>>149305156I believe it. This isn't different from American fans not caring about the Basketball WC or the WBC. That said I have a hard time thinking the players don't care though. No one likes to lose, especially athletes. The prize money is huge and money is often incentive enough.
Different sport but the Saudis held an exhibition tennis tournament last year with a huge prize pool. The winnings were more than players would get for winning a Slam. Even though it was an exhibition and didn't count for the H2H they played it seriously.