G Fiume
Brady Schnell tees off in 2019 Travelers Championship.
By Christopher Powers
On Thursday, the eyebrows of Golf Twitter collectively raised when Ryan French, author of the popular Monday Q Info Twitter account, pointed out that Vijay Singh entered the Korn Ferry Challenge, June 11-14—the scheduled re-start event on the Korn Ferry Tour. French obtained a copy of the field list from a player who will also be competing in the event:
The new Korn Ferry Event that will reopen the season has:
34 PGA Tour Wins
13 Euro Wins
5 Asian Tour Wins
2 Sunshine Tour Wins
4 Champions Tour Wins
and Roughly $100 Million in worldwide Career earnings…in the field…by guys named Vijay Singh pic.twitter.com/UONKyeIN6y
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) May 7, 2020
To the surprise of no one, social media has not responded kindly. The common take is that Singh, a three-time major champion who has made north of $70 million in his career on the PGA Tour, should not take a potential paycheck from a player who may need it more, especially given the world’s current situation. On the other hand, the 57-year-old Singh is one of the most competitive players the game has ever seen. One could argue he’s simply looking to get those competitive juices flowing once again. And since he’s not eligible for the Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour that same week, the inaugural Korn Ferry Challenge is his only alternative.
Brady Schnell, a 35-year-old journeyman who has spent much of his career grinding on the Korn Ferry Tour, isn’t happy. The 2018 Wichita Open winner took to Twitter to call out Singh when he saw the news, and he didn’t exactly hold back:
Hey @VijaySinghGolf you are a true piece of trash if you except money playing in a Korn Ferry Tour event and I’ll say it right to your face
— Brady Schnell (@brady_schnell) May 7, 2020
Schnell wasn’t done there, later calling him “selfish” and a “complete turd” in two replies:
I think covid or no covid this would be a big deal. Its just Vijay being Vijay. Selfish
— Brady Schnell (@brady_schnell) May 7, 2020
Its one spot?! Do you know how much those points and money could do for a young kid? He’s a complete turd for playing. He’s got his money and he’s got his career. Just wait another month and roll with your senior friends
— Brady Schnell (@brady_schnell) May 7, 2020
In another reply, Schnell said, “I can promise you I’m not alone,” implying that there are other Korn Ferry pros who share his stance but did not express it in the way Schnell did on social media. If any of them do, we doubt it’ll be as fiery as some of these tweets.
To be clear, Singh has not actually confirmed he’s playing in the event, but given his name is on that list and the fact the event is being held at TPC Sawgrass’ Dye Valley Course in Singh’s backyard, it’s easy to connect the dots.