LIV Golf

[pendodave]

Yeah but 10-15 years ago isn't it. Reputationally it'd be a worse signing than Poulter etc when liv launched... Hell just get Peter Finch

Haha. Sometimes when I wander over to this thread I think I've gone through the looking glass.
He's currently somewhere north of 500 in the rankings and completely irrelevant as a competitive professional golfer. Obviously has a decent profile as a content creator, but that's it.

And then I noticed that Mel claimed to have sat through a LIV press conference... I mean, what are we even talking about here.

Whatever LIV wanted to be, its only significant impact on golf has been to make the sclerotic PGA tour drag its carcass into the current century.

Wonderful as it is to see a decent level of professional golf in Australia and South Africa, I don't think there's any significant needle wobbling being achieved by it.

Hey ho, we'll see.

 

[simsini]

Haha. Sometimes when I wander over to this thread I think I've gone through the looking glass.
He's currently somewhere north of 500 in the rankings and completely irrelevant as a competitive professional golfer. Obviously has a decent profile as a content creator, but that's it.

And then I noticed that Mel claimed to have sat through a LIV press conference... I mean, what are we even talking about here.

Whatever LIV wanted to be, its only significant impact on golf has been to make the sclerotic PGA tour drag its carcass into the current century.

Wonderful as it is to see a decent level of professional golf in Australia and South Africa, I don't think there's any significant needle wobbling being achieved by it.

Hey ho, we'll see.

One other thing about LIV is that it is played around the world on a wide variety of courses. Most weeks on the PGA Tour outside of the majors and bigger events, they are playing on flat courses with massive fairways and greens, where a player could score -25 and still not win the tournament.

 

[Fore Right]

One other thing about LIV is that it is played around the world on a wide variety of courses. Most weeks on the PGA Tour outside of the majors and bigger events, they are playing on flat courses with massive fairways and greens, where a player could score -25 and still not win the tournament.

I'm 99% sure Brian Rollap is going to address this and reduce the PGAT schedule and go to more iconic courses in more USA states in 2027.
IMO this would be a brilliant step forward by the tour.

Too many PGAT stops are snooze fests on generic US golf courses watching players throw darts with wedges.

 

[simsini]

I'm 99% sure Brian Rollap is going to address this and reduce the PGAT schedule and go to more iconic courses in more USA states in 2027.
IMO this would be a brilliant step forward by the tour.

Too many PGAT stops are snooze fests on generic US golf courses watching players throw darts with wedges.

They need to play on more woodland courses where wayward shots are punished.

 

[Fore Right]

I honestly think that Liv Golfs legacy could be that it pushed the PGAT to improve its self.

I can see a future where possibly Liv Golf fizzles out in 3 years and their best players return to a better more engaging PGAT product.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Haha. Sometimes when I wander over to this thread I think I've gone through the looking glass.
He's currently somewhere north of 500 in the rankings and completely irrelevant as a competitive professional golfer. Obviously has a decent profile as a content creator, but that's it.

And then I noticed that Mel claimed to have sat through a LIV press conference... I mean, what are we even talking about here.

Whatever LIV wanted to be, its only significant impact on golf has been to make the sclerotic PGA tour drag its carcass into the current century.

Wonderful as it is to see a decent level of professional golf in Australia and South Africa, I don't think there's any significant needle wobbling being achieved by it.

Hey ho, we'll see.

It was a toss up between listening to what they had to say while I was working away on a customers en-suite, or spend an hour trying to convince complete strangers why their club should or should not charge a bar levy..

 

[simsini]

Wow, didn't see this coming.

 

[cleveland52]

LIV is criticised on this forum almost every day, often multiple times.
If you were warned about something, it was not for simply criticising LIV.

Nope, I'm respectful to all, even those with different opinions. Basically, was told if I didn't have anything nice to say regarding LIV, don't say anything at all. That's why I stopped posting. Maybe some consider that argumentative.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Michael La Sasso Facts: 14 Things To Know About The College Golfer

Michael La Sasso is one of college golf's brightest talents - discover more about his life and career so far via these facts

www.golfmonthly.com

 

[Fore Right]

Q: Is hoovering up the best young players out of college a better strategy than signing a top 25 in the world player from the PGAT ?

DISCUSS

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Q: Is hoovering up the best young players out of college a better strategy than signing a top 25 in the world player from the PGAT ?

DISCUSS

Pros and Cons. you get a younger player base with a hell if a lot of potential to drive the tour forward.

You also make a mockery of the qualifying event as the likes of Kim, Lee etc have grafted gonna opportunity whereas these kids have it literally handed it to them.

They don’t draw much new crowd to the game as most of us have no idea who they are.

But you get guys that’s could be there for years to come and possibly buy into the social media driven side of LIV.

Personally not a fan of this type of move feels a little desperate but also disrespectful for some guys out there having to graft to get on LIV and other tours.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Pros and Cons. you get a younger player base with a hell if a lot of potential to drive the tour forward.

You also make a mockery of the qualifying event as the likes of Kim, Lee etc have grafted gonna opportunity whereas these kids have it literally handed it to them.

They don’t draw much new crowd to the game as most of us have no idea who they are.

But you get guys that’s could be there for years to come and possibly buy into the social media driven side of LIV.

Personally not a fan of this type of move feels a little desperate but also disrespectful for some guys out there having to graft to get on LIV and other tours.

He'd qualified for The Masters (now forfeited)

I'd say anybody that gets a spot in The Masters and is prepared to ditch it to get a shot on a pro tour learning from the best in the game has every right to do so.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

He'd qualified for The Masters (now forfeited)

I'd say anybody that gets a spot in The Masters and is prepared to ditch it to get a shot on a pro tour learning from the best in the game has every right to do so.

I couldn’t disagree more. The US Am or British Am champs and their likewise counterparts across continents earn places in Majors as a well done for winning that event. It doesn’t give them guaranteed playing rights across any other tour that they have to qualify like anyone else.

By the premise why did Anthony Kim have to qualify, he’s a multiple tour winning champion. So he’s already proven he can cut it unlike an Amateur coming straight from college. The kid hasn’t earned his way into anything, just been given something because he won an amateur competition. As I say I’m not a fan of the move but people don’t have to agree with me.

I also think it lessens the brand by just giving out places to people who have circumvented qualification.

 

[Mel Smooth]

I couldn’t disagree more. The US Am or British Am champs and their likewise counterparts across continents earn places in Majors as a well done for winning that event. It doesn’t give them guaranteed playing rights across any other tour that have to qualify like anyone else.

By the premise why did Anthony Kim had to qualify, he’s a multiple tour winning champion. So he’s already proven he can cut it unlike an Amateur coming straight from college. The kids hasn’t earned his way into anything just been given something because he won an amateur competition. As I say I’m not a fan of the move but people don’t have to agree with me.

I also think it lessens the brand by just giving out places to people who have circumvented qualification.

Qualification into golf events is just a philosophy that we've adopted because of the establishment - they generate huge sums of money from forcing players to attempt to qualify with odds stacked massively against them.
The only reason LIV are implementing more qualification is to try and appease that same establishment to get OWGR points - I'd imagine if they weren't trying to get them AK would very well have been offered a place on a team based on his form and marketability.

Tiger Woods isn't good enough to play in any golf event in the PGAT calendar, but if he declared himself fit - he'd be inundated with invites.

I think we just have to accept the much praised "meritocracy" should not be the only stipulation on giving young athletes opportunities.

Lets face it, how old would a footballer have to be to make their premier league debut if they had to go through the kind of qualification stages that golfers have to subject themselves to?

Just because there is an established 'system', it doesn't mean we have to accept it.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Qualification into golf events is just a philosophy that we've adopted because of the establishment - they generate huge sums of money from forcing players to attempt to qualify with odds stacked massively against them.
The only reason LIV are implementing more qualification is to try and appease that same establishment to get OWGR points - I'd imagine if they weren't trying to get them AK would very well have been offered a place on a team based on his form and marketability.

Tiger Woods isn't good enough to play in any golf event in the PGAT calendar, but if he declared himself fit - he'd be inundated with invites.

I think we just have to accept the much praised "meritocracy" should not be the only stipulation on giving young athletes opportunities.

Lets face it, how old would a footballer have to be to make their premier league debut if they had to go through the kind of qualification stages that golfers have to subject themselves to?

Just because there is an established 'system', it doesn't mean we have to accept it.

I’m not going to debate it as it’ll just go back and forth but I’ll bite this time and this will be my last piece on it. . All your examples are a bit crap to put it bluntly.

Your point on AK is purely speculative on why you think they made him qualify you can’t prove it in anyway other than you think it. I think I’m gonna win the lottery doesn’t mean it’s true or going to happen.

Tiger Woods has earned those starts by right of being all time leading money winner, 82 Victories and 15 majors. So under qualifying criteria he’s met every single one of them and isn’t just being handed a start based on his name. Does it help yes, but I’ll reiterate he meets qualifying criteria.

Point of footballers is like comparing Apples and Oranges. They’re both fruit but not remotely similar, same for Golf and football. Kids spend years in academies growing and learning a game at the clubs paying them so naturally get a chance to play with the bigger boys on merit of having gone through the system.

This kids played a bit of college golf, won one event that gets him an invite into a major. What he hasn’t done is prove he can compete against the big boys on tour and he’s not earned his right to play anywhere. You can defend it and say meritocracy is outdated and shouldn’t be the only way to give young athletes a chance. It isn’t the only way, he could have proved it playing at the Masters, playing in lesser tours or earning his way to LIV like AK, Lee etc except he hasn’t he’s had it handed to him on a plate.

You and I won’t agree on this , I believe everyone should earn the right to where they get when competing and not just handed something.

As I said I’ll bite this once and have but I’ll say no more about it as I’ve made my thoughts clear.

 

[Mel Smooth]

I’m not going to debate it as it’ll just go back and forth but I’ll bite this time and this will be my last piece on it. . All your examples are a bit crap to put it bluntly.

Your point on AK is purely speculative on why you think they made him qualify you can’t prove it in anyway other than you think it. I think I’m gonna win the lottery doesn’t mean it’s true or going to happen.

Tiger Woods has earned those starts by right of being all time leading money winner, 82 Victories and 15 majors. So under qualifying criteria he’s met every single one of them and isn’t just being handed a start based on his name. Does it help yes, but I’ll reiterate he meets qualifying criteria.

Point of footballers is like comparing Apples and Oranges. They’re both fruit but not remotely similar, same for Golf and football. Kids spend years in academies growing and learning a game at the clubs paying them so naturally get a chance to play with the bigger boys on merit of having gone through the system.

This kids played a bit of college golf, won one event that gets him an invite into a major. What he hasn’t done is prove he can compete against the big boys on tour and he’s not earned his right to play anywhere. You can defend it and say meritocracy is outdated and shouldn’t be the only way to give young athletes a chance. It isn’t the only way, he could have proved it playing at the Masters, playing in lesser tours or earning his way to LIV like AK, Lee etc except he hasn’t he’s had it handed to him on a plate.

You and I won’t agree on this , I believe everyone should earn the right to where they get when competing and not just handed something.

As I said I’ll bite this once and have but I’ll say no more about it as I’ve made my thoughts clear.

Whats with ‘bite once’ nonsense.

We’ve just got different opinions.

I’m absolutely fine with that concept.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Whats with ‘bite once’ nonsense.

We’ve just got different opinions.

I’m absolutely fine with that concept.

Figure of speech as I said I wouldn’t debate. Quite a common turn of phrase where I come from .

I to am ok with our differing opinion

 

[BubbaP]

Pros and Cons. you get a younger player base with a hell if a lot of potential to drive the tour forward.

You also make a mockery of the qualifying event as the likes of Kim, Lee etc have grafted gonna opportunity whereas these kids have it literally handed it to them.

They don’t draw much new crowd to the game as most of us have no idea who they are.

But you get guys that’s could be there for years to come and possibly buy into the social media driven side of LIV.

Personally not a fan of this type of move feels a little desperate but also disrespectful for some guys out there having to graft to get on LIV and other tours.

I agree with you around the qualifying.

Excuse is too strong, but there may be some mitigating circumstances though.
I don't know the young chaps intentions or thoughts but if he was considering turning pro this year and had hit one shot in qualifying, then he would have been suspended from vast majority of pro golf in his country and continent for 12 months. Pretty big gamble for someone in his position.

IMO in an ideal world, the self proclaimed bastions of mens pro golf, the owgr, would demand a stop of these practices, and then they'd be no reason for liv to solely rely on qualifying.
But that's never gonna happen

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

I agree with you around the qualifying.

Excuse is too strong, but there may be some mitigating circumstances though.
I don't know the young chaps intentions or thoughts but if he was considering turning pro this year and had hit one shot in qualifying, then he would have been suspended from vast majority of pro golf in his country and continent for 12 months. Pretty big gamble for someone in his position.

IMO in an ideal world, the self proclaimed bastions of mens pro golf, the owgr, would demand a stop of these practices, and then they'd be no reason for liv to solely rely on qualifying.
But that's never gonna happen

And yet if he thinks he’s good enough to be there that should be a risk he’s willing to take of it it’s what he really wanted. His gamble would be no bigger than any other kid coming out of college and trying at Q School.

 

[fenwayrich]

Maybe La Sasso looked at Caleb Surratt, who received nearly $10 million in 2025, despite a pitiful one top 10 in 20 odd starts on LIV, and thought 'that'll do for me'.