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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