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

[Double Mocha Man]

  On 6/10/2022 at 10:35 PM, Friz said:

Pat Perez latest PGA Tour player heading to Saudi-backed LIV Golf

---

Sources confirmed to The Post on Friday that Perez, a 46-year-old three-time winner, is the latest player to...

 

Expand  

Speaking of Mr. Perez and PXG... I wonder how Bob Parsons feels about LIV???

And it is so interesting to find out all the player's "sell out" prices.  

[iacas]

  On 6/10/2022 at 11:38 PM, turtleback said:

He's staring right at them.

Expand  

Watch the video.

[Double Mocha Man]

In a crowded and somewhat chaotic environment you can look in the direction of someone and not actually see them.

[Vinsk]

  On 6/10/2022 at 11:49 PM, iacas said:

Watch the video.

Expand  

The guy with the pink sleeves certainly seems to nod to the Shipnuck group as he says something to Norman. 

[Shindig]

  On 6/10/2022 at 1:13 PM, Sandy Divot said:

Isn’t Phoenix played at a TPC course? If so, I believe TPC courses are owned by the PGA tour, so I doubt LIV could play at the same course the Tour currently uses. 

Expand  

TPC Scottsdale, yes.  But if that's an arrangement for the tournament, and if said tournament is owned by someone else, they could relocate the tournament -- plenty of tournaments change courses.  I certainly can't see the TPC courses hosting an LIV event, but if a tournament is at a TPC but operated independent from the Tour.  I don't know how I wanted to finish this paragraph, I certainly don't remember.

  On 6/10/2022 at 8:28 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

Maybe it's time LIV start paying the fans!  There's a novel idea.  That'll definitely make them successful.  

Expand  

I still wouldn't be a fan of theirs.

  On 6/10/2022 at 10:52 PM, turtleback said:

But hey, I guess threatening a journalist is right on-brand for a Saudi operation.

I've also come to a realization why instinctively these guys playing along are so repulsive to me.  On the PGA tour they get paid for playing golf.  On the LIV tour they get paid for providing moral cover for some of the worst people in the world.

Expand  

Yes, threatening is what they're known to do...  

[Missouri Swede]

  On 6/11/2022 at 2:32 AM, Shindig said:

I still wouldn't be a fan of theirs.

Expand  

Nope. You’d be an employee. Or contracted agent, or something like that.

[Aguirre]

*a fart, that nobody heard, and nobody smelled, and drifted into the WalMart rafters*

Pat Perez left?

Edited June 11, 2022 by Aguirre

[Dr. Manhattan]

  On 6/10/2022 at 7:45 PM, Friz said:

I only tuned in for a total of about 15 minutes of the coverage today, and heard them talking about how much money these guys are playing for twice in that 15 minutes.  Even if I didn't care where the money came from, am I supposed to be extra interested as a fan because of how much money is on the line?  I get the money is a tool to bring in the players, but it doesn't impact the fan at all whether they're playing for $4 million, $1 million, or $100.  Sounds so tacky to try to beat me over the head with it

Expand  

 

The announcers are directing those comments at the PGA Tour players who might be watching the coverage. "Just a reminder, this bum is about to win $2 million without even winning the tournament." It's all an effort to convince the guys to jump ship from their current job. Sadly, I think it's going to work. The Saudi government will 100% own the strongest golf tour in the world. Not sure how long the PGA Tour can hang in there, but it's not a fair fight if the Saudis are truly determined in this goal. 

I expect the Saudis to eventually target the majors as well. There is nothing to stop them from creating new majors (in Saudi Arabia) on the same weeks as the current majors. First place gets $300M, 2nd place gets $200M, 3rd place gets $150M. The vast majority of players will go for the cash grab. LIV could even ban their own players from LIV Tour if they leave to play a traditional major tournament. 

The traditional majors cannot compete with this type of financing. They were already well behind the PGA Tour when you look at the Players Championship & FedEx Cup funding. But the PGA Tour was nice enough to never target major weeks with these events. The Saudis will not be so nice. They want control of the sport. They just might get it with mountains and mountains of cash. 

[Beastie]

  On 6/10/2022 at 1:43 AM, iacas said:

Expand  

I was gonna post this but got sidetracked. He’s really good at his job. Specialises in short , fact loaded explanation and analysis. He is definitely worth watching on other topics. 
 

[Beastie]

Any ideas why the DP tour is hanging fire?

[iacas]

  On 6/11/2022 at 5:27 AM, Dr. Manhattan said:

I expect the Saudis to eventually target the majors as well. There is nothing to stop them from creating new majors (in Saudi Arabia) on the same weeks as the current majors. First place gets $300M, 2nd place gets $200M, 3rd place gets $150M. The vast majority of players will go for the cash grab. LIV could even ban their own players from LIV Tour if they leave to play a traditional major tournament. 

Expand  

They have a lot of money but it’s not unlimited and they’re not stupid.

They’re going to do stuff as long as it makes sense. That’s it.

[iacas]

[Vinsk]

These announcers can fluff this up all they want…but a tournament with a run away from Charl Schwartzel is hardly ‘Don’t Blink’ entertainment…😐

[Friz]

  On 6/11/2022 at 4:05 PM, Vinsk said:

These announcers can fluff this up all they want…but a tournament with a run away from Charl Schwartzel is hardly ‘Don’t Blink’ entertainment…😐

Expand  

You must have forgotten about the super important, full throttle, maximum excitement team aspect of this tournament

[Big Lex]

  On 6/11/2022 at 5:27 AM, Dr. Manhattan said:

The traditional majors cannot compete with this type of financing. They were already well behind the PGA Tour when you look at the Players Championship & FedEx Cup funding. But the PGA Tour was nice enough to never target major weeks with these events. The Saudis will not be so nice. They want control of the sport. They just might get it with mountains and mountains of cash. 

Expand  

I was about to write "the majors don't have to compete with that type of financing." But they do, at least to a point: At one time, prominent American pros skipped the (British) Open Championship because the prize money was just too little to make the trip worth it, even given the prestige of that event.  But the R&A recognized this and corrected it, and I think today all the majors are well-past the threshold of being financially "competitive" against any potential offerings by rival tours.

The prestige and history of the majors provide a huge cushion against competition; the historical value of the majors is worth quite a bit, and players know it. Now, a $200M first prize? Well, yeah I suppose if you make the price high enough, you could seduce some players to compete, but I don't think you're going to see purses THAT high. As @iacas said, they are not stupid, and as big as the PIF is, it's not like they have unlimited funds to expend on a single entity. 

I think the PGA Tour and professional tours in general probably have to consider alternate financial models. Maybe once you qualify for the tour, you are guaranteed a minimum payment for every tournament in which you compete. Maybe it's not wrong to pay certain players appearance fees. The intriguing thing about LIV is how it has the potential to entice wildly disparate classes of pros: Current, top-ranked, elite level stars, famous guys past their prime, marginal players looking for a chance at better remuneration per performance, very young, unproven players who might have difficulty qualifying for the conventional tours but get offered a shot in LIV. I suppose this could change if LIV really gains traction and they are able to fill their 48-man fields entirely with top-100 OWGR players. 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Big Lex
clarification

[phillyk]

 

 

[70sSanO]

Let me preface this by stating that since I retired 5 years ago I have watched a lot more golf, at least on Sunday, and a bit more on Saturday.  And I have enjoyed watching the game.

The elephant in the room is that golf truly stinks as a spectator sport.  But as a participating sport it is great.  The biggest surges in golf participation in recent times were caused by Tiger and Covid-19.  Until another Tiger comes along, if ever, there is no growing the game by the current crop of professionals.

As for going after the money, what professional golfers get paid in comparison to major team sports is unbelievable.

MLB, NBA, and NFL 100th highest salary is between $10M and $14M.  In 2021 Jason Day was number 100 at $942K.

I don't agree with the LIV tour and especially the backing, but it is probably moot when it comes to growing the game.

John

[BruceMGF]

I must say, the LIV thing has given me a new appreciation for the Curtis Cup.  

  On 6/11/2022 at 5:14 PM, 70sSanO said:

The elephant in the room is that golf truly stinks as a spectator sport. 

Expand  

On TV or in person?  Or both?

And why?