LIV Golf (Saudi PIF), "Mergers," and More

[DeadMan]

The Truth About Phil and Saudi Arabia | The Fire Pit Collective

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What does Mickelson want? The answers are contained in a new book about the vexing superstar

Part of the way through that. Phil is not coming off well at all.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Bucki1968 said:

It sounds to me like the "Saudi-tour" is getting supported from the guys who may be at the end of their careers and the guys who are outside the top 100. I think I would be real careful if I was a young guy thinking of going to that league when the PGA has already said, "If you go, your never coming back to the PGA tour". I just wish Phil would sack up and say "yeah, it's about the money". I don't blame anyone for wanting to work less and get paid more. But let's call it what it is. 

DJ and Bryson don’t meet those criteria.

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, DeadMan said:

The Truth About Phil and Saudi Arabia | The Fire Pit Collective

---

What does Mickelson want? The answers are contained in a new book about the vexing superstar

Part of the way through that. Phil is not coming off well at all.

You are correct. He doesn't.

[imsys0042]

47 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

The Truth About Phil and Saudi Arabia | The Fire Pit Collective

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What does Mickelson want? The answers are contained in a new book about the vexing superstar

Part of the way through that. Phil is not coming off well at all.

The below is a quote.   Let me paraphrase.   "They murdered someone, gruesomely, and I want even more money so I'm ok with it".

I was always a fan of his, hoping the ego, FIGJAM, and generally greedy stuff was less than the person he is.   Wrong-O!   He's a wretch of a human being.   Same for anyone else who joins up.   Norman too.

Thing is, I think he has a point about the Tour needing to be flexible on players images.  But the cure is far worse than the disease.

Mickelson told me he had enlisted three other “top players” he declined to name and that they paid for attorneys to write the SGL’s operating agreement, codifying that the players would have control of all the details. He didn’t pretend to be excited about hitching his fortunes to Saudi Arabia, admitting the SGL was nothing more than what he called “sportswashing” by a brutally repressive regime. “They’re scary motherf***ers to get involved with,” he said. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I’m not sure I even want [the SGL] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour.”

 

[Bucki1968]

8 minutes ago, iacas said:

DJ and Bryson don’t meet those criteria.

Yeah I know there are some other guys who are  not at the end of their careers or younger guys but the bulk of them seem to fall into  those two categories. I just don't see the up-side other than it's a bunch of money and no cuts etc.  

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, imsys0042 said:

Let me paraphrase.   "They murdered someone, gruesomely, and I want even more money so I'm ok with it"

You are not wrong. 

I don't think Phil knew how this would sound when he said it. But it's tough to sugar coat. He looks bad on this one. 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, imsys0042 said:

Phil says: They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right.

Here's the ridiculous part:

The PGA Tour is a player-owned, player-run organization.

They could fire Jay Monahan if they wanted to. They could do all sorts of things if they wanted to. It wouldn't happen overnight, but it'd change if they wanted it to. But Phil is only looking out for himself, he's NOT looking out for ALL of the members of the PGA Tour, in saying these kinds of things.

And, Phil just makes shit up. He's full of shit. It's frustrating as f***, and I'm not even associated with the Tour, so I can't imagine how THEY feel about him right now. Re-shape the PGA Tour? No, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sell out for good and make a quarter of a billion dollars in one shot, at the expense of your legacy, your morals, your human decency.

[iacas]

BTW, everyone, here you go:

https://amzn.to/3sRcxJw

or

I recommend that. It'll have some pretty interesting stuff…

[Zeph]

Phil has dug himself into a hole that will keep him there. What a bunch of bullshit. The remaining respect I had for him is completely gone. I hope he joins SGL and never return to the PGA tour. Good riddance.

[phan52]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

DJ and Bryson don’t meet those criteria.

You are right about that but there are other factors with those two. Dustin has the personality of dry toast and I don't know anyone who really cares about whether or not he is in a field. And I don't know anyone who likes DeChambeau. Those two would not be missed by the majority of golf fans but I also don't think they are going anywhere. 

[Darkfrog]

Just catching up on this thread. I'm utterly disgusted by Phil's quote.

 

[iacas]

22 minutes ago, phan52 said:

You are right about that but there are other factors with those two.

I didn't say there wasn't. Only that "It sounds to me like the "Saudi-tour" is getting supported from the guys who may be at the end of their careers and the guys who are outside the top 100." — a phrase not uttered by you — did not apply.

Plenty of people show up to watch DJ or Bryson, btw.

[Double Mocha Man]

45 minutes ago, phan52 said:

Dustin has the personality of dry toast...  And I don't know anyone who likes DeChambeau.

I would not walk over two holes to catch a view of DJ.  But I would walk over 1 hole to see DeChambeau hit a drive, even though he's a bit of a jerk.

[imsys0042]

Maybe the SGL will look the other way on both PEDs and Cocaine.   There's some factors for you.

Re-reading the article, I can't help but think that Phil is becoming the very creature that he claims the PGA Tour has become.   The article seems to say that the PGA has thrown more money in purses, social media program, etc....as well as doing the NFT thing which helps address the whole media rights thing.

It's a valid argument over whether that's enough change or not, but seems like no matter what Phil just isn't satisfied.   Sounds like "Obnoxious Greed"

 

 

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, phan52 said:

You are right about that but there are other factors with those two. Dustin has the personality of dry toast and I don't know anyone who really cares about whether or not he is in a field. And I don't know anyone who likes DeChambeau. Those two would not be missed by the majority of golf fans but I also don't think they are going anywhere. 

I agree with your comment about DJ. His personality is pretty bland. But I still like to watch him play. I also like watching DeChambeau. I think he's good for the game. He has a tendency toward being a big baby and tends to say stupid stuff, and then sometimes doubles down on that stupid stuff with... more stupid stuff. But he's interesting. I'd miss both of them if they left the tour. 

Having said that, I don't think I'd miss Phil in at all. 

[phillyk]

8 hours ago, iacas said:

Here's the ridiculous part:

The PGA Tour is a player-owned, player-run organization.

They could fire Jay Monahan if they wanted to. They could do all sorts of things if they wanted to. It wouldn't happen overnight, but it'd change if they wanted it to. But Phil is only looking out for himself, he's NOT looking out for ALL of the members of the PGA Tour, in saying these kinds of things.

And, Phil just makes shit up. He's full of shit. It's frustrating as f***, and I'm not even associated with the Tour, so I can't imagine how THEY feel about him right now. Re-shape the PGA Tour? No, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sell out for good and make a quarter of a billion dollars in one shot, at the expense of your legacy, your morals, your human decency.

Phil is full of shit.

Doesn’t the PGA Tour donate the most money of any sports organization in the world? Yeah, they are definitely greedy…

[iacas]

 

[iacas]

Pat Perez says some decently smart things, and then some really dumb things.