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

[iacas]

8 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

I am curious if Mark King or whoever has an actual high priced death wish. Not that Norman would be jumping for joy but who would want to touch this? 

$ guarantees there are a lot of people who would touch this.

[GolfLug]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

$ guarantees there are a lot of people who would touch this.

I get it but the list has gotta to be really small on MBS' desk.

Norman hasn't set a high bar but that has to change. At the end of the day they have an ill-conceived lusterless product that is not selling. The separation they bet on (team golf/54 holes/no cuts) is the very thing that is blowing up in their face one event at a time. A CEO worth their salt would know they would be behind the 8-ball on day one.  A 10-page plan is not going to save this. A singular masterful idea maybe, if one exist, that is.   

I read an article where the writer said something to the effect of; there is only so long MBS would be taken for a fool by the Pat Perezes of the world. I agree. 

I would venture to guess that to MBS the whole golf-can-make-us-look-good is merely a Sunday afternoon whim some clever peon built up on. It wont be long before they realize their best bet to any relevance on this planet is to go back to pinching oil supplies.

Golf is hard. Like.. really hard. 😁   

Edited November 11, 2022 by GolfLug

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, GolfLug said:

A CEO worth their salt

Here lies the real guess. Many “CEOs” run their companies into the ground then leave and do it again somewhere else. I’m hoping this guy does this with LIV and takes LIV where your Taco Bell tacos go the next morning.

[GolfLug]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

Here lies the real guess. Many “CEOs” run their companies into the ground then leave and do it again somewhere else.

QFT. 

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

I’m hoping this guy does this with LIV and takes LIV where your Taco Bell tacos go the next morning.

Lol. Seems like it is eventually headed that way. Even if we put aside the conflict altogether, the product is shit on its own independent merit. It might not be a climactic ending but more a slow death plagued by disinterest and eventual irrelevance. 

Glad it won't hurt my feelings.

[iacas]

Ha, I finally read the New Yorker article (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/24/will-the-saudis-and-donald-trump-save-golf-or-wreck-it) and at the bottom, this:

Quote

Published in the print edition of the October 24, 2022, issue, with the headline “Sand Trap.”

😉

[Aguirre]

Has anyone heard anything online about what Pat Perez was talking about with Phil Mickelson "unforgivable" actions? I mean, I've never heard anything. Was this is an affair or something?

[iacas]

9 hours ago, Aguirre said:

Has anyone heard anything online about what Pat Perez was talking about with Phil Mickelson "unforgivable" actions? I mean, I've never heard anything. Was this is an affair or something?

The golf world is surprisingly scant on details here. It seems to be either a flirtation or a full out affair or at least single occurrence, or something in between…?

Whatever. I don't really care too much about their off-the-course stuff or the stuff that doesn't affect the golf. Couldn't happen to a pair of nicer dudes, though. 😛

[Aguirre]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

The golf world is surprisingly scant on details here. It seems to be either a flirtation or a full out affair or at least single occurrence, or something in between…?

Whatever. I don't really care too much about their off-the-course stuff or the stuff that doesn't affect the golf. Couldn't happen to a pair of nicer dudes, though. 😛

I agree, I'm not one for the gossip. But Perez just floats that out there and of course everyone is going to be curious. Like there isn't much I consider "unforgiveable" in my life. Maybe Phil ate three of his children.

[boogielicious]

2 minutes ago, Aguirre said:

I agree, I'm not one for the gossip. But Perez just floats that out there and of course everyone is going to be curious. Like there isn't much I consider "unforgiveable" in my life. Maybe Phil ate three of his children.

He probably got a Pat Perez mullet.

[iacas]

Official World Golf Ranking sued for allegedly colluding with PGA Tour

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The complaint further alleges monopolization, attempted monopolization and other unfair trade practices.

[iacas]

LIV Golf: Patrick Reed’s $750 million defamation lawsuit dismissed

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Reed’s attorneys will have until Dec. 16 to file an amended complaint.

Dismissed.

[turtleback]

4 hours ago, iacas said:

LIV Golf: Patrick Reed’s $750 million defamation lawsuit dismissed

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Reed’s attorneys will have until Dec. 16 to file an amended complaint.

Dismissed.

If anyone wants to read the 4 page decision it's here:

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23314083/judge-order-dismiss-patrick-reed-lawsuit.pdf

After reading the decision I have to wonder if Reed was representing himself or just has a really bad attorney.

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, turtleback said:

If anyone wants to read the 4 page decision it's here:

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23314083/judge-order-dismiss-patrick-reed-lawsuit.pdf

After reading the decision I have to wonder if Reed was representing himself or just has a really bad attorney.

B.

Larry Klayman.

Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman suspended from legal practice in DC

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A Washington, D.C., appellate court has suspended the law license of Larry Klayman, an attorney known for conservative causes and clients, for 18 months over his handling of a sexual harassment lawsuit initially filed...

Etc.

[iacas]

LIV Golf Accuses PGA Tour of Secretly Coordinating Attacks on It by 9/11 Victim Groups

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In a court filing, the Saudi-funded golf league says its rival is behind attacks that claimed the upstart league was a mechanism for whitewashing Saudi Arabia’s reputation.

When Saudi-funded LIV Golf first arrived in the U.S. earlier this year, it was met with criticism from politicians and the families of 9/11 victims, who claimed the new golf circuit was a bid by Saudi Arabia to use a popular sport to whitewash its reputation for brutality and alleged involvement in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Now, LIV Golf is claiming in a new court filing that much of this backlash was secretly coordinated by its rival, the PGA Tour, through a Washington, D.C. public relations firm hired by the PGA Tour.

“The Tour has secretly directed, coordinated, and funded public protest, defamatory advertising, and other tactics to stir up anti-Saudi sentiment directed at its first-ever global competitor, all in an effort to maintain its unlawful monopoly,” LIV alleged in a filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia submitted Tuesday but made public Wednesday.  

The PGA Tour hired the Washington public relations firm, Clout Public Affairs LLC, “to front this campaign, insisting that Clout conceal the Tour’s orchestration of this effort,” according to the filing. “The Tour knew how bad it would look if its fingerprints were on the campaign to link LIV Golf to the tragedy of the Sept. 11 attacks, so the Tour hid behind Clout,” the filing claims.

[woodzie264]

13 minutes ago, iacas said:

LIV Golf Accuses PGA Tour of Secretly Coordinating Attacks on It by 9/11 Victim Groups

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In a court filing, the Saudi-funded golf league says its rival is behind attacks that...

When Saudi-funded LIV Golf first arrived in the U.S. earlier this year, it was met with criticism from politicians and the families of 9/11 victims, who claimed the new golf circuit was a bid by Saudi Arabia to use a popular sport to whitewash its reputation for brutality and alleged involvement in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Now, LIV Golf is claiming in a new court filing that much of this backlash was secretly coordinated by its rival, the PGA Tour, through a Washington, D.C. public relations firm hired by the PGA Tour.

“The Tour has secretly directed, coordinated, and funded public protest, defamatory advertising, and other tactics to stir up anti-Saudi sentiment directed at its first-ever global competitor, all in an effort to maintain its unlawful monopoly,” LIV alleged in a filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia submitted Tuesday but made public Wednesday.  

The PGA Tour hired the Washington public relations firm, Clout Public Affairs LLC, “to front this campaign, insisting that Clout conceal the Tour’s orchestration of this effort,” according to the filing. “The Tour knew how bad it would look if its fingerprints were on the campaign to link LIV Golf to the tragedy of the Sept. 11 attacks, so the Tour hid behind Clout,” the filing claims.

Yep, that’s exactly what happened. 🙄

[dennyjones]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

LIV Golf Accuses PGA Tour of Secretly Coordinating Attacks on It by 9/11 Victim Groups

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In a court filing, the Saudi-funded golf league says its rival is behind attacks that claimed the upstart league was a mechanism for whitewashing Saudi Arabia’s reputation.

When Saudi-funded LIV Golf first arrived in the U.S. earlier this year, it was met with criticism from politicians and the families of 9/11 victims, who claimed the new golf circuit was a bid by Saudi Arabia to use a popular sport to whitewash its reputation for brutality and alleged involvement in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Now, LIV Golf is claiming in a new court filing that much of this backlash was secretly coordinated by its rival, the PGA Tour, through a Washington, D.C. public relations firm hired by the PGA Tour.

“The Tour has secretly directed, coordinated, and funded public protest, defamatory advertising, and other tactics to stir up anti-Saudi sentiment directed at its first-ever global competitor, all in an effort to maintain its unlawful monopoly,” LIV alleged in a filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia submitted Tuesday but made public Wednesday.  

The PGA Tour hired the Washington public relations firm, Clout Public Affairs LLC, “to front this campaign, insisting that Clout conceal the Tour’s orchestration of this effort,” according to the filing. “The Tour knew how bad it would look if its fingerprints were on the campaign to link LIV Golf to the tragedy of the Sept. 11 attacks, so the Tour hid behind Clout,” the filing claims.

Does anybody really think that the families of 9/11 give a damn about LIV golf reputation?   It's a fact that they lost family members on that day.  I'm sure they would have done everything within their means to let everyone know that allegedly the Saudi government had something to do with the loss of their loved ones.   I don't see a problem.

[iacas]

Atul Khosla, Chief Operating Officer of LIV Golf, Exits Saudi-Backed League - The New York Times

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The executive’s departure is the latest turmoil for LIV, which has drawn plenty of attention but no major television or sponsorship deals.

Atul Khosla, the veteran sports executive who was expected to guide LIV Golf into the franchise model on which it has staked its viability, has resigned from the venture that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund financed in a challenge to the PGA Tour.

Khosla’s exit, just more than a year after LIV announced his appointment as its chief operating officer, comes as the start-up struggles to gain sustained traction and, confidential records reported by The New York Times this week suggest, is far from reaching the benchmarks that would make it successful.

[woodzie264]

17 minutes ago, iacas said:

Atul Khosla, Chief Operating Officer of LIV Golf, Exits Saudi-Backed League - The New York Times

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The executive’s departure is the latest turmoil for LIV, which has drawn plenty of attention...

Atul Khosla, the veteran sports executive who was expected to guide LIV Golf into the franchise model on which it has staked its viability, has resigned from the venture that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund financed in a challenge to the PGA Tour.

Khosla’s exit, just more than a year after LIV announced his appointment as its chief operating officer, comes as the start-up struggles to gain sustained traction and, confidential records reported by The New York Times this week suggest, is far from reaching the benchmarks that would make it successful.

I’m super surprised that it hasn’t caught onto the level to be viable in and of itself, without being floated by the government. 🙄 who would’ve foreseen this?!?….oh wait, I think almost everyone here anticipated that