? I don’t know. Our season hasn’t been stellar to this point, but we’ve had microphones and cameras with us for quite a few events. Joel’s popularity has absolutely exploded. He’s got people yelling at him all the time. Even in tournaments where we aren’t in contention, he’s got a gallery following him around. He’s become one of the most popular players on the Tour, which is cool to see.