SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The 5th annual Sanford International teed off this morning with practice rounds at the Minnehaha Country Club.

Over the noon hour, tournament host Andy North and others met with the Downtown Rotary and talked about the tournament, the future of professional golf and one of the most memorable moments of the Sanford International.

“If you go back to the very first year, we had about eight feet of water out here, the whole golf course was underwater,” professional golfer and tournament host Andy North said.

That’s when Sanford Health brought in a helicopter to try and blow dry the course, so the golfers could play.

Sanford International Tournament host Andy North says that showed commitment.

“The players knew you had a sponsor who cared about putting a golf tournament on and had a community willing to get involved anybody who has 4 or 5 helicopters trying to get the golf course playable I think that went a long way in creating the foundation for a really good community event,” North said.

While answering questions at a luncheon today with the Downtown Rotary, North and PGA TOUR Champions golfer Matt Gogel spoke about some of the PGA players who have jumped ship to play on the LIV Tour that’s funded by Saudi Arabia.

“I don’t like where it’s headed right now, obviously there’s a lot of disruptions and it’s not good for the game,” Gogel said.

They both wish the PGA and LIV would have had some discussions about how they could work together, because North says now those players who have left the PGA; they’re gone.

“I don’t think you can play on both sides of the street and I think that’s the real problem here, that’s the problem the PGA tours have once you’ve turned your back on us, you’re not coming back,” North said.

The LIV tour has a prize fund of more than $400 million and Gogel says the golfers who have signed up to play for LIV are driven by greed.

“How much money do you need, last I checked the 100th guy on the PGA Tour made over a million and a half dollars just on the course this year,” Gogel said.

The Sanford International — which is played at Minnehaha Country Club — features a $2 million purse.

To learn more about the Sanford International and who’s all playing and how to get tickets, click here.