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

[Shindig]

Oh no.  The broadcast team of Sir Charles and David Feherty is already tempting, and this would add to that temptation.  I am still not going to watch though.

 

Broadcaster Gary McCord is in job talks with LIV, says it'd be fun to join Feherty, Barkley in 'clown car' | Golf News and Tour Information | GolfDigest.com

 

[Big Lex]

38 minutes ago, Shindig said:

Oh no.  The broadcast team of Sir Charles and David Feherty is already tempting, and this would add to that temptation.  I am still not going to watch though.

 

Broadcaster Gary McCord is in job talks with LIV, says it'd be fun to join Feherty, Barkley in 'clown car' | Golf News and Tour Information | GolfDigest.com

 

IMO....McCord hasn't said anything that made me laugh in over 20 years, so his presence wouldn't make me want to tune in...probably the opposite. Similarly for Feherty, whose schtick I find kind of worn out. 

But Gary's right...LIV is, at the moment, impossible to ignore, and it's really going to be interesting to see where this all leads. I still can't see it really competing with the PGA Tour on the basis of tournament strength. Three-day, no-cut events with shotgun starts seem sort of silly to serious golf fans, and I think in the end we like our sports to be "legit," our leagues and events to be true championship competitions. LIV has more of a feel of American Gladiator: kinda interesting, and alot of talent, but it ain't real sport. 

 

 

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Shindig said:

Oh no.  The broadcast team of Sir Charles and David Feherty is already tempting, and this would add to that temptation.  I am still not going to watch though.

 

Broadcaster Gary McCord is in job talks with LIV, says it'd be fun to join Feherty, Barkley in 'clown car' | Golf News and Tour Information | GolfDigest.com

 

McCord stinks.

[ChetlovesMer]

5 hours ago, Big Lex said:

IMO....McCord hasn't said anything that made me laugh in over 20 years, so his presence wouldn't make me want to tune in...probably the opposite. Similarly for Feherty, whose schtick I find kind of worn out. 

But Gary's right...LIV is, at the moment, impossible to ignore, and it's really going to be interesting to see where this all leads. I still can't see it really competing with the PGA Tour on the basis of tournament strength. Three-day, no-cut events with shotgun starts seem sort of silly to serious golf fans, and I think in the end we like our sports to be "legit," our leagues and events to be true championship competitions. LIV has more of a feel of American Gladiator: kinda interesting, and alot of talent, but it ain't real sport. 

 

 

Am I the only one getting sort of a pro-wrestling vibe from these guys?

[MSDOGS1976]

11 hours ago, Shindig said:

Oh no.  The broadcast team of Sir Charles and David Feherty is already tempting, and this would add to that temptation.  I am still not going to watch though.

 

Broadcaster Gary McCord is in job talks with LIV, says it'd be fun to join Feherty, Barkley in 'clown car' | Golf News and Tour Information | GolfDigest.com

 

I hadn't planned to watch but McCord certainly closes the door for me. Ha

[Zeph]

As with the players, they pick broadcasters that makes me not want to watch. Interesting strategy.

[turtleback]

7 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Am I the only one getting sort of a pro-wrestling vibe from these guys?

Vince McMahon just retired from running the WWE.  Can a LIV contract be far behind?

[Zeph]

24 minutes ago, turtleback said:

Vince McMahon just retired from running the WWE.  Can a LIV contract be far behind?

Someone should make a meme with the Vince WWE template, where he’s reacting to Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter etc. being announced as “on the tee”.

[70sSanO]

5 hours ago, Zeph said:

As with the players, they pick broadcasters that makes me not want to watch. Interesting strategy.

I not sure any of the Saudi PIF Board Members are involved in player or analyst/commentator decisions.  I'm thinking Greg Norman is calling the day-to-day shots.

The impression that I have is that the entire LIV Tour has been woefully mismanaged in its approach to building an exciting and fresh alternative to the existing tours.  Once the newness wears off they will be stuck with basically a tweaked lower level version of the same old thing, with the same old commentators.

I would think that at some point Greg Norman will be held accountable by the PIF Board.  Especially if the LIV Tour is viewed as a less desirable professional golf experience by the public.

I'm not sure how much input the PGA (Tour?) has over the NBC/CBS analysts and commentators, but there is an excellent opportunity to re-tool the broadcasts.  Most of the golf analysts are just plain boring and void of any personality.  I'm not saying they have to go full Madden or McEnroe, but maybe have some semblance of being entertaining.

John

Edited July 24, 2022 by 70sSanO

[Shindig]

1 hour ago, 70sSanO said:

I'm not sure how much input the PGA (Tour?) has over the NBC/CBS analysts and commentators, but there is an excellent opportunity to re-tool the broadcasts.  Most of the golf analysts are just plain boring and void of any personality.  I'm not saying they have to go full Madden or McEnroe, but maybe have some semblance of being entertaining.

You don't have to go full Madden, I agree, but now seems as good a time as any to remind the world that Tony Romo is a particularly good amateur golfer and is employed by CBS.

[phan52]

I can't think of many long time PGA Tour players who will move the needle less than Charles Howell III. The announcers are completely meaningless. They just add to the "exhibition" vibe, particularly Charles Barkley, who I love as a basketball analyst.

[nevets88]

I thought Matsuyama isn't official yet?

LIV Golf, PGA Tour hypothetical matches we’d love to see

---

Spoiler alert: It’s a bloodbath.

 

[Big Lex]

On 7/23/2022 at 4:50 PM, turtleback said:

The only aspect of his career that is not mediocre is his longevity.  In money list terms, over 20+ years he was in the top 25 only 4 times, while he was outside the top 50 8 times.  Good enough to keep his card, but hardly the stuff of stars.  Not only did he have only one top ten in a major he has a very poor record in both the Players and the WGC events, so he has been pretty lousy in premium events.  In 9 of his 20+ years he wasn't even ranked in the top 100 in the OWGR.  Other than his first 3 years he's only been in the top 50 on the OWGR once.  He's been around a long time mostly as a third tier player, occassionally sniffing the second tier.  Never made a Ryder Cup team, made 2 Pres. cup team's.  That all adds up to mediocre, relative to the standards of the Tour, in my book.  Except for his longevity.

And that the 'super widely respected' label is meaningless to me.  I put more stock in analyzing his record.  Heck, I'd bet half of those players with all this respect for his accomplishments still think Jack is the GOAT.  Howell comes across as a super nice guy and I'm sure that colors their thinking.  I'm sure he is highly and widely respected' as a person, but by the standards of the Tour he was meh, but for a very long time.

The details are here, for all to see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Howell_III

We could probably think of guys who have won majors who you can argue rank below CH III in terms of golf achievement. 

Not everyone is driven to win. It takes considerable energy and drive to get to the top of the top, even briefly, and who knows, maybe for whatever reason, he decided long ago that it wasn't worth it to him to do this. Maybe he's doing what he likes, which is just playing and cashing checks. I heard a story that CH III was working on his game, and his coach (?) or someone told him he needed to stop hitting full shots on the range and practice his short game and putting. 

So he did. 

But a few minutes later, he was back on the range hitting full shots. Because it's what he likes to do, maybe. 

I guess what's "mediocre" depends on who-all is in the pool, and so I get your argument, if we are comparing him to top champions. 

But when I think of someone like Charles Howell III, "mediocre" never comes to mind. Not even close. He's an amazing, durable athlete who has succeeded at a high level, for a long time, in a very demanding professional sport. 

[Friz]

48 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

I thought Matsuyama isn't official yet?

LIV Golf, PGA Tour hypothetical matches we’d love to see

---

Spoiler alert: It’s a bloodbath.

 

He's not, neither is Cam.  Must be a slow news day if they're taking someone's Reddit post and making an article about it.

Theres a rumor that Hideki has a $400 Million offer on the table, which is insane if true.  I guess they're just trying to buy Japan?  But either way he hasn't accepted or commented at all on it yet

[The Flush]

The next time I choose to watch or not watch a golf broadcast because of the announcers will be the first time.

 

When traveling last week I listened to golf a little bit on SiriusXM and the announcers treated it like NASCAR in what I assume was an attempt to make it more interesting. No thank you.  It was more comical than entertaining. Golf broadcasts are a visual experience. There is not much an announcer can do to make it more interesting although they can make it worse by make incorrect statements.  Just the facts is all I need.

[Vinsk]

31 minutes ago, Big Lex said:

But when I think of someone like Charles Howell III,

And prior to the announcement he was going to LIV, when was the last time you thought about CHIII? I think that’s @turtleback point to some degree. I don’t think he’s just mediocre achievement wise, but popularity/needle moving wise he’s a bit of a dud.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, nevets88 said:

I thought Matsuyama isn't official yet?

LIV Golf, PGA Tour hypothetical matches we’d love to see

---

Spoiler alert: It’s a bloodbath.

He isn't.

[turtleback]

2 hours ago, Vinsk said:

And prior to the announcement he was going to LIV, when was the last time you thought about CHIII? I think that’s @turtleback point to some degree. I don’t think he’s just mediocre achievement wise, but popularity/needle moving wise he’s a bit of a dud.

Exactly.  His 20+ career never measured up to the expectations of his early years.  The next person who says, "Hey, Charles Howell's playing this week's tournament - we need to go see it" will be the first one.