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

[70sSanO]

6 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Pretty disappointed to hear of the on course antics that took place; chanting ‘ four more years’ apparently led by Norman. Seems this was a bit of a political rally as much as a golf tournament. 

Let’s start off by alienating half the population.

So much for growing the game.

John

[Vinsk]

22 minutes ago, 70sSanO said:

Let’s start off by alienating half the population.

So much for growing the game.

John

I did watch some of the event. Honestly for me the obvious Saudi involvement is the big issue. But I must say I just didn’t find it entertaining at all. Feherty was so obvious in trying to sound enthusiastic and excited I was actually embarrassed for him. And I’ve always liked Troy Mullins and she too was just so fake in her over the top energy about the golf.  The team stuff has zero appeal. 

[ChetlovesMer]

8 hours ago, 70sSanO said:

Let’s start off by alienating half the population.

So much for growing the game.

John

I don't think you are going to alienate anyone with that comment. I have friends who lean to the right and some who lean to the left. I have a couple who lean REALLY hard one way or the other. I even have one friend who actually wants LIV Golf to survive. None of us, no matter what our political views or agendas might be, (which obviously we don't discuss here) ever thought LIV Golf was about "growing the game". 

[GolfLug]

13 hours ago, imsys0042 said:

Norman rooting for you pretty much ensures a second place finish….

😂🍺😂

[Zeph]

This thing is making golf more political than I would like it to be, and in an already polarized political world, it’s not helping “grow the game”.

[Friz]

3 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I don't think you are going to alienate anyone with that comment. I have friends who lean to the right and some who lean to the left. I have a couple who lean REALLY hard one way or the other. I even have one friend who actually wants LIV Golf to survive. None of us, no matter what our political views or agendas might be, (which obviously we don't discuss here) ever thought LIV Golf was about "growing the game". 

I could easily see some alienation happening, to me it seems one of the worst things you could do as a sports league is take a political stance for one side or the other.  Especially when one of the most divisive figures is involved.  In the NFL people were boycotting games and giving up season tickets they'd had for years when just a handful of players started kneeling during the national anthem over racial inequality and police brutality....that was the extreme case, but there was definitely some of that.  An entire league taking a full fledged political stance could be that times a thousand.

[ChetlovesMer]

7 minutes ago, Friz said:

I could easily see some alienation happening, to me it seems one of the worst things you could do as a sports league is take a political stance for one side or the other.  Especially when one of the most divisive figures is involved.  In the NFL people were boycotting games and giving up season tickets they'd had for years when just a handful of players started kneeling during the national anthem over racial inequality and police brutality....that was the extreme case, but there was definitely some of that.  An entire league taking a full fledged political stance could be that times a thousand.

I agree. 👍

I just meant that I didn't think he'd alienate folks on this forum by suggesting that LIV Golf was NOT about "growing the game". No matter what side of the political aisle you stand, I'm pretty sure everyone knows that LIV Golf was never about "Growing the game." 

[GolfLug]

Hard to ignore blatant leveraging going on for political gain. And not talking just the Saudis.

I will stop here as we should try to stay on golf side of things here. 

[Big Lex]

1 hour ago, Friz said:

I could easily see some alienation happening, to me it seems one of the worst things you could do as a sports league is take a political stance for one side or the other.  

I thought that's exactly what most sports leagues did, at least pre-2020: Try to identify the political leanings of their fan base, and then cater to that. NASCAR and the NFL are two leagues which did this I think. I'm not saying it was the main focus of their marketing, or that they purposely ignored or discouraged the support of people with other political beliefs. But they definitely visibly leaned the same way most of their fans did. 

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I'm pretty sure everyone knows that LIV Golf was never about "Growing the game." 

Not Greg Norman. I think he really believes he is doing just that. 

[ScouseJohnny]

20 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Pretty disappointed to hear of the on course antics that took place; chanting ‘ four more years’ apparently led by Norman.

As he is an Australian, one can only assume that Greg, presumably overcome with emotion at the events of the recent Platinum Jubilee, was expressing a heartfelt hope for another four years of Elizabethan monarchy.

Edited August 3, 2022 by ScouseJohnny

[DeadMan]

And we finally have the anti-trust lawsuit:

Phil Mickelson and 10 Other LIV Golfers File Antitrust Lawsuit Against PGA Tour

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Mickelson leads a group of LIV Golf players suing over their suspensions, with three also seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow them to play in the Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs

 

[imsys0042]

1 minute ago, DeadMan said:

And we finally have the anti-trust lawsuit:

Phil Mickelson and 10 Other LIV Golfers File Antitrust Lawsuit Against PGA Tour

---

Mickelson leads a group of LIV Golf players suing over their suspensions, with three also seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow them to play in the Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs

 

Ya know....these guys want to take oodles of money and favor their new employers but continue to cash even more checks at a Tour they are detracting from by doing this.   And golly gee, I thought they wanted to spend more time with their families.

No golfer is bigger than the sport.   Yet Mickelson strikes me as someone who thinks he is.   

[imsys0042]

1 hour ago, Big Lex said:

 

Not Greg Norman. I think he really believes he is doing just that. 

Norman was a long running vendetta with the Tour over what eventually became the World Golf Championships and he's such an egomaniac that I don't think he's given up the grudge.   Norman is incredibly self serving and I doubt there is much in him to care about the overall health of the game of golf.

If there was, I suspect there would be something about giving back to communities that host LIV events, charity partnerships, wanting to contribute to the First Tee, etc.   Maybe something will come later, but their big argument of "grow the game of golf" seems to boil down to getting as many eyeballs on them, which is at the expense of the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour as everyone has to compete for said eyeballs.   And several high profile LIV players have trashed the Tour on the way out.  So that's hardly growing anything.

It is entirely within someone's right to try and start their own golf tour.   However it's also peoples' right to not like what they are doing, and how they are doing it.   And that is part of my take on all of this.   The PGA Tour spends a lot of money trying to make it's players happy.   In the process giving them wealth that sets them up for life and there are so many ways that the Tour helps players cash checks well past their prime.   I don't see Norman or the backers of the LIV Golf tour having that level of concern for their players.   

 

[Vinsk]

7 minutes ago, imsys0042 said:

The PGA Tour spends a lot of money trying to make it's players happy.   In the process giving them wealth that sets them up for life and there are so many ways that the

Not necessarily blaming the guys who’ve made it quite well, but I think it’s in part due to the inevitable loss of reality once they become wealthy. James Hahn showed his utter lack of reality to post ( whine) about the Tour schedule and how hard it is on him to which Scotty Scheffler’s caddie promptly schooled him. Fly around the world playing golf and make millions to do it. Shut up. Bring your family, you have the money. And you’ll be able to retire and spend all the time you want with your family carefree. 

[Shindig]

22 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Not necessarily blaming the guys who’ve made it quite well, but I think it’s in part due to the inevitable loss of reality once they become wealthy. James Hahn showed his utter lack of reality to post ( whine) about the Tour schedule and how hard it is on him to which Scotty Scheffler’s caddie promptly schooled him. Fly around the world playing golf and make millions to do it. Shut up. Bring your family, you have the money. And you’ll be able to retire and spend all the time you want with your family carefree. 

The hardest part for me is how many players are saying, seriously, something Zach Johnson said in jest on Letterman a decade and a half ago.  "I need to take a vacation from all this golf."

[Friz]

45 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Not necessarily blaming the guys who’ve made it quite well, but I think it’s in part due to the inevitable loss of reality once they become wealthy. James Hahn showed his utter lack of reality to post ( whine) about the Tour schedule and how hard it is on him to which Scotty Scheffler’s caddie promptly schooled him. Fly around the world playing golf and make millions to do it. Shut up. Bring your family, you have the money. And you’ll be able to retire and spend all the time you want with your family carefree. 

Good lord, I hadn't seen James Hahn's post....thats pretty cringe worthy.  Like, do they not tell the guys they're allowed to skip an event?  He's made over a million dollars this season alone in route to 113th in the FedEx Cup, and he's complaining about not seeing his family for a month.  And then he says this

 

[jbishop15]

46 minutes ago, Friz said:

Good lord, I hadn't seen James Hahn's post....thats pretty cringe worthy.  Like, do they not tell the guys they're allowed to skip an event?  He's made over a million dollars this season alone in route to 113th in the FedEx Cup, and he's complaining about not seeing his family for a month.  And then he says this

 

this is so f***ing funny to me. like, if you dont want to have to play all the time, play better golf at the events you do play at. I'm sorry you're tired of riding the gravy train for two million bucks a year, can-kicking your way to top 25 finishes and FedEx Bonuses with no wins. Get the f*** out of here. 

What a tough life, making all that money, travelling to the best golf courses, in the best cities. God, such a tragedy. 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by jbishop15

[GolfLug]

Guess who is laying down his groundwork to defect to LIV.