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

[imsys0042]

12 minutes ago, Big Lex said:

II guess they were probably trying to promote a party atmosphere maybe a little. They had music playing, constantly, for example, during the tournament. Concessions were readily available and lines were short, and there was no shortage of alcohol to be had. 

But it didn't feel like a party really. It wasn't all that different a feeling from the last event I went to, which was the Travelers in CT about 4 years ago. 

 

 

I can think of a few songs to put on the LIV playlist....

"Hit the road Jack"

"Loser" by Beck. (Greg Normal only)

"Lonesome Loser"

"Poor Little Pitiful Me".   (Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Sergio Garcia)

That Money song from the Apprentice

....

 

[chriskzoo]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:12 PM, Aguirre said:

This is it. This is all of it. 

Who is the largest sponsor of the LPGA Tour?

Saudi Aramco. 

 

[ScouseJohnny]

Quote

Concessions were readily available and lines were short, and there was no shortage of alcohol to be had. 

What a charming little irony.

Edited August 2, 2022 by ScouseJohnny

[nevets88]

Was talking to normals (not golf people) and said Woods would never jump ship even for a billion and they thought I was crazy.

[Vinsk]

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. 

[ChetlovesMer]

2 minutes 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. 

I'm sure I should know this, but what does "four more years" mean? 

 

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I'm sure I should know this, but what does "four more years" mean? 

Trump presidency.

[imsys0042]

2 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. 

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

[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