Backsticks
Assistant Pro
Yes, that shows the gulf in quality between the two tournaments. Zalatoris is a better golfer over the last year than ALL of the ones on the Saudi tour. It highlights the Saudi thing as really second division.
LIV Golf
- Thread starter MarkT
- Start date
Backsticks
Assistant Pro
Sure. Agree fully. DP is the third division. But its not a rival to the pgat, its a feeder tour, like the Kornferry with a little added local interest and national opens for Europeans.
Ethan
Money List Winner
-3, comfortably made the cut, doing better than the well fed $200million superstar Phil Mickelson, currently 43rd out of 48, 11 shots behind Stenson after one round.
D
Deleted member 15344
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Mel Smooth
Hacker
Why ? What’s the relevance ?
Young player, rated 13th in the world, one of the future stars of the tour - and he's absolutely nowhere on the leaderboard - not exactly selling the argument that the PGA Tour has all the better, younger players is he?
Infact apart from Tony Finau, and Stuart Cink, the leaderboard is full of names that I couldn't put a face to - and Stuart Cink is old, and therefore irrelevant;-)
D
Deleted member 3432
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And that is a direct consequence of the Tiger effect.
All the money that went into the PGA Tour and all the Top European Tour players went chasing $$$
European Tour is dying on its feet even without LIV. Going to become increasing difficult for young European golfers find their way to the top echelons of the game without going down the US College route and becoming semi yanks ala Rahm.
Mel Smooth
Hacker
The Open showed the gulf in quality between the two tours/series, and aside from a handful of players, there isn't one.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
It’s always the same with events after The Open - the fields are more wide open allowing other card holders to get in and earn points and money to keep their card
There is always a lull around this time year as players rest before the end of season order of merits
the tours are more than just the top guys- there are 200 plus beiow those guys
Last week was a perfect example - great win for Ramsey keeping his card plus others getting a boost
Ethan
Money List Winner
The Open did indeed show the gulf. None of the LIV players actually contended. A few decent finishes from nowhere on the last day, that's about it.
It is laughable to suggest the PGA Tour and LIV are comparable.
D
Deleted member 15344
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Mel Smooth
Hacker
Mel Smooth
Hacker
It’s one event ?
So when a LIV player is struggling - it's a sign of how weak the quality of the field is, but when a top PGA Tour player is struggling, it's excused as a one off?
Lets be honest Phil, The PGA Tour is off the golf radar this weekend, And Will Z making up the numbers certainly doesnt help their cause.
Ethan
Money List Winner
Fact is LIV Tour has much weaker fields than PGA Tour, and they are getting weaker as the LIV players slide further down the rankings.
Ethan
Money List Winner
Hello, is that the guy who cited one shot where a player couldn't hit the green as evidence it is a tough course?
I will give you credit for sheer brass neckedness. We can't compete with your brand of male bovine excrement.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
Not sure when it was decided that a player struggling in one event is a sign of a weak field ?
Not seen that Have seen people use 12 months or two years worth of results to show players struggling
And this period is always a quieter period in between the Open and Fed Ex playoffs - the top players will recharge after the majors ( something that won’t matter for LiV players next year )
What it does do is help all those that need points or restricted cards or players from KF etc that chance to get some cards in etc ( again something that you can’t see on the LIV )
Backsticks
Assistant Pro
Yes, the only Saudi player of Zalatoris level at the moment is DJ.It’s one event ?
There unquestionable a big gulf, and you are truly in the LIV alternative facts world Mel if you are seriously believing otherwise. Saudi with take off if a dozen of the top 30 defect after the FedEx. But at the moment, the PGAT holds all the cards, and all the players that determine a tours quality, apart from DJ, Brooks, and Bryson. The players from 50-300 in the world make up the field, and are there to climb the ladder. But they aren't why people watch. If you cannot exceed a half dozen of the world's top 50, then you are second division. It is beyond rational debate to consider otherwise.
Backsticks
Assistant Pro
Agree with the first clause.
I don't agree with the second clause. They are just as good. Sliding the rankings does not diminish their golf. It diminishes the rankings.
Ethan
Money List Winner
The second point is simply a fact. Most of the LIV players were sliding, or plummeting, down the rankings before they joined the LIV Tour. DJ dropped from 2nd to 18th in 6 months. No sign that is changing much for BdC, Koepka and others either. They need to win stuff to reverse it and they haven't won anything recently and will have fewer chances to do so.
Backsticks
Assistant Pro
It isn't a fact. Their ranking may decrease, but that doesn't mean they are weakening as golfers. They are exactly the same golfer, in the short term, as they were before they defected. Their sliding, simply shows the owgr is no longer representative of the world's golfers.
Their golf determines how good a golfer they are, not the rankings. Tweaking the rules could put me number one. Nobody would believe I am the world's best golfer though.
D
Deleted member 3432
Guest
They aren't playing for much money at the Hero Open event, three players will be taking home six figures whilst twenty one players will be taking home six figures in the Rockety thing whatever event.
Sponsors won't hang around long without a decent field.
Tour is becoming half a dozen big events with fillers the rest of the year.
