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

[Zeph]

8 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Wondering if the usual sponsorship contract has a clause that the corporatiion can nullify the contract if the player changes tours???

The contract must have something about the sponsor pulling out if the player doesn’t do what they expected them to when the contract was signed. There can be thousands of reasons for a sponsor to not want to sponsor someone anymore. As the part with the money, I expect they got everything covered in the contracts. Maybe not specified with a tour change, as it could even be desirable in some cases.

Didn’t Tiger lose some sponsors on short notice after his crash, or the 2009 sex scandal and all that?

[imsys0042]

19 hours ago, Zeph said:

The contract must have something about the sponsor pulling out if the player doesn’t do what they expected them to when the contract was signed. There can be thousands of reasons for a sponsor to not want to sponsor someone anymore. As the part with the money, I expect they got everything covered in the contracts. Maybe not specified with a tour change, as it could even be desirable in some cases.

Didn’t Tiger lose some sponsors on short notice after his crash, or the 2009 sex scandal and all that?

Tiger did.   That's probably a standard "morals" clause.   Where if the person being sponsored does something that causes a lot of negative publicity.   For example Kevin Spacey getting booted from House of Cards even though he had a contract.

I'm no lawyer but I assume that there is something that someone could use to drop a player if said player became unpopular because of the switch, or was being a jerk.   Sponsors also assume that they are associating with the pretty friendly PGA Tour brand, not another association.   Probably not clear cut language about which tour they are playing, but if there are negative impacts because they want to chase Saudi money that's a reason to try and get out of a deal.

A number of people have a real problem with how the government of Saudi Arabia conducts itself , so I suspect that some sponsors will want to take that into account.   

I posted in the thread about Charlie "Douche" Hoffman about what people were saying about him about my local club  Mickelson was getting it pretty bad too for being so vocal and antagonizing towards the tour.  Number of us are Mickelson fans and the consensus is that if you want to chase the money, then go ahead and just be upfront about it.  Don't throw the tour that gave you your millions and a platform for your talents under the bus while doing it.   Phil's always been a huge ego trip, but I think he's starting to think he's bigger than golf.   One more outburst agains the tour and I'm going to wish his tripled the last hole at Kiawah and blew it.   

[iacas]

Word is that Bryson has told several people on the Tour that the Sony Open, which he didn’t even play, was his last PGA Tour event.

[iacas]

 

[Piz]

SCTV saw this coming years ago.  

[phan52]

12 hours ago, iacas said:

 

Who?

[iacas]

21 minutes ago, phan52 said:

Who?

A Tour player, who was comfortable enough to go on record with his name as having said that. He didn't say he was one of the 17.

There are also rumors your club (PCC) is hosting one of the Saudi events.

 

[phan52]

10 minutes ago, iacas said:

A Tour player, who was comfortable enough to go on record with his name as having said that. He didn't say he was one of the 17.

There are also rumors your club (PCC) is hosting one of the Saudi events.

That is not my club, I just happen to live near it and I caddied there in my youth. I'll believe they are having it when I see it. I know a lot of members and they would not be on board,

[phan52]

10 minutes ago, phan52 said:

That is not my club, I just happen to live near it and I caddied there in my youth. I'll believe they are having it when I see it. I know a lot of members and they would not be on board,

I just spoke to someone on the board at PCC and he said he said it is nonsense and that they would never take Saudi money. They have a very cozy relationship with the USGA and would not want to mess with that.

[iacas]

 

[Zeph]

It all comes down to the players. They will distance themselves from the PGA tour if they switch. If only a handful go, who knows how happy they will be, rich or not.

Rory had a nice take on it. The best players already got loads of money, but if they invite the top 100, the money drops quickly as you travel down the OWGR. If only a few of the best players leave, and some lower ranked players, will people watch it?

Maybe this will fizzle out like the European Super League in football/soccer has (so far). 

Edited February 16, 2022 by Zeph

[Vinsk]

It’s much easier to say money isn’t a factor, when it isn’t.

[boogielicious]

2 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

It’s much easier to say money isn’t a factor, when it isn’t.

Well the top PGA Tour players aren’t hurting for money. That’s who they are after.

[iacas]

[iacas]

 

[saevel25]

Could the PGA, USGA, and Masters ban golfers from playing in the Majors if they join this league? 

 

[DaveP043]

11 hours ago, saevel25 said:

Could the PGA, USGA, and Masters ban golfers from playing in the Majors if they join this league? 

It seems to me that the PGA Tour may be able to ban "Saudi-tour" players from eligibility in PGA Tour events.  The PGA of America, the USGA, R&A, and the Masters define the eligibility for their own invitations, they can refuse to recognize any rankings that rely on Saudi-Tour performances.  I don't believe that they can ban players from going through the Qualifying process for Open tournaments like the US and British Opens., 

[Bucki1968]

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.