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I have to admit I have not really been following this story closely, apart from knowing that Phil Mickelson had got into trouble for some stupid remarks.
But it is quite significant to see the likes of Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia quit the PGA Tour.
It is rather like the days when cricket became split between the official game and Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.
I can understand a few has beens being tempted by one last fat pay check but players like Johnson and Garcia look like they are motivated by greed and nothing else.
The $25 million, 54-hole event starts this Thursday and will be played at London’s Centurion Golf Club. No doubt, one of the least admirable of all human traits, “greed”, is the motivator. Johnson is reportedly getting $125 million to join the league. Have not seen any numbers for Michelson, the bookmakers “dream boy”, is officially in and Rickie Fowler’s participation is “imminent”. What’s interesting, is that the players are resigning from the PGA Tour to join the LIV in order to avoid any apparent lawsuits. They first asked for exemption from the PGA, but were denied…
This fiasco and tit-for-tat reporting in the mainstream media is causing quite a stir and, frankly, is becoming a real distraction to the main tournaments and players. Yesterday, I read where Greg Norman was quoted saying that Saudis have offered Tiger “mind-blowingly enormous” sum in the “high nine digits” (guess who still moves the needle?).
Another example is Greg Norman slamming Jack Nicklaus as a “hypocrite” for Jack’s stance on LIV….
Doesn’t this remind you of the recent attempt by Euros biggest football clubs to breakaway and form another league???…Greed???…how long did the “dream” last?
If another company can come around (LIV aka the Saudis) and create a new tour that offers the players higher prize money then I see no reason why they should stay loyal to the PGA. If I was an average player I’d probably jump ship, I wouldn’t call it greed at all, why should you stay so loyal to the PGA tour if eventually all the worlds best golfers move over to this new tour?
Dustin Johnson, who was won over $70 million in prize money (sponsorship on top of that of course) seemed to be essentially implying that he’s doing this for financial reasons and he ‘doesn’t want to play golf for the rest of his life’ and he’d have had to by remaining on the PGA Tour.
That said, it is a massive pay increase for the same job (I’ve recently done the same thing although I really did need the extra money) however if I was in DJ’s position I think the status and heritage of the existing circuit would trump the pay increase. For the middling players, it perhaps makes more sense, especially the older ones. Cash in and walk into the sunset.
On the one hand, it is a surprise to see Johnson jump ship. He is in the peak years of his career and can surely win plenty more times.
On the other hand, I am guessing he has never had an easy relationship with the PGA Tour. He is not the squeaky clean type who attends Bible study classes before playing.
Even in the last Ryder Cup when he won all his matches, he still had the look of someone who was a little bit detached from the others.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Official Cricket tried to ban the Packer players but lost in the courts. I would not be surprised if the same thing happens here.
Something I am unclear about is the Major championships. The likes of Johnson have exemptions due to being previous winners but other players rely on their world ranking to qualify. If they have quit the PGA tour, will they have a ranking?
Perhaps they do not care. The likes of Westwood and Poulter have never won majors and must know that they are not going to start winning them at their age.
I will have my say about this and then that is it. I don’t want to get involved in a row with anyone who has a different opinion so here goes ……..
They should be allowed to play in whatever tournaments as long as they have qualified (and I mean by that don’t go changing the qualifying rules!)
Surely what the USPGA is doing is against the law as far as having the right to earn a living. Nuff said from me!
“Surely what the USPGA is doing is against the law as far as having the right to earn a living.”
That is what the courts decided in the cricket case. Official Cricket’s action was deemed to be restraint of trade.
At a guess it might depend on what sort of contract the players have, if any. The PGA Tour players who have jumped ship have resigned from the Tour which presumably insulates them from legal action. It seems that if there is a contract, they can unilaterally exit it by resigning. I don’t have any idea how it works though. I’m sure both the players and PGA can afford the lawyers if necessary.
Are there many examples of breakaway organisations succeeding? The PDC in darts is the obvious one. The BDO did limp on until recently but nobody regarded it as a proper world championship for years. There was a time when they were capable of hanging on to some decent players (Barney took a while to switch for example). It has been resurrected in another form but the PDC remains king.
I cannot think of any. World Series Cricket folded once the Australian cricket authorities gave Packer the TV rights to show the Test matches – which is all he ever wanted. The amusing thing is, if they had just let him have them when he asked for them they could almost certainly have got a better deal.
The PDC darts only succeeded because it had almost all the big name players on board. It made the BDO look second rate.
The LIV series will only work if it can persuade the likes of McIlroy, Morikawa, Rahm, Matsuyama and DeChambeau to sign up. As it stands, it has too many has beens and never weres. Even the likes of Garcia and Oosthuizen probably have their best days behind them.
And the Saudi money will always mean it is tainted.
The BDO was also always fairly amateurish and darts is still a niche sport outside a few countries.
The PGA has huge money (if not as much is LIV) and massive TV contracts etc plus all the heritage of course. It’s a much more difficult apple cart to upset.
Even in football which is ruled by money more than any sport the Super League was torpedoed in quick time.
DeChambeau said he was not signing up. Now he has. Presumably the Saudis put a few more figures on the cheque.
Patrick Reed has signed up as well. Given his uneasy relationship with the PGA Tour and several of the players, the only surprise is he did not sign up sooner.
I’m all for it! Get the impression the PGA pay far less than they could for their tournaments and a lot of the PGA prize money is put up by the sponsors of each event anyway.
Yes the Saudi killing of the journalist was disgusting but I hate this whole morale high ground a lot of people are taking. Our own and the US governments are hardly the most innocent bunch when it comes to killing civilians in the middle east, dread to think how many families have been destroyed by our bombs and drones.
I’d have no problem with this new LIV league taking over from the PGA tour in years to come, if they offer higher prize money then I don’t blame any golfer for joining.
In fact I’ll be there on Saturday (got free tickets on twitter and have nothing better to do), maybe I’ll even go draped in a Saudi flag.
“Even in the last Ryder Cup when he won all his matches, he still had the look of someone who was a little bit detached from the others.”
Funny Cork I noticed this too, at the post-event presser he was smashed off his face too haha, he used to love a bit of the old white stuff so maybe just sticks to the sauce now to keep his nose dry. Either way he’s my kind of chap!
Didn’t he take some time out from the tour a few years ago to “clean himself up”, as it were?
Then there was the time when he won the US Open and a nit picking official made a ruling against him and said it may cost him a shot at the end of the round. Some observers thought it was an attempt by the PGA to put him off because they did not want him to win. Johnson just took it in his stride and won anyway. Lee Westwood, his playing partner that day, seemed more upset about it than he did!
I suppose it is little wonder Johnson felt no loyalty to the tour after that.
I wasn’t aware that had happened Cork so thanks for opening my eyes to that incident (only started watching golf more consistently the past couple of years). Don’t blame him at all if that’s the case.
Reading reports that Bryson Dechambau and Patrick Reed are to announce they’re joining the LIV thing today, with potentially Brooks Koepka and Ricke Fowler to be announced later this week too.
Very interesting times ahead!
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