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.”

Rickie Sure Seems To Be Leaning Toward A LIV Future

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While the World No. 146 ranking would suggest he’s not exactly dream LIV Golf material, Rickie Fowler likability and assumed devotion to all things PGA Tour may provide an intriguing turn in the effort of Saudi Arabia to make us forget about gas prices, human rights violations and sword-wielding men lopping heads off in public after sham trials.

As Bob Harig at SI.com says in the understatment of the week, Fowler would be a “great get” for Greg Norman’s upstart Tour despite the fall off in Fowler’s game. He’s the first legit fan favorite in some time to suggest he’d like to cash him some Crown Prince cash.

His full answer Monday at Tulsa where he’s playing the PGA Championship on an exemption thanks to 2021’s T8 finish.

Q. Have you been approached at all by the LIV Tour and if so, what's your stance on that?

RICKIE FOWLER: Yeah, I have. To be straightforward with you guys, I haven't necessarily made a decision one

way or the other. I've mentioned in the past, do I currently think that the PGA Tour is the best place to play? I do. Do I think it can be better? Yes. So I think it's an interesting position. Obviously there's the LIV and Premiere, as well. These tours or leagues or whatever -- however you want to classify or call them, they

wouldn't really be coming up if they didn't see that there was more opportunity out there. I've always looked at competition being a good thing. It's the driving force of our game. You know, being able to have games with guys at

home, that's how I always grew up is competing. I think competition ultimately makes people better, whether it's business, sport. So it's interesting, that's for sure.

Nicklaus On PGA Championship Move From Trump Bedminster: "This move is cancel culture."

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Actually Jack, it was just business.

In his debut piece for The Fire Pit Collective, Michael Bamberger reviews the PGA of America decision to abandon Trump Bedminster for Southern Hills following the January 6th insurrection. The piece also weaves in Phil Mickelson’s absence this week and Jack Nicklaus’ claim he was offered $100 million by Saudi Arabia to handle the role currently occupied by Greg Norman attempting to overthrow the PGA Tour.

Besides getting PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh’s side of how the change occurred—and the lucrative and safe landing spot provided by Tulsa and Southern Hills—Bamberger interviewed Nicklaus about the move.

“I like Seth Waugh,” Nicklaus said. “Seth didn’t need this job. He took the job because he thought he could give the PGA of America some good guidance. And I think he’s doing that. But this move is cancel culture. Donald Trump may be a lot of things, but he loves golf and he loves this country. He’s a student of the game and a formidable figure in the game. What he does in the future in golf will depend on what the cancel culture will allow him to do.”

Just so you have it, here’s the first sentence from the Wikipedia entry for cancel culture: “Cancel culture or call-out culture is a contemporary phrase used to refer to a form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles — whether it be online, on social media or in person.”

Some would say Trump tried to cancel the result of the 2020 election, setting in motion the wheels that ultimately moved the 2022 PGA Championship from Bedminster to Tulsa. Some would dismiss that idea. These are polarizing times.

Outside of Nicklaus, there has not been a single protest or sign that anyone with influence is questioning the move, nor have the fans or corporate dollars that make these things go shown any sign of agreeing with the “cancel culture” claim.

It's Best That Phil WD'd And A Southern Hills First Look

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125 Years Ago: America's First Collegiate Championships Were Played

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With the NCAA men’s and women’s championships upon us, it’s been 125 years since the original college golf championships.

From May 12-14, 1897, Louis P Bayard Jr. won the first day individual title at Ardsley Casino in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

Day two consisted of semi-final team matches between Yale and Princeton and Harvard and Columbia.

Yale beat Harvard for its first of 21 championships by a score of 24 to 4.

Thanks to Yale’s Colin Sheehan for providing these cool clips looking back when they wore real joggers and played the ball down!

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.”

Peak Norman Narcissism: "I’m not sure whether I even have any gay friends, to be honest with you.”

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Following a series of interviews to promote the upcoming LIV Golf event outside London, the entity has sought to clarify Commissioner Greg Norman’s various idiotic and ignorant remarks regarding murder. Their statement:

"The killing of Jamal Khashoggi was reprehensible. Everyone agrees on that, including Greg, as he has said as such previously on many occasions. Greg also knows that golf is a force for good around the world and can help make inroads toward positive change. That is why he is so excited about LIV and that was the point he was making."

Clean-up on aisle 4 still needs cleaning up.

Norman was condemned by the widow of Jamal Khashoggi following his wave of interviews. You may recall that the journalist was at the Saudi consulate to get a marriage license when U.S. intelligence believe a team of Crown Prince bin Salman’s detail murdered Khashoggi, dismembered him with a bonesaw and disposed of his remains. From The Telegraph:

"Would you say that if it was your loved one? How can we go forward when those who ordered the murder are still unpunished, and continue to try to buy back their legitimacy?" Ms Cengiz said.

"We should not fall for their wealth and lies, and lose our morals and common humanity.

"We should all be insisting on the truth and justice; only then can we look forward with hope and dignity."

Ms Cengiz's statement was released by her lawyer, Rodney Dixon, the British newspaper reported.

The hits keep on coming, with more of Norman’s comments to a group of journalists getting their chance to settle in. Apparently, Saudi Arabia’s horrendous record on gay rights is not an issue for the Shark because, well, who could imagine this answer.

"I’m not sure whether I even have any gay friends, to be honest with you.”

Next he’ll be saying doesn’t have any friends who were chopped up by a bonesaw so, really, could it have even happened?

The New York Times’ Bill Pennington sums it all up and to the surprise of no one who has followed Norman’s late life buffoonery, he’s dragging the LIV effort down.

He’s now lost Australia’s greatest female golfer:

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes, May 12, 2022

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Greg Norman On Murder And Beheading Prone Saudi Arabia: "We've all made mistakes" And "I heard about it and just kept moving on"

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Apparently LIV Golf Commish Greg Norman hasn’t sat down to read the details of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing lately. But according to Rick Broadbent of The Times, he continued is case for murder as politics and committed his latest gaffe with regard to the LIV Golf tour/league’s financing.

Norman, the frontman for the series, said: “Everybody has owned up to it, right? It has been spoken about, from what I’ve read, going on what you guys reported. Take ownership, no matter what it is. Look, we’ve all made mistakes and you just want to learn from those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward.”

Hard to correct when the body has never been found and was dismembered with a bonesaw.

This answer was also stupendously bad even by the standards of someone who called himself the living brand.

The two-times Open champion, who said he had never met Bin Salman, was also asked how he felt when he heard about the execution of 81 men in Saudi Arabia on March 12. “I got a lot of messages but quite honestly I look forward,” he said.

Messages? Oh?

“I don’t look back. I don’t look into the politics of things. I’m not going to get into the quagmire of whatever else happens in someone else’s world. I heard about it and just kept moving on.”

Q&A With Southern Hills Historian Clyde Chrisman

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The Southern Hills historian tells us how the course has changed and what binds the many champions there. Plus, he explains the Clock Tower and why the clubhouse is pink.

Combined with yesterday’s Q&A with superintendent Russ Myers, you realize the place is in good hands and should be just that much more excited about next week’s PGA Championship.

Let The Legal Wrangling Begin! PGA Tour Denies Waivers For LIV Events

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The expected showdown over LIV Golf’s Portland stop ended before it began.

Instead, the PGA Tour expedited the inevitable showdown with the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf by denying player waivers to the upcoming LIV Invitational outside London. While many expected the Tour to allow their players that lucrativeplaying opportunity, a memo sent to players—and plenty of media who’ve apparently joined the player email list—explained the Tour’s position. The statement to players was sent at 6:30 p.m. ET and it’s tight! From GolfDigest.com’s Dan Rapaport story:

"We have notified those who have applied that their request has been declined in accordance with the PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations. As such, TOUR members are not authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League’s London event under our Regulations," PGA Tour Senior Vice President Tyler Dennis wrote to players in the memo. "As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA TOUR and its players."

The key words seem to be Tournament Regulations and “membership organization.”

LIV Commish Greg Norman found time after a busy daydigging new landmines while promoting the London stop to issue a lawyerly response. Bob Harig at MorningRead.com has it:

“Sadly, the PGA Tour seems intent on denying professional golfers their right to play golf, unless it’s exclusively in a PGA Tour tournament. This is particularly disappointing in light of the Tour’s non-profit status, where its mission is purportedly ‘to promote the common interests of professional tournament golfers.’ Instead, the Tour is intent on perpetuating its illegal monopoly of what should be a free and open market," Norman said.

"The Tour’s action is anti-golfer, anti-fan, and anti-competitive. But no matter what obstacles the PGA Tour puts in our way, we will not be stopped. We will continue to give players options that promote the great game of golf globally.”

We can tell Greg didn’t write this because it was devoid of mindless “grow the game” references and contradictions from one sentence to the next.

So where does this leave the showdown?

Lawyers making money!

GolfDigest.com’s Joel Beall talked to a few legal types regarding the PGA Tour’s right to block players and, well, it’s complicated.

More curious about all of this in the short term? Consider:

  • The DP World Tour is more immediately threatened by the upcoming London event and likely to see some of its better players wanting to play. But thanks to the PGA Tour they did not have to act first.

  • The PGA Championship is next week and perhaps the PGA Tour felt it would be better for their partners in Frisco to get these headlines out of the way now instead of having players get asked for an update on their release? AT&T is crapped on all the time so why not once more?

  • The 6:30 p.m. ET memo to players came after Norman admitted earlier in the day that the rival tour is a rival tour with long range commitments, not just some alternative opportunity for independent contractors who’ve long dreamed of shotgun starts. Perhaps the Tour’s lawyers had their reason to green light the release denial?

Norman revealed eight days ago that players were still under contract to play LIV Golf’s events. Presumably the contracts are not telling them what to wear.

"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."

Presumably the contracts outline what exactly is required to see Saudi Arabia’s money in their accounts. We can only presume this means mandated appearances to play golf tournaments, not deliver readings of their favorite philosophy books. A cynic might even think these contracts serve as an advance for committing to an exclusive Saudi league with a binding franchise commitment that Norman made official in multiple interviews Tuesday.

Norman told the BBC these are “baiter” events coming up. Generally one uses bait to catch things?

Norman explained that his initial Invitational Series is just a beginning. "Twenty-two and 23 are our baiter years. We are a start up, basically," he said.

"I think people will realise the platform we have out there, the ability of the fans to get a better experience for the players, the stakeholders. Our production budget is mind-blowingly impressive."

A baiting start-up and better experience. Sure sounds like a rival league, one that might allow the PGA Tour to enforce its regulations.

Time and lot of lawyers will tell us who has the right to do what. But it sure sounds like the LIV folks were eager to assure players that their Saudi sugar daddies were in this for the long haul, freeing up Jared Kushner-level money and said a little too much too soon?