LIV Golf

[BubbaP]

Do you think Rory would have been better saying.

"I was very surprised at the news.
Im keeping an open mind on it until I know all the facts and how its going to look/work
Hopefully it will bring the world of golf back together which will be good for everyone but until I know how that is going to be achieved I cant really comment anymore"

Have to agree, but he does like to shoot from the hip.
Of interest..

he felt like a "sacrificial lamb".
"From where we were a couple of weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks brighter,"

Being realistic, the news is still raw. Monahan has just been in a heated meeting doing his best to pacify the situation & decisions. It will take a while for things to work through and clarify.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Might be worth keeping in mind.... No matter how biased your own views on pro/anti Liv... It won't change a single thing that will/could happen, it isn't in your hands and just makes you look silly.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I’m gutted and won’t be watching much pga tour golf if any

Sport as a whole is in an absolute mess at the moment left right and centre. People at the top can’t grab the Saudi money quick enough.

Think that sums it all up

The sport is a mess , it’s been a toxic mess for the past two years created by PIF as a tool to gain a foothold in the sport and make rich people richer.

The likes of Mickleson and Norman have been pawns in the big Saudi driven game , used their vast fortune to bully their way into the sport

A good number of golfers that jumped to LIV won’t care because they are now very rich , each one is now a millionaire and the disposable Saudi income helped do that.

Watching the Rory interview you can tell he feels let down and deflated and glad to see he was still firm about his views on LIV

All the nonsense about growing the game etc etc was all driven from Norman and I suspect he thought they were in it for the long haul.

I just hope the majors stay out of it

 

[Captain_Black.]

I never really got the "anti Saudi" thing
Their money is in every sport & the authorities hold their noses & look the other way.
If they aren't banned from financial involvement in any other sport, why should golf be any different?

I'm personally not a fan of the Liv format.
I don't like the team aspect / only 3 rounds with no cut & the shotgun starts, so I've no interest in it, but that's just me.
Others may enjoy it?

How this will effect professional golf going forward & the personalities within it, who knows?
There has been a lot said by certain individuals which will take a lot of smoothing over.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

There's at least 3 or 4 other posters doing exactly that on this thread...
But seen as you don't want to debate it, we'll leave it at that...

Seeing as you have admitted it, it would be nice to hear a “ok Phil point taken” as opposed to a deflection and blaming others for the content of your own posts

 

[BubbaP]

I’m gutted and won’t be watching much pga tour golf if any

Sport as a whole is in an absolute mess at the moment left right and centre. People at the top can’t grab the Saudi money quick enough.

Scanning a few boards over in the USA, where this was often framed as a USA vs. Saudi battle - quite a few comments saying they won't watch the PGAT any more. Of course difficult to gauge real numbers and a proportion will probably end up watching once the dust settles

 

[SatchFan]

As long as the coverage is decent I'll continue to watch as if nothing has happened.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Report: Greg Norman 'Not Expected' To Be Part Of Golf's New Future After Being Left Out Of Merger Talks

Greg Norman only found out about the huge PGA Tour merger with LIV Golf minutes before the announcement

www.golfmonthly.com

I don’t think anyone would be surprised. Was one of the biggest issues with it all

 

[brendy]

So the PGA tour remains the PGA Tour, The DP World Tour remains the same, as does LIV.
A new company between the PGAT, DPWT and PIF created but all assets still belong to the original owners.
No mention of grass root golf receiving any money, there may be the odd aspect of one your used on another (team events already exist to a small extent like the Alfred Dunhill (pro plus guest)).
I'm not seeing how this makes such a big positive outcome for anyone. The PIF basically gets its feet under the table, btw, the i in PIF means investment, last time I looked, investment means money put in with the expectation of getting more back out. If the PIF are going to make earth shattering funding available, they'll want it back and then some at some point.

What I don't like is those that were already very wealthy, chose even more cash over morals, they now get to have a chance of coming back in having complained that the PGAT was too much (in many ways, events, format etc), now it's more but they're happy?
THEN there is the humanitarian hurdles too..
The world has gone nuts IMHO.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

As long as the coverage is decent I'll continue to watch as if nothing has happened.

This is the reality for 99.9% of golf fans. Behind the scenes stuff has a bit of interest value but we really just want to watch good golfers play in tournaments. It's the same for all sports.

The dust will soon settle and the golfing world will continue to revolve.

 

[pokerjoke]

Think that sums it all up

The sport is a mess , it’s been a toxic mess for the past two years created by PIF as a tool to gain a foothold in the sport and make rich people richer.

The likes of Mickleson and Norman have been pawns in the big Saudi driven game , used their vast fortune to bully their way into the sport

A good number of golfers that jumped to LIV won’t care because they are now very rich , each one is now a millionaire and the disposable Saudi income helped do that.

Watching the Rory interview you can tell he feels let down and deflated and glad to see he was still firm about his views on LIV

All the nonsense about growing the game etc etc was all driven from Norman and I suspect he thought they were in it for the long haul.

I just hope the majors stay out of it

He might be firm on his view of Liv
But he won’t be firm when in the future he will be excepting Saudi money.
His moral standing will go out the window.
You talk about multi millionaires using their influence,no different to Rory then.
Yes he looks hurt and deflated,but the money he excepts off the tour now and the 100s of millions he will except in the future will soften the blow,soften the blow enough to except pay over his moral standing.
He basically said if you can’t beat them join them.
Up there along side Monaghan in the hypocrite stakes.

 

[RichA]

So the PGA tour remains the PGA Tour, The DP World Tour remains the same, as does LIV.
A new company between the PGAT, DPWT and PIF created but all assets still belong to the original owners.
No mention of grass root golf receiving any money, there may be the odd aspect of one your used on another (team events already exist to a small extent like the Alfred Dunhill (pro plus guest)).
I'm not seeing how this makes such a big positive outcome for anyone. The PIF basically gets its feet under the table, btw, the i in PIF means investment, last time I looked, investment means money put in with the expectation of getting more back out. If the PIF are going to make earth shattering funding available, they'll want it back and then some at some point.

What I don't like is the those (that were not poor already) that chose he ckets more cash over morals, now get to have a chance of coming back in having complained that the PGAT was too much (in many ways, events, format etc), now it's more but they're happy?
THEN there is the humanitarian hurdles too..
The world has gone nuts IMHO.

I think what they hope to get from their investment is respectability and acceptance. They've chosen a social group that largely seems not to ask too many questions as long as the cash flows and entertainment is provided.
Ironically, more people watch Eurovision than pro golf, but I don't think that's the type of social group whose acceptance they're after.

 

[BridgfordBlue]

I never really got the "anti Saudi" thing
Their money is in every sport & the authorities hold their noses & look the other way.
If they aren't banned from financial involvement in any other sport, why should golf be any different?

I'm personally not a fan of the Liv format.
I don't like the team aspect / only 3 rounds with no cut & the shotgun starts, so I've no interest in it, but that's just me.
Others may enjoy it?

How this will effect professional golf going forward & the personalities within it, who knows?
There has been a lot said by certain individuals which will take a lot of smoothing over.

There’s a difference between being entities in other sports or having money in them to essentially owning the entire professional sport themselves, particularly when PIF is a government owned company too.

 

[Backsticks]

As long as the coverage is decent I'll continue to watch as if nothing has happened.

Thats the bottom line for us fans. Nobody was watching LIV anyway. All it did was take a few serious golfers off the scene. Delighted Smith's career hasnt been ruined, and keen to see him back measuring himself against the best on a regular basis. So we are back where we started - PGAT holds all the players and prime tournaments outside the majors.

There is no hiding that LIV itself was a fiasco, and upping the investment to buy a proper tour was the only way to save face and stay in golf. It was clear LIV was on borrowed time for the last few months. As I said here before, the failure since last years Open to recruit beyond Smith, particularly post Fedex was the deathknell. It was only a matter of planning the off ramp. And buying the PGAT and merging the two, with the ET as a sidekicker was it. Monaghan is effectively still running golf, though the minority shareholders will get some of their agenda. But through a properly run tour. It wasnt Norman announcing a merger or overarching structure for golf, with LIV and its players at its core.

 

[Depreston]

There’s a difference between being entities in other sports or having money in them to essentially owning the entire professional sport themselves, particularly when PIF is a government owned company too.

Yeah even if you forget about the smeary stuff that can be flung about the Saudi culture

I know politics and sport is always a grey area but for it to be so black and white that if this entity makes a profit it’s going directly into the coffers of a state

 

[Backsticks]

There’s a difference between being entities in other sports or having money in them to essentially owning the entire professional sport themselves, particularly when PIF is a government owned company too.

Does it matter though ? They still have to give the sport following public, the sponsors, and media, what they want - credible sporting entertainment. Despite the misguided PT Barnum style puff, the world said no thanks to LIV 'innovations'. Nobody is against innovation, evolution, development and progres. But is has to be positive. LIV was just to illconceived and just marketing tough talk that roped in the Saudis - who dont seem to have known any better. But now do, and realised they were just going to have to pay up for the real thing. They had the funds to do so, so did. And the world goes back to normal.

 

[Deleted member 21445]

After today I don't have a Scrooby doo what this all means.

I'm checking out of the thread till there is an announcement of the merger being completed and what it all entails.

Maybe we all should do that ?

 

[BubbaP]

Am firmly in the "we won't know for a while" camp.
Looks like last year the PGAT announced their schedule in June but that was with wrap around season starting September, so may not see the 2024 schedule for a few months yet.

Not sure why this golf mag thinks they know more though...

"We believe the 2024 [LIV] season will also remain the same, with a change to the qualification criteria being implemented ahead of the 2025 season. If that goes ahead, it will see the Top 30 PGA Tour players and Top 18 DP World Tour players gain the 48 spots in the LIV Golf League and form the 12 teams, competing across 12 54-hole events. Players who play in the LIV Golf League will also be able to play on the PGA and DP World Tours but we’re yet to discover if they will have to feature in designated events or can choose their schedule."

Explained: PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LIV Golf merger

Explained: PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LIV Golf merger

www.todays-golfer.com

 

[Backsticks]

I’m also a bit surprised by the comments suggesting SA will be a good tourist destination. A bit of male privilege informing that view I think? Certainly can’t see my wife and I having a relaxing break there!

That’s a pretty universal view among my female friends - gay or straight.

Lionel Messi goes there on his holidays and loves it. The culture, the sights, the food, the hospitality, the people. He is a role model for the world, so it must be pretty great.
Having said that, I have been there for work, and thought it the dullest place on earth. Unless you are into fruit juices with your dinner, and strolling around shopping centres the size of Birmingham.

 

[Backsticks]

After today I don't have a Scrooby doo what this all means.

I'm checking out of the thread till there is an announcement of the merger being completed and what it all entails.

Maybe we all should do that ?

What does golf’s blockbuster ‘merger’ mean for the game and its players? | Ewan Murray

Disrupter Greg Norman is not the only one attached to LIV who will surely soon discover their services are no longer required

www.theguardian.com

A decent overview.