Saudi International Commit List Sporting Some Big Names And Under-40's

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The lure of testing the game out on storied Royal Greens can never be underestimated, but more germane to the topic du jour it seems the Saudi’s are offering attractive appearance fees for this year’s edition. Now co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the former European Tour stop will be February 3-6, 2022. The Saudi International is the same week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Barring some sort of threat to the independent contractors that changes minds, these players will be defying the PGA Tour and DP World Tour threats of fines by playing. The Tours have until 30 days prior to the event to agree to or deny a waiver to play. As reported last week by the Telegraph, the DP World Tour leadership can now fine players whatever they like for playing a competing event.

It does not appear to have scared away some big names based on the commit list updated at Golf Saudi’s website:

  • Abraham Ancer

  • Adri Arnaus

  • Rafael Cabrera Bello

  • Paul Casey

  • Bryson DeChambeau

  • Jason Dufner

  • Tommy Fleetwood

  • Sergio Garcia

  • Tyrrell Hatton

  • Dustin Johnson

  • Jason Kokrak

  • Shane Lowry

  • Graeme McDowell

  • Phil Mickelson

  • Kevin Na

  • Joaquin Niemann

  • Louis Oosthuizen

  • Ian Poulter

  • Xander Schauffele

  • Adam Scott

  • Henrik Stenson

  • Harold Varner III

  • Jhonattan Vegas

  • Bubba Watson

  • Lee Westwood

Biggest surprises? Xander Schauffele for sure. Maybe Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson and Joaquin Niemann, too.

Schauffele is schedule to meet with media Wednesday at the Hero World Challenge.

Chutzpah Alert! European Tour Chief To Punish Players Teeing Up In Saudi Event He Helped Create

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Keith Pelley and Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan in happier times

It wasn’t long ago that Europe…DP World Tour Chief Keith Pelley was slobbering all over Saudi Arabia and it’s desire to host golf tournaments, defending the due diligence his Tour did in partnering with people who do awful things to other people on a fairly regular basis, and overall just perplexed anyone would question the decision to partner with the Kingdom even after a journalist was murdered and chopped into pieces.

But playing a competing tour? Now the hammer drops!

As James Corrigan reports, it seems the threat of Saudis poaching current European Tour members has Pelley going to the Chief Executive equivalent of a sharp sword. Those who want to play in the former European Tour event planned for March at Royal Greens—not that kind of Royal—will get treated very, very badly.

But Telegraph Sport understands that the Tour and its chief executive, Keith Pelley, are not willing to compromise and will sanction any member who decides to play regardless. Except, in a calculated move by the Tour, the type and the scale of the punishment will not be revealed to the rebels until after the event.

Cue the Frankenstein analogies!

Financial Times On "The Saudi-backed plan to shake up the sport"

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Samuel Agini of the Financial Times explores the Saudi efforts to start a golf league and does a nice job reviewing how we got to the point. In the way of original reporting, he gets some comments from Callaway’s Chip Brewer, the R&A’s Martin Slumbers and a strange “statement” from the PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan. So two of the three like the FT and felt it was worth the time to call back.

But I think what I enjoyed most is a reminder that we will get to hear Greg Norman act like he thought of things that are just totally stolen from the Premier Golf League concept. Like this on franchising:

But the structure of golf means teams cannot be bought and sold. Unlike in football and basketball, golfers are individual contractors. They work for themselves, while the tours run competitions, aggregate media rights and monetise the coverage. Despite the apparent independence of players, they typically require permission from their member tour if they are to play on rival circuits. Norman argues that this model is a missed financial opportunity. “You look at that value that’s been generated through other sports, for other players and other franchises,” he says. “Golf has never recognised that or had the ability to capture that market.”

As for quotes, the R&A’s Slumbers tried to distinguish between investment and blowing up the current structure, though he doesn’t make a case for why the current structure is that special.

He distinguishes between LIV proposals for breakaway golf leagues and initiatives such as oil company Saudi Aramco’s sponsorship of the Ladies European Tour, the women’s golf group of which Slumbers is a board member. “I think there is a difference between wanting to invest and support within the current structure and wanting to be a disrupter,” he says.

The writer only got this from Jay Monahan…

“The PGA Tour is stronger than at any time in our history and the game of golf has unprecedented momentum,” Monahan said in an emailed statement. “We are positioned to grow faster in the next 10 years than at any other point in our existence.”

I don’t even think that’s a non-denial, denial. More like a non-answer, answer.

It’s a bold strategy to only pump money to purses and bonus pools without investing fans in an exciting new future that makes them sentimental for the current model. I realize that would require caring about the fans above all else.

Did Lee Westwood Pass Up Ryder Cup Captaincy For The Saudis?

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I didn’t think too much about Lee Westwood announcing he was withdrawing from consideration for the 2023 Ryder Cup captaincy. The Telegraph’s James Corrigan had that story.

But then the Daily Mail’s Derek Lawrenson suggested this may mean more than simply Westwood having high hopes for his game over the next two years and I think he’s right. Therefore…

A full Quadrilateral analysis of what this might mean.

PIP: “What they should have done is taken all $40 [million] of it and sent it to Tiger and say, thank you"

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Rex Hoggard looks at the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program as the exciting, unpredictable season-long race for Meltwater Mentions nears its secretive conclusion. He quotes several players who either do not understand it or care for the program’s secrecy.

“No idea,” Herman laughed when asked to explain how the PIP list is created. “I wish we had a list. I wish we knew, so if a guy is on the list and he’s close and had an idea of what they needed to do to crack the top 10. That’s the hardest part for the rest of us. They are throwing a lot of money out there without a real good understanding of how you can crack the top 10. We feel like it’s a popularity contest.”

According to various sources, the Tour will not show the entire list to players but will tell each player where they are on the list, which only seems to fuel the confusion over how the list is compiled.

And these fellows cut right to the chase:

“It’s a way for Tiger Woods to be rewarded even more for what he’s done for the game of golf,” Chesson Hadley said.

But while every player agrees with Hadley that Woods will be atop the PIP list, it remains unclear how his single-vehicle crash in February and the ensuing media coverage of the accident should be factored into his index score.

Monahan explained at East Lake that the point of the program is to get “players to engage in our game, help grow our Tour, and help grow their own respective brands.” But where exposure ends and controversy begins, is anyone’s guess.

“What they should have done is taken all $40 [million] of it and sent it to Tiger and say, thank you,” Scott Stallings said. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. When he posted that picture of himself on crutches it outperformed the last four tournament winners [on social media]. If he even tried it’s over.”

"$64K question: Did exclusive Charlotte golf club dupe pro baseball player into joining?"

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The Charlotte Observers Michael Gordon with the bizarre story of San Diego Padre Wil Myers getting sued by Charlotte’s Carmel Country Club and then countersuing in what can only be called the First World at its Finest.

The short version: Myers joined the club, the pandemic hit and tee times became tough to get. Hardly a news story to any golfer. But the story gets strange given that Myers will make $22.5 million next year and is being sued for non-payment after resigning due to the lack of availability.

According to Myers’ counter-claim, all of this came as an unpleasant surprise. He said he joined the club after being assured that there were ample tee times available on both of Carmel’s courses. Instead, according to his court filing, Myers “found it almost impossible to find a tee time and frequently could not even use the driving range.” He and Margaret resigned their membership in December, telling the club that they had been duped into paying for golf privileges that they couldn’t enjoy. The club responded by citing the provisions of the Myerses’ membership contract and billing them for the $64,000 initiation balance, with a due date of Dec. 31, 2020, and some $785 in outstanding golf shop purchases and overdue charges. Carmel sued last March.

Myers fired back in June, claiming in his countersuit that he and his wife had been victimized by Carmel’s “knowing misrepresentations and omissions” which his complaint described as “immoral, unethical and unscrupulous.”

That seems a tad excessive.

Askernish: "This was and is golf in its purest form. Raw and wild."

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Much has been written of Old Tom Morris’ recaptured links at Askernish, but it was still nice to see it captured in this BBC episode of Scotland From The Sky. Golf architect Gordon Irvine is interviewed about his role in resurrecting the links and the pesticide-free maintenance approach.

You can watch via the BBC media player or in the Tweet below:

Major(s) News And Notes: November 25th, 2021

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2022 PGA Tour Broadcast Schedule: CBS Goes International, NBC Gets The Playoffs, ESPN+ To Have Four Daily Live Streams

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No major surprises on the 2022 broadcast schedule that commences a new television contract and with it, hopefully noticeable improvements on the streaming side now that a majority of production is to be under one umbrella. CBS has 20 events to NBC’s 12, with ESPN+ taking over from NBC Sports.

Details remain at a premium but we did get confirmation of four daily streams fed to ESPN+ starting with the American Express in La Quinta.

For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR announces broadcast schedule for media partners NBC Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN+ for 2022

  • CBS Sports to feature 20 events and kicks off 2022 network coverage with the Farmers Insurance Open featuring the first scheduled Saturday finish on the PGA TOUR since 1996

  • NBC to televise all three FedExCup Playoffs events in August of 2022

  • ESPN+ to take over distribution of PGA TOUR LIVE and increase live coverage to four streaming channels

 PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today the network and cable schedule for the 2022 portion of the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule, with CBS Sports (20 events) and NBC (12 events) maintaining weekend coverage for the majority of FedExCup tournaments. 

Under the new, nine-year domestic media rights agreements with ViacomCBS and Comcast NBCUniversal that begins in 2022, one network will televise all three FedExCup Playoffs events each year, starting with NBC in 2022, creating powerful, three-week coverage of the conclusion of the race for the FedExCup. CBS Sports will carry all three FedExCup Playoffs events in 2023. 

CBS Sports kicks off 2022 network coverage at the Farmers Insurance Open, January 28 and 29, on the CBS Television Network and streaming live on Paramount+. With a crowded sports weekend, the event features the first scheduled Saturday final round since 1996 that will have Friday and Saturday evening viewing on the East Coast with the broadcast ending at 8 p.m. ET both days.                    

NBC Sports will continue as the TOUR’s cable partner, with GOLF Channel providing early-round coverage and lead-in weekend coverage of every FedExCup event. GOLF Channel will also carry four-round coverage for six events.

PGA TOUR LIVE – the PGA TOUR’s subscription video service that was launched in 2015 – will make its 2022 debut with new over-the-top streaming (OTT) partner ESPN+ at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (January 6-9). Thirty-five PGA TOUR tournaments will be available via ESPN+ in 2022 featuring more than 4,300 hours of live coverage, including four daily live streams starting at The American Express (January 20-23). Additional details on content and scheduling will be available in the near future.  

“We are thrilled to announce our 2022 domestic coverage schedule for the PGA TOUR, as the lineup we have in place will ultimately be a significant win for our fans as we expand and innovate our content and its delivery going forward,” said Rick Anderson, PGA TOUR chief media officer. “Our existing partners CBS Sports and NBC Sports share our vision for the future and we are equally excited to be teaming with Disney and ESPN+ for what we see as an unparalleled opportunity to grow and diversify our fan base.”

I believe this will be CBS’s first foray outside North America…

'21 RSM Classic Does Not Draw An Audience, LPGA Finale Matches 2019 Numbers

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The 2019 RSM Classic did not draw a rating of any kind, “surged” in 2020 with a barely discernible audience and reverted to anonymous status in 2021, failing to draw a rating for any day. Whether this is concerning to anyone at the Tours or ponying up the cash, I have no idea. But next time someone is moaning about Ray Romano getting too much air time at the Crosby, or just a golf pro who thinks he’s reinvented the game, just remember that IFC’s reruns of Everyone Loves Raymond are trouncing live PGA Tour golf. The show ended production in 2005.

ShowBuzzDaily.com with the 2019-2021 numbers or, lack thereof. Here are the 2020 numbers

The LPGA’s CME Group finale essentially matched its 2019 final round rating on NBC in its traditional time window, drawing a .27/384,000 average viewers this year compared to a .30/395,000 in 2019

Video: Beautiful Look At North Berwick's East Links From Above

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As much as many believe North Berwick’s West Links is easily the course they could play every day and never tire of—put me down and then some—the other links in town deserves more attention than it gets. I’ve written about the North Berwick East Links here—excuse me, aka The Glen—and even highlighted in a McKellar Journal piece how its name as a strange thing holding it back from becoming a staple of visitors to East Lothian.

Anyway, enjoy this drone footage just posted by the pro there, Fraser Malcolm and try to book a round there. I’m hard pressed to name many better 36-hole days in golf. Extra points for walking through down with your clubs!

"Widely different valuations" On Trump National LA Under Scrutiny

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Pete Bevacqua, Paul Levy, Donald Trump and Derek Sprague at Trump National Los Angeles, June 2015 (Geoff Shackelford)

David A. Fahrenthold, Jonathan O'Connell, Josh Dawsey and Shayna Jacobs report that New York state Attorney General Letitia James is considering a lawsuit or convening a grand jury to hold the Trump Organization accountable for wildly different property valuations.

Because Donald Trump was a resident of New York, James is able to investigate the valuation of Trump National Los Angeles, a.k.a. the-better-than-Pebble Beach-because-it’s-on-an-ocean course Trump purchased. And the shaky cliffs of the old Ocean Trails just keep on causing headaches, this time with regard to homesites overlooking the Palos Verdes course.

In 2012, Trump’s “Statement of Financial Condition”— a document that is typically used to demonstrate value to potential lenders — said the course had “52 home sites available for sale,” indicating a potential source of future cash flow.

At the time, however, the club had only received approvals for 36 home sites and six of them had already been sold, according to public records.

In May — after Reuters published an article on the club’s fluctuating valuations — investigators from James’s office contacted the city of Rancho Palos Verdes. They asked for hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, covering the history of the club’s efforts to get home lots approved, according to an email exchange released by the city’s lawyers.

They also wanted reports on the geology under the course — the factor that had limited Trump’s ability to develop it. “We will take any reports you were able to find issued from the year 2000 and forward,” a staffer for James wrote, according to an email that the city’s attorneys provided The Washington Post.

But don’t forget, better than Pebble Beach, which is on a bay, not the Pacific.

Hard Sell Files: Monahan Notifies Players Of Pending Purse Bumps

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In a letter to PGA Tour players, Commissioner Jay Monahan loosened the reins, went to the whip early and rode this announcement way, way too hard.

Call the stewards! Inquiry! No Laying Up summarized and posted the letter to players that screams of greater desperation than you’d expect for such great news:

Race To Dubai Madness: Morikawa Wins, McIlroy Rages And Rips...His Shirt

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Playing in his third non-major/non-WGC of the European Tour season, Collin Morikawa won the DP World Championship along with the thrilling, utterly meaningless-except-to-bank-accounts Race To Dubai.

History was made, however, as he became the first American to win the Race.

Afterwards, Morikawa was emotional in thinking of his late grandfather:

This will count as an “Order of Merit” win for Morikawa, which is even sillier when put in this historical context by David Jones:

Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy fell out of contention after this horrendous break at the 15th and bogies at 16 and 18. He was not in a great place after his round, as James Corrigan recounts in his entertaining Telegraph story.

I’m not sure it was worth trying to rip your shirt off though it did get him out of post-round interviews (no nipple allowed!):

Let’s take a closer took at this really bizarre scene just in case we later found out he rescued a child from an attacking tiger and was too modest to brag: