Ogilvie: Pro Golf's "Unbundling" Phase?

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Phil Mickelson embraces Golf Saudi’s Majed Al Sorour (John Phillips/LIV Golf/Getty Images)

Former PGA Tour winner Joe Ogilvie has retired and gone into managing private equity but took to Twitter to offer this fascinating analogy of the current affairs pitting the PGA Tour vs. the Public Investment Fund Of Saudi Arabia.

The Day That Will Live In Rich, Greedy And Egomaniacal Golf History

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Tour Sources Begin Spilling On Defectors Bryson DeChambeau And Patrick Reed

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While they sound happy to see both go, the amount of First World dirt spilled on Bryson DeChambeau to Golf Digest’s Dan Rapaport suggests his impending LIV departure for a $100 million advance really stings.

And it should. DeChambeau is a draw. Reed is not and never will be.

From Rapaport:

DeChambeau’s defiant and often erratic behavior began shortly after he played his way onto the PGA Tour in 2016. At an AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am early in his career, DeChambeau unleashed a profanity-laced tirade on a volunteer who failed to spot his errant ball. The incident was reported up the chain of command and, per sources familiar with the tour’s operations, almost certainly resulted in discipline. The tour didn’t speak to the incident, as is their long-standing policy, but according to one tour player, a similar situation played out years later at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

In the summer of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, tour officials and volunteers were instructed to be particularly conscious of where people could and could not go. After pounding range balls long after sundown, DeChambeau attempted to enter a building without his credential. When he was denied access, he grew agitated. Shortly thereafter, a tour official addressed the incident with an adamant DeChambeau, who was dumbfounded that the volunteer did not recognize him. This was the same week he objected to a cameraman following him for too long, after which he took a thinly veiled shot at the PGA Tour.

The story goes on to detail how Justine Reed had a direct line to a Tour executive who had to play the role of Team Reed concierge. Hope the benefits package for whoever that is included therapy and extra vacation time!

LIV Lands DJ For First Event Filled Out Mostly By Once-Greats, A Lot Of South Africans And Mostly People You've Never Heard Of

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The LIV field lives! It took a while but the June 9-12 event finally has a field, almost.

There’s so much to shake your head at and so much to laugh at who will play for gobs of undeserved money next week in London.

Dustin Johnson is the headliner for now and despite being a well-know RBC team member obligated to play the Canadian Open—one would think—he will likely lose his partnership based on this RBC statement obtained by Adam Stanley:

Johnson’s participation is silly on so many levels. Besides the lack of loyalty to the PGA Tour and a sponsor like RBC that puts him in ads despite being a less than eloquent pitchman, the 2020 Masters champion has been back and forth on his desire to grab the Saudi cash. In February he was out, but by May’s PGA he was looking forward to seeing how the event played out.

He’s all about the money.

The move rules out a future Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup captaincy. Ok those were not happening anyway. The Hall of Fame might be tougher now despite those two majors. Not that he cares. And definitely no Rolex billboard on Washington Road—that might actually matter to him.

From February:

What a brand!

As for others in the field, you have to wonder what’s going on in South Africa to make eight of their guys sign up, including Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace. The RSA’s are also wheeling out a Hennie Du Plessis and JC Ritchie who make Shaun Norris and Justin Harding seem like global superstars.

Decent PGA Tour players to make the leap include Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones. Not exactly folks anyone is paying to see.

Decent European Tour players include Sam Horsfield, Bernd Wiesberger and Pablo Larrazabal.

Aging stars like Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer probably ended any hopes of captaining a Ryder Cup squad to take the easy money.

Randoms include former US Am Champ Andy Ogletree, whose done nothing with the perks of winning that event, and the same goes for last year’s NCAA individual champ and current world No. 706 Turk Pettit. Then there’s former Titleist CEO Wally Uihlein’s son Peter Uihlein jumping ship.

Note to Jay Monahan: Taylormade makes a great ball now and ChromeSofts are getting better! Plus, the ball goes too far and straight.

The Friends of Greg division suggests the Shirtless Shark’s Rolodex is not filled with many Aussies. That contingent is led by the recently hapless Wade Ormsby (one top 10 in the last two years), another Aussie named Jediah Morgan and one more named Blake Windred. The latter won the Australian PGA this year.

Then there are the amateurs, including one competing in the NCAA final Wednesday as part of the Arizona State squad.David Puig sounds bitter he has not received European Tour sponsor’s exemptions but still dreams of playing the PGA Tour. He’s taking an NIL deal to appear, as Ryan Lavner reports after hearing Puig’s thoughts.

Current U.S. Amateur champion James Piot is also playing in London and teeing up in this week’s Memorial. Ah the spirit of Bobby Jones…is gone.

As for Phil Mickelson? Morning Read’s Bob Harig says this is still just a field of 42 and more openings means Phil’s probably just waiting as long as possible. You know, because that grey Old Tom beard will be tough to say goodbye to.

Tiger On Legacy Golf, Where He Disagrees With Phil And Players Who Want Guaranteed Money

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Tiger Woods gave his most detailed set of comments to date on the PGA Tour v. LIV Golf and Phil Mickelson.

I have little to add other than the question and context.

On Mickelson not being at Southern Hills to defend his PGA Championship victory:

It's always disappointing when the defending champion not here. Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the Tour and committed to the legacy of the TOUR have pushed back against, and he's taken some personal time, and we all understand that. But I think that some of his views on how the Tour could be run, should be run, been a lot of disagreement there. But as we all know, as a professional, we miss him being out here. I mean, he's a big draw for the game of golf. He's just taking his time and we all wish him the best when he comes back. Obviously we're going to have difference of opinions, how he sees the Tour, and we'll go from there.

On Phil’s position:

“I don't know if he has to resolve it or not. You know, he has his opinion on where he sees the game of golf going. You know, I have my viewpoint how I see the game of golf, and I've supported the TOUR and my foundation has run events on the TOUR for a number of years.

“I just think that what Jack and Arnold have done in starting the TOUR and breaking away from the PGA of America and creating our tour in '68 or '69, somewhere in there, I just think there's a legacy to that. I've been playing out here for a couple of years over decades, and I think there's a legacy do it. I still think that the TOUR has so much to offer, so much opportunity.

“I believe in legacies. I believe in major championships. I believe in big events, comparisons to historical figures of the past. There's plenty of money out here. The Tour is growing. But it's just like any other sport. It's like tennis. You have to go out there and earn it. You've got to go out there and play for it. We have opportunity to go ahead and do it. It's just not guaranteed up front.”

He played this with a straight face but you have to think he was enjoying this question about rights fees, events and Mickelson’s brief and pitiful role as a tournament “host” in the old Bob Hope, now the American Express.

”I can't speak for him not knowing and understanding that. I'm sure he probably does have an
understanding of that because he was the host of the old Bob Hope. So since he was the host of the event, I'm sure he probably understands it, and plus, he hosts the event up there in Napa Valley. He understands it, and there is -- there is a rights fee to having events and understanding it. And we negotiate with the Tour and whether it's one-off day events like we have with matches under the lights like I used to do back in the old days, or it's regular Tour events, each tournament is different. Obviously there is right fees that have to be paid, and we understand that. Obviously we go in there as events and try and negotiate that down as low as possible, and try and make as much money as we can for the local events.”

And on whether he’s reached out to Phil:

”I have not reached out to him. I have not spoken to him. A lot of it has not to do with I think personal issues. It was our viewpoints of how the Tour should be run and could be run, and what players are playing for and how we are playing for it. I have a completely different stance on, and so no, I have not.”

Euro Tour Player On Playing For Saudi Arabia: "It’s time to stand up" And Boycott

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Journeyman Mike Lorenzo-Vera spoke out to Tom Kershaw about the question of taking Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia money. (Thanks to reader B for sending.)

His views were shaped after watching a BBC documentary on the war in Yemen.

“If you go to the players’ lounge at any time, at least one table is speaking about [the LIV Series],” he tells The Independent. “Even me, I’d love to play for that amount of money as well for my family, my passions, but there is a time when you need to stand up a little bit and be a human being. I know there are players who are uncomfortable with it but it feels like they are staying quiet just in case there’s a piece of the cake coming to them one day. Some players will speak but the crowd needs to boycott it as well, don’t go there.”

Lorenzo-Vera also mocked the format:

Until such a rival league is properly established, though, Lorenzo-Vera likens the invitational events, which will be played over 54 holes without a cut, to a “comedy show”.

“If you play like s***, you still take a hundred grand,” he says. “The guys at the top will be fighting but for the rest, it’s like a paid holiday. The format is not golf. It’s just a show.”

Homa In Form, Phil's PGA Status And Pebble's 8th Gets A Green Fix

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Petulance Just Got Real! Sergio Has Only A Few More Weeks On The PGA Tour!

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This is going to be tough to swallow. The emotions, the sadness, the outright misery that this man has had to endure playing the PGA Tour as a relentlessly brooding, temper-tantrum prone, club-hurling, green vandalizing jagwagon may be coming to an end. Oh, and say goodbye to a Ryder Cup captaincy, too.

Having hit his shot into the TPC Potomac’s 10th hole junk, Sergio Garcia vented his case for leniency to a PGA Tour rules official over the commencement of timing for his lost ball search. (See below for an update on that.)

"I can't wait to get out of here,” the miserable said not in reference to the overgrown penalty area, but we would soon find out, in reference to the PGA Tour. Then after more of his signature whining and petulance when he didn’t get his way, Sergio announced he’s going to be taking up residence on the LIV Golf tour where the slogan is, “Shot Just Got Real".

"I can't wait to leave this tour. ... I can't wait to get out of here, my friend,” the wee one said.

And just to be sure we were unclear, the 2017 Masters champion wrapped things up with: "a couple of more weeks, I don't have to deal with you anymore."

Though PGA Tour rules officials work all four major championships, something Garcia would know if he actually interacted with humans in an adult manner.

Garcia did not speak to reporters after his Wells Fargo opening round, but his agent did confirm that his client has sought a release for the first LIV event.

The full video from PGA Tour Live of what may be one of his final rounds on the PGA Tour…until he comes crawling back next year:

**The PGA Tour issued this statement explaining that the official was mistaken in his timing the lost ball search. However, because Garcia entered a marked penalty area, dropped and incurred a one-stroke penalty, there is no change to his score. But some lucky person got to notify him he was in the right. I’m sure he handled it with dignity!

PGL To Players: Time To Tell The Board To Listen

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You can only get your phone calls and enquiries not returned for so long!

After trying to work with the PGA Tour, the Premier Golf League’s World Golf Group has decided to plea directly to players for consideration of their pro golf model. The timing speaks to some momentum for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf and little progress in convincing the PGA Tour and DP World Tour’s to contemplate major changes.

The letter was sent to players and essentially calls BS on a couple of key points, namely that the PGA Tour vetted the proposals through Allen & Co. And of course, noting that Jay Monahan “works for you” also is a concession that the commissioner is still not interested in a discussion.

It also remains confounding that a bunch of players who did nothing but be in the right place at the right time would get $2 million.

Stay tuned!

SBJ: LIV Golf Close To Landing PGA Tour's Preferred Production Company; Discussions With Fox Have Died

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Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand says the LIV Golf group has awarded a production deal bid to NEP Group, which also handles general production for the PGA Tour.

Awkward alert!

As Ourand notes, the PGA Tour has understandably been trying to discourage such deals by its partners.

That’s because NEP already has a deep relationship with the PGA Tour, which has been dissuading its corporate partners from working with the Saudi-backed upstart league.

Essentially, the PGA Tour’s partners have to decide whether it’s worth the risk of angering tour executives in order to grow their business — and presumably cash a big check — with LIV Golf.

For the most part, the PGA Tour’s messaging has been delivered. If NEP signs a deal, it would become one of the only companies to work with both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

NEP has been the Tour’s partner as it took control of on the television compounds at their events. It’s led to noticeably upgraded PGA Tour Live coverage on ESPN+.

Ourand also has this on LIV’s efforts to land a major media partner:

The other big question is who will carry the LIV Golf events in the U.S., considering that most of the big U.S.-based media companies already have deep relationships with the PGA Tour. Sources said LIV Golf had discussions about doing a deal with Fox, but those talks died down weeks ago.

Five Families Would Be Wise To Steer Clear Of The Tours v. Greg & The Sportwashing Saudi's

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There are no sound reasons I could come up with for the Masters, USGA, R&A and PGA of America to uphold possible player suspensions and risk legal exposure should Jay Monahan suspend players over U.S. appearances for LIV Golf’s series.

Things are good right now for the other Families and it sounds like they know it. My latest Quadrilateral.

Norman: Players Had Cashed The Checks Until Mickelson's Remarks

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A Greg Norman interview with ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach is getting a lot of attention for the Shark opening up even more about “negative momentum” Phil Mickelson’s “scary m&^%$#@&^’s” characterization caused the startup LIV Golf.

I found a couple of other remarks more telling and they probably kept conversation lively around the Global Home’s pizza maker today.

"Quite honestly, we were ready to launch on the Tuesday or Wednesday of Genesis," Norman said. "We had enough players in our strength of field, or minimal viable product, ready to come on board. And when all of that happened, everybody got the jitters, and the PGA Tour threatened people with lifetime bans and stuff like that."

Norman said a handful of the players who had previously signed with LIV Golf have remained committed to play in the series, which now includes eight events -- including five in the U.S.

Norman said they had 15 of the world top 50 at the time committed to play in what was a league concept then and is now a come-as-you-please tour with a team event at the end. If he’s to be believed—always an if with the Shark—that would have been a more significant number of top players than the current 15 of the top 100 most recently estimated.

But this was a shocker:

"To this day, we still have players under contract and signed," Norman said. "The ones who wanted to get out because of the pressure of the PGA Tour gave back their money and got out. Guys had money in their pockets."

So according to the Shark money was wired and returned.

Which would suggest a sizable number of players were and probably will continue to have no qualms about the money source, a significant problem for the existing Tours who have either done business with Saudi Arabia (European Tour) or are afraid to question the source (PGA Tour).

Yet who is proudly all in and publicly committed to the LIV events?

Lawrenson: LIV Event At St Albans Will Test European Tour's Ryder Cup Captaincy Threat

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The Daily Mail’s Derek Lawrenson considers news of Phil Mickelson possibly returning and going for the Saudi money he knows is controlled by a murderer.

And in doing so Lawrenson notes two key points worth keeping an eye on:

The interesting thing will be if the DP World Tour follow through with their threat to prevent anyone who signs up for a Saudi event from becoming a Ryder Cup captain in the future.

It looks as if Westwood, Poulter and Garcia — three shoo-ins for the job under normal circumstances — are ready to call their bluff and see who blinks first. It would certainly damage the credibility of the Ryder Cup if all three were overlooked for the post.

That’s an understatement. It would be a stunner given how all three have seemed like locks to one day wear $1900 jumpers and drive the bright blue buggies of the DP World Team, I mean, Europe.

He also offers this reminder about all of the money talk surrounding the world of golf.

There's a war going on, people are struggling everywhere to pay their bills, and yet 48 golfers, half of whom will be journeymen at best, will play a glorified exhibition 54-hole tournament for a $4million first prize, with even last place getting $120,000.

Is it possible to conceive a worse optic for golf than that?

Discovery Head Of Streaming Says Move Into Golf Has Been A Failure

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In reporting on Warner Bros. Discovery’s sudden shuttering of CNN+, the New York Times’ Michael Grynbaum and John Koblin obtained a staff meeting audio recording where executives explained the decision.

JB Perrette, Discovery’s global head of streaming, explained the struggle his company has had with streaming launches. This includes GolfTV, which is paying $2 billion over 12 years for PGA Tour international streaming rights.

To the left of Mr. Licht sat Mr. Perrette of Discovery. He invoked tweets that called the service “CNN Minus,” because it did not include any programming from CNN’s cable network, “the global calling card of this new organization,” he said. (CNN+ carried only unique programming to avoid running afoul of CNN’s agreements with cable carriers.)

Mr. Perrette also referred to Discovery’s own “painful” history of starting niche streaming services — focused on cars, food and golf — and said they were costly to market and ended up with few subscribers.

“We have failed almost at every turn launching these products,” he said, according to the recording.

The “failed” launch started in 2019 after Discovery CEO David Zaslav said would be a "golf Netflix” and Tiger Woods declared would bring “new youngness” to the game.

Discovery also purchased Golf Digest in May, 2019.

"Presidents Cup makes long-term commitment to Melbourne; set to return in 2028 and 2040"

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Two more editions to come. Will it be Royal Melbourne or will another venue get the opportunity?

Presidents Cup makes long-term commitment to Melbourne; set to return in 2028 and 2040

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA, USA, and MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – The PGA TOUR today announced a long-term commitment to staging the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, with the biennial global team competition set to return to the iconic Sandbelt in 2028 and 2040. The 2028 Presidents Cup will mark the event’s fourth visit to Melbourne, matching Gainesville (Virginia, USA) for most Cups contested in one city.

The venue for the 2028 Presidents Cup will be announced at a later date. The Presidents Cup was staged at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in its three previous trips to Melbourne (1998, 2011, 2019), with the International Team defeating the U.S. Team in 1998 under the leadership of the late Peter Thomson, while the U.S. Team claimed the Cup in 2011 and 2019.

“Since the Presidents Cup was first staged in Melbourne in 1998, Australia and its passionate fanbase have played a leading role in the growth of the Presidents Cup,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “As the event continues to visit new corners of the globe, we remain committed to a presence in Melbourne and the Sandbelt region, a place our players and fans around the world hold in high regard. Our partnership with State of Victoria and Visit Victoria has been a winning combination, and we’re thrilled with the support we’ve received from Premier Andrews in securing the 2028 and 2040 dates.”

Australia was the Presidents Cup’s first international destination, and has since visited South Africa (2003), Canada (2007) and Korea (2015) in addition to twice returning to Australia.

“Securing two more Presidents Cups is a real coup for Melbourne, promoting our city to the world and providing a boost for tourism and jobs,” said Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula.

The Presidents Cup was last played in 2019 at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, which saw the U.S. Team mount a thrilling comeback on the final day to claim victory over a renewed International Team in Australia. The Presidents Cup will return in 2022 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 20-25, following a one-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re delighted that the Presidents Cup will be back in 2028 and 2040, cementing Melbourne’s position as a global events destination and the major events capital of Australia,” said Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements.