Sergio Was Caught By Surprise At Sergio Damaging Greens, Melting Down

You may recall a year ago, while trying to grow the game for an approximate $640,000 appearance fee, Sergio Garcia was DQ’d for damaging greens and unfurled one of the most power temper tantrums in his portfolio of pouting.

A year later, he’s giving the Saudi’s a comp’d return appearance.

From Martin Dempster’s Scotsman report on Sergio returning and admitting his surprise that Sergio would act that way.

“It was tough and is something that you never want to be a part of, and it kind of catches you by surprise," said Garcia when asked about his last visit here.

He went on to mention family and the pressures of the public eye starting at a young age.

Coronavirus: LPGA Cancels Blue Bay Event, Will European Tour Be Next?

The LPGA Tour’s Statement on the Blue Bay LPGA:

Given the current health concerns and significant travel restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus in China, the LPGA along with our partners in China have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Blue Bay LPGA, which was scheduled to take place March 5-8 on Hainan Island. Any time you cancel an event, it is a difficult decision and we appreciate how hard our title partner (Blue Bay), IMG, the China LPGA and the China Golf Association have worked to host an incredible event. The health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority. While we are disappointed that the tournament won’t take place this season, we look forward to going back to Blue Bay in 2021 and for many years to come.

The next significant golf event scheduled for the country deemed unsafe for Americans to travel to: the European Tour’s Volvo China Open, April 23-26.

The Regionals: Premier Golf League Has A Feeder Tour Concept In Mind, Too

I recently mentioned on a podcast or two what I saw as one apparent gaping hole in the World Golf Group’s proposed Premier Golf League: where will the next stars come from? And where might players struggling in the league lland if they are not playing at an elite level?

Turns out, the group addressed this too.

Anyone can imagine forming a 12-team, 48 player league now that we’ve seen basic details. But golfers come and go. Games peak and deteriorate. It’s a cruel sport.

As we’ve seen in recent years, fans, marketers and the precious M’s are eager to see new talents break through.

The PGA Tour and European Tour, at their finest, showcase elite talents but prove just as satisfying when a journeyman makes a life changing run or a young player graduates to the winner’s circle.

The World Golf Group has actually addressed finding a place for 264 professionals. A well-placed source highlighted plans for “The Regional Series” to bring more players into the Premier Golf League equation.

The key points:

—Planned as a year-two concept following the establishment of the primary Premier Golf League. This means 2023, based on the current proposed timing.

—The “tiered feeder structure” plays under a “Global Series” format, featuring three tiers defined by region: America, Europe and Asia.

—It will provide “enhanced earning opportunities for the “leading 264 touring professionals” to “cater for and enfranchise the next layer of professional golfers and generate a coherent, compelling and correlated, multi- layered seasonal narrative." B-speak translation: feeder tours taking on the PGA Tour/Korn Ferry/Asian Tour/European Tour.

—The three regions will each create a winner and provide “guaranteed, exclusive access to the Premier Golf League.”

—The Premier Golf League intends to fill “any gap” in earnings compared to current standards on their respective tours, and offer this less-than-subtle jab: “although should such a situation arise it would suggest that the leading players are currently subsidizing the earnings of less well-known players on existing tours.”

—The PGL will pay a “subsistence fee” to cover travel and accommodation costs.

Obviously, there are still huge questions to answer about available venues, media interest and just how many players not invited to the initial Premier League would jump ship. But this does at least address how the organizers have envisioned the development of stars, or redevelopment of top talent.

We've Got A Taker! JT Vows To Play Olympics Under All Scenarios If He Qualifies

Finally a top male pro golfers is vowing to play Tokyo, one who is currently qualified and based on recent play seems destined to make it.

Will Gray on Justin Thomas, sending a different message than Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson this week about turning up at the 2020 Olympic Games.

“There’s no scenario for me (to skip the Olympics if qualified),” Thomas said. “It’s just different. It’s once in every four years, and you have the opportunity to do it.”

Now just need to get this awful coronavirus under wraps and all should be fine.

Mitzvah Alert: Mickelson Plays Saudi Pro-Am With Premier Golf League Founders

The Scotsman’s Martin Dempster tells us the amazing coincidence of all amazing coincidences: Phil Mickelson was paired up in Saudi Arabia’s European Tour pro-am round with founders of the Saudi-backed Premier Golf League.

After playing with Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation, Colin Neville, of The Raine Group, London financier Andrew Gardiner and one other man only identified as “Richard,” Dempster quotes Mickelson has fascinated by the league concept.

“It was fascinating to talk with them and ask some questions and see what their plans are. Where they started, how they started, why and just got their background, which was very interesting.

“I haven’t had the chance to put it all together and think about what I want to say about it publicly, but I do think it was an informative day for me to have the chance to spend time with them.”

Who says pro-am rounds are a waste of time!

Whew: Ratings Return Without NFL, Return Of Stars At 2020 Farmers Insurance Open

Nice to see Showbuzzdaily numbers that do not have golf competing for placement against nature program reruns. Amazing what happens when stars play and the NFL takes the weekend off!

The 2020 Farmers Insurance Open was the weekend’s second most-watched sports telecast and drew a healthy average of 3.2 million viewers and a half-million from the 18-49 y.o. demographic.

Early Sunday coverage on Golf Channel topped the million mark as well, while the first three rounds also did some nice numbers.

PGA Tour Digs In To Ward Off "Team Golf Concept" With Threats

I’m picturing a quaint scene down in Ponte Vedra Beach. Former Commissioner Tim Finchem, his reddish-brown-blond hair having turned grey in retirement, sitting in a wicker chair, sipping vino as his replacement Jay Monahan stops by one afternoon. The mentor knows what’s up: Monahan needs advice on how to handle the Premier Golf League.

“How’re your girls?” Finchem asks.

“They’re smarter than I am,” Monahan says. “They would have seen that adding more and more tournaments, even if it meant begging Guy Boros to play despite being retired for ten years, was a terrible idea.”

“What about this Premier Golf League business?”

“I’ll handle it.”

“I never wanted this for you,” Finchem says, weepy. Now remember, ''Whoever comes to you with this Premier Golf League meeting, he's the traitor, don't forget that.”

If only the current predicament were so cinematic.

Actually, Monahan is maintaining the hard line approach his predecessor took against subversives, according to reporters who have seen the PGA Tour Commissioner’s email to players and first reported on yesterday: the PGL is a hostile bid and releases will not be granted.

Rex Hoggard quotes from the email to players in this GolfChannel.com item.

Although funding information for the Premier Golf League has been vague, Monahan’s letter references “funding from Saudi interests” and adds, “We understand that Team Golf Concept is focused on securing player commitments first as they have no sponsorship or media offerings or rights.”

At last week’s player meeting, Monahan outlined “significant increases in prize money and comprehensive earnings over the next decade [on the PGA Tour]” as a result of new media rights deals and other revenue streams. He also appeared to draw a tough line for any players who may be interested in the Premier Golf League.

“If the Team Golf Concept or another iteration of this structure becomes a reality in 2022 or at any time before or after, our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series,” Monahan wrote.

Well ok then, no releases will be coming and once you go, there is no coming back.

Noteworthy: Monahan citing the PGL’s lack of media “offerings or rights” to the players, just as news of ESPN+’s PGA Tour deal would soon and magically get out. And this on top of early news of the Players purse increase soon after news of the hostile Premier league was revealed here.

Golf Gods work in mysterious ways!

But most incredible of all is Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com story about the release issue and Premier Golf League, where he quotes a Player Advisory Council member not seeing it happening. But it’s deep in the piece where a line that will make all sponsors, TV executives and non-top 50 players stop in their tracks.

And yet changes could be on the horizon. According to one source, Monahan had a conversation last week with McIlroy and Rickie Fowler about the potential new league, during which he expressed his concerns about the sustainability of the status quo for the PGA Tour in the long term.

As the tour has stockpiled events, built a wraparound schedule—despite warnings that it was oversaturating the product—and created playoffs doling out big cash and mediocre ratings, the Commissioner may be acknowledging the status quo is not sustainable on the cusp of signing new media deals to fund…the status quo.

Koepka's Non-Committal Olympic Commital Sounds Like He's Committed To Passing

And now the world No. 1 sounds less than excited about Olympic golf.

From G.C. Digital on Brooks Koepka not exactly giving the impression Olympic golf is even 10th on his priority list this year.

 “It just all kind of depends on how you feel, how your body feels,” Koepka told reporters. “To me, the four majors are definitely more important for me. The FedExCup, too. That’s a goal of mine. We’ll see where everything else falls.”

Coupled with Dustin Johnson also sounding uninspired, this is a reminder of the format’s fatal flaw as an individual competition: players on the fence will not be letting teammates down.

Anticipating the stress of a condensed major season, some arm twisting to play the WGC in Memphis and of course, the playoffs, it is hardly a surprise that an appearance fee-free trip to Japan falls down the list of tournaments to play for players who generally play limited schedules as is.

AP: ESPN+ To Land PGA Tour Live Rights

The PGA Tour has reportedly made the wise move for all of its TV partners by awarding the PGA Tour Live streaming package to ESPN+, according to this unbylined AP report. The package of pre-telecast coverage is currently offered by NBC Sports Gold through the end of 2019.

From the report:

It would not be the first time ESPN+ has shown the PGA Tour. It had a portion of PGA Tour Live in 2018 — it was run by BAMTech, of which Disney had acquired a controlling stake the previous summer. PGA Tour Live moved to NBC Sports Gold for 2019 and this year.

ESPN previously won the rights to weekday coverage of the PGA Championship starting this year at Harding Park and plans to offer supplemental feeds on ESPN+.

While I’m a Golf Channel contributor and therefore rooting for their properties to succeed, getting ESPN involved in the next media rights deal is a fantastic coup for all involved with the PGA Tour, including rival broadcasters.

Not only does this assure coverage on millions of devices having access to the pre-telecast coverage via ESPN+’s app (as opposed to a smaller audience paying one fee just for PGA Tour Live), a partnership with ESPN means continued Sportscenter coverage, a partnership with Disney and a visibility for golf that no one else in streaming can deliver short of Netflix or Amazon.

As I wrote back in December, the USGA made a huge mistake saying goodbye to the Worldwide Leader and I’m glad the PGA Tour learned from such a mistake.

ESPN+ is estimated to reach 3.5 million devices as of November, 2019. It can also be bundled alongside Hulu and Disney+ for just the low, low price of $12.99 a month. The Mandalorian alone is worth that alone!

This also means that if the rumors are true, the PGA Tour’s next deal will have them in partnership with Comcast, Viacom, Disney and Discovery Networks. While that leaves out Fox, it’s still a pretty stout set of major media company partners.

Dustin Johnson Wonders If Olympic Golf Will Fit His Schedule

Currently easily in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games based on his No. 5 world ranking position, Dustin Johnson wondered aloud if the event falling 11 days after The Open Championship will fit his schedule.

OlympicTalk at NBCSports.com reports on Johnson’s comments ahead of his appearance in Saudi Arabia this week.

“Obviously representing the United States in the Olympics is something that, you know, definitely be proud to do,” he said when asked if the Ryder Cup and the Olympics are goals this year. “But is it going to fit in the schedule properly? I’m not really sure about that, because there’s so many events that are right there and leading up to it. So you know, I’m still working with my team to figure out what’s the best thing for me to do.”

Report: Monahan Tells Players Premier Golf League "Recently secured funding from Saudi interests"

My initial report on the World Golf Group’s proposal noted that Middle East money was part of the funding, but a release by the group in response sought to distance the effort from that. Instead, the Raine Group was suggested as the financing arm of the proposed Premier Golf League.

However, No Laying Up’s Tron Carter shared portions of a redacted version of an email sent to players by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan vowing to enforce current regulations while noting the investment from Saudi Arabia. The email also suggests substantial guarantees for the 12 team owners that would make up the initial iteration of this competing tour.

Presumably, Monahan is highlighting the likelihood that the loathsome Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is involved, and that players would essentially be taking a form of dirty money. Certainly a huge consideration in all of these machinations.

And yet, as the European Tour returns to Saudi Arabia this week, it should be noted that several top PGA Tour members are playing thanks to releases from the PGA Tour.

Speaking of the Saudi event, Morning Read’s Dave Seanor considers the effort to “grow the game” this week and the issues arising from golf’s dance with the Kingdom.

Rahm Was Not Aware He Needed To Eagle The Last Hole To Force Farmers Playoff

With everyone’s minds on Kobe Bryant’s untimely passing, admittedly the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open outcome become secondary at best. Marc Leishman ultimately prevailed by one over Jon Rahm who left an 18th hole eagle putt just short.

Turns out, Rahm was not aware he needed the eagle putt to go in at 18.

From GolfDigest.com’s John Strege:

“What people probably don’t know is that on 18, after I made that [birdie] putt on 17, I never looked at the scoreboard, so as far as I was concerned I was … one back. So with a birdie I was going to be in a playoff.

“That putt, that’s a tough putt. You can’t just ram it by 10 feet. It’s just not going to go in. So I did hit it with trying to make it with perfect speed thinking a two-putt would get into a playoff, but when [caddie] Adam [Hayes] told me the news, he’s like, ‘Hey, good try.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean? We’re in a playoff.’ He’s like, ‘Nope, he birdied 18.’ ”

There’s one for the ole, watch your leaderboards, kids.

We discussed on Golf Central:

1:25 2:26

(Emergency) State Of The Game 101: The Premier Golf League Bombshell

Rod Morri, Mike Clayton and I convened an emergency State of the Game to flesh out details and potential consequences of the proposed Premier Golf League, first revealed here last week.

iTunes users can find and subscribe here. Or listen on your preferred podcast device. Or here:

One Night Only: Feherty And McCord Reuniting, For Now

Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic learns from David Feherty of a one-night reunion with his former CBS sidekick Gary McCord.

Instead of his normal standup, Feherty will do his first half then return with McCord at Phoenix’s Orpheum theater. He says “God knows where this is going to go.”

This should be a lively evening given McCord’s recent non-renewal from CBS and believe that he was unfairly blamed for the state of their broadcasts. James Colgan at Golf.com with that backstory.

Given last weekend’s rough start for CBS, he may be smarting even more.

As for Feherty, he had some good things to say in the discussion with Goodykoontz. Including this:

Q: Do golf announcers take themselves too seriously sometimes?

A: Oh, without question, I think every sport does. The bottom line is it’s a game, it’s a diversion from everyday life. It shouldn’t be taken that seriously. There’s a whole lot of things more important (laughs).

Q: I don’t want to leave the impression that all you and McCord ever did was make jokes. You make serious calls, too.

A: There’s a time to do that and a time to have fun. It’s recognizing the difference, I think. It’s still golf.

Q: And if it’s going well, you comment on that.

A: It can also be bad. We’ve had telecasts where I thought, (expletive), it’s like a pro-am broke out. I mean, these guys can’t play at all. That’s when the broadcaster earns his money — when it’s not so good on the screen. I trust viewers to be able to watch. It’s a visual medium. When the golf is really good, it needs punctuation, and that’s all.

Premier Golf League Also Intends To Expand Concept To Women's Golf

While the questions will keep coming over the proposed series of 18 events and pro golf “league”, one question I’ve received from some: will they go after the women’s game as well?

Documents I’ve seen do refer to a “women’s format” and an effort to “cooperate with the LPGA” to establish an identical format of individual events along with a team component.

The World Golf Group also intends to, “where appropriate, operate a complementary schedule enabling both formats to share and thereby reduce aggregate event and production costs.”

Since those documents, the LPGA Tour has merged with the LET and Alistair Tait looks at the gamble Commissioner Mike Whan is taking. The European Tour is a partner and their efforts now figure to at some point potentially involve discussions about “The League” and how it might impact the women’s game.

On Sunday, the Morning Drive gang considered the Premier Golf League concept: