LIV Golf Invitational League...... NO Political/Ethical conflict posts, see Post#2

‘there have been sanctioned Saudi events before with no issue, and anyone who has ever filled up their car with petrol has lost that argument really’

Sportwashing….

You just don’t get it

Why has Norman and co not create a tour which was part of the owgr

Trying to create a splinter group.

Is there no world ranking points for LIV golf?

I wouldn't think grovelling is beyond Phil. He never struck me as having any moral compass.

He's pretty disliked by fellow Pros.

He made the decision not to compete despite the likes of Rory etc saying he should.

Which in theory they kind of are already, there are no player contracts or anything, just Tour rules like x number of events, as Harrington mentioned before.

Greg is just testing that theory now and the legal ramifications will be very interesting.

It's exciting too and some great courses lined up to play

Thanks for telling me what I don't get, good contribution right there.

So what don't I get about sportswashing then ?

‘Others are doing it, so why shouldn’t golf?’

It certainly is an attractive proposition for the golfers,not so much for the organisers /Sponsors of tournaments ,Ultimately and ironically this massive financial investment may drive down the amounts available in the long term.If say the Irish Open is looking for a sponsor in August for the 2023 edition and they cannot guarantee that even the journeymen on European Tour will turn up well then the European tour has a big problem.The PGA is more insulated but ultimately the same is true,Sponsors won't want to fund tournaments that are not the pre eminent golf tournament that week.The top golfers in the world have a well oiled money making machine in the PGA that once they are playing well will richly reward their efforts and seamlessly allows them a pre retirement 5/10 years on the PGA Seniors to fill their boots,they ruffle this particular golden goose at their peril.

Just ironing out a few details afaik.

Apparently the ladies are looking for them to drop the "stoned to death" clause for a double bogey or worse.

or dropped atom bombs on cities full of innocent people

Don't be fooled the prize money is going to be multiples of the pga tour, Dj is the first top tier player, but many will follow. Martin Kaymer and Garcia are hardly over the hill either. This is only the beginning

I think in essence this is a similiar to a scenario where the incumbent workers vote for an agreement that will richly reward them but will damage the lot of future employees.

Hats off to DJ if he's getting 150 million. I'd probable let a sheikh $hit in my mouth for that kind of coin.

For me, the success/failure of this is very finely balanced. If they don't get more big names (and by that I would say 10 of the Top 20 or 20 of the Top 50) signed up within the first year then it's destined to fail imo.

People won't tune in, I certainly wouldn't be watching it based on the current field.

Now, LIV might have to the money to fund it for years and years regardless of viewership or the presence of a real top quality field... but if the top players in the world see it start slow, and continue slow, they'll be less and less likely to risk making the jump as time goes on.

Most of the top players in the world have a long career ahead of them. The additional money offered by LIV will be weighed up versus the big money on offer by the PGA Tour and the security on offer in terms of longevity.

On the other hand, if LIV get a bit of momentum and players start to jump, there could be a domino effect and have a packed field fairly quickly. I can't see that happening without compromise/some sort of agreement between the tours, and that seems very unlikely.

It's funny that nearly every Saffa is playing! Think Greg has made a mistake not making this more about the non-American and to an extent non-European players and courses.

If he got Matsuyama, Cam Smith, Scott, Im, Day, hell even Vijay, and all the top international guys (he has Oosty and Grace) and made sure to play in one of the best courses in the world outside of America and Europe. Then it might be considered somewhat noble to break the Western hegemony.

Instead it's almost a personal powerplay against the PGA Tour and we all know it's really a sports washing exercise, so it has to include the top players and be played and televised in Western markets.

It's very depressing if you think about it too much.

For me I would tune in to watch the global best play a somewhat different format in spectacular global courses. But to watch a reduced field event over 1 day less on a mediocre course, where's the appeal exactly?!

And as has been said if there's no appeal, there's no sports washing and then eventually the money will dry up.

I can see the appeal of LIV for guys not from the US. Loads of money, less events so less travelling which means they get to spend a lot more time at home as opposed to having to live in the US

Common knowledge, his problem gambling. That was the point I was making.

Yeah I remember the SEC case, but I dunno, I think there's a difference between some conjecture and rumour and a more detailed breakdown of compulsive behaviour coming on the back of his exile and the fallout of the Saudi comments.

People who follow golf "compulsively" 😉 knew of these things but they weren't presented as absolutely as they are now in wider media circles.

And Phil's behaviour was largely protected because of who he is, that protection has now largely disintegrated and it's become open season on him.

I just think there's a possibility in this moment, that he may actually be struggling with everything and may explain why he hasn't just toughed it out and turned up to the PGA and entered for next week (he may yet of course).