LIVlier Than Most! Recapping A Wacky Day In Golf
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Mickelson, Norman, Johnson, Nicklaus and Tiger make news.
The news of Tiger’s U.S. Open WD got a special midday edition of The Quadrilateral.
When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Soul Machine! Watch Jack's Final "Content" For Nicklaus Companies
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When Jack Nicklaus resigned last month from the Nicklaus Companies we assumed it was over an oldmanspat with Howard Milstein. A lawsuit since means the two will be going at it for a while in legal proceedings. But they bonded over the metaverse one last time!
We now get to see the final contribution of Nicklaus to the Nicklaus Companies and 8 a.m. family of brands before saying sayonara.
SOUL MACHINES ANNOUNCES NEW ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION
June 7, 2022
Partners with Nicklaus Companies to launch the inaugural Digital Twin of Jack Nicklaus to engage with fans and brands to bring interactive sporting and entertainment experiences online
SAN FRANCISCO, CA. – June 7, 2022 – Soul Machines, the groundbreaking company pioneering the creation of autonomously animated Digital People in the metaverse and the digital worlds of today, announced today the launch of a new Entertainment division with the goal of creating unique and highly personalized experiences redefining fan engagement and entertainment enterprise.
Bingo board full after one graph!
On the heels of a recent US$70 million Series B1 round (led by new investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2), this new business division will launch its inaugural Digital Person – an avatar of legendary American professional golfer Jack Nicklaus through a partnership with the Nicklaus Companies.
With this launch, Soul Machines continues its quest to redefine the future of digital entertainment with hyper-realistic Digital Twins of real-life celebrities, professional athletes, entertainers, and public figures. Avatars, like ‘Digital Jack’ — which depicts Nicklaus at age 38, the height of his playing career — are autonomously animated using AI and natural language processing to depict their real-life counterparts in digital spaces. ‘Digital Jack’ has the ability to provide a range of user experiences by answering questions from fans and providing insight based on more than 60 years of memories. Digital Twins also offers exciting opportunities for companies to incorporate these avatars as digital brand ambassadors, elevating the future of Brand Experience.
Future content will have Digital Jack declaring his love and admiration for all things Howard Milstein!
“Our hope is to enrich the entertainment space with our humanized AI platform. Because Digital People are constantly learning, they present uncapped potential to interact with fans through empathetic and personalized experiences across cultures, languages, and geographic regions 24/7,” Cross added. “As a result, we have observed an increase in brand loyalty and customer engagement when digital avatars enable entertainers to broaden their reach.”
“I have always valued the ability to connect with golfers through golf course design and my writings. By teaming up with the innovative team at Soul Machines to create my Digital Twin, I now have the ability to share my passion, stories, and philosophies for the sport with generations to come, and am excited to be a part of this new and thrilling frontier,” said Jack Nicklaus.
And now a word from the man suing Jack.
“Quality is the foundation upon which Jack’s legacy is built,” said Howard Milstein, Executive Chairman of the Nicklaus Companies. “Just as Jack is the gold standard against which the golf world is measured, our goal in this effort is to create the industry standard avatar that advances this new frontier of artificial intelligence and the metaverse. In addition to the exciting technology, this new collaboration is another step in the institutionalization of the Jack Nicklaus brand, which was a goal he had many years ago,” Milstein added. “Jack wanted to ensure his company would live on, and—as with everything he’s done in his illustrious career—he’s succeeding beyond all expectations.”
For your sake, hopefully not in court!
Soul Machines’ new Entertainment division will be headquartered in Los Angeles; ‘Digital Jack’ is the newest addition to the company’s already impressive celebrity roster which includes NBA All-Star and entrepreneur Carmelo Anthony, launching later this summer at Collision, and music sensation will.i.am. Upcoming Digital People in the new Entertainment division include Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, in partnership with Authentic Brands Group (ABG), owner of the Marilyn Monroe Estate, and K Pop superstar Mark Tuan of Got7. More on these partnerships will be announced at a later date.
Can’t…wait.
Watch GMac's Classy Brand Melt Before Your Eyes
/You can watch the Ryder Cup captaincy and broadcast gig slipping away as he admirably tries to answer what other players wouldn’t even address. Still, a sad sight for someone.
Under questioning from AP’s Rob Harris at the LIV London opening tournament, Graeme McDowell does better than moderator Ari Fleischer who brushed off his past Tweets about Saudi Arabia.
Things reportedly grew testy and Harris was escorted out of the room by security and later allowed to return.
But they are trying to keep media from becoming thirsty. Nice work from ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg to share all of this from the proceedings.
Mickelson To Play Majors Again; U.S. Open Final Qualifying Roundup
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Last year's PGA Champion plans to turn up at Brookline, as do qualifiers from "Golf's Longest Day".
Results and notes from Monday that were already delivered to email boxes.
Here is the Final Qualifying results page, though I see no accompanying articles or photo galleries as of midnight ET.
Mickelson Grabs The Scary @#$%@#&^%$%@#'s Money, Intends To Still Play Majors
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Commissioner Greg Norman is happy to have landed Mickelson. For now.
“Phil Mickelson is unequivocally one of the greatest golfers of this generation,’’ Norman said. “His contributions to the sport and connection to fans around the globe cannot be overstated and we are grateful to have him. He strengthens an exciting field for London where we’re proud to launch a new era for golf.”
Not long after the story broke, Mickelson issued the above statement announcing his return while maintaining a plan for continued therapy and his intention to play the major championships. Presumably next week’s U.S. Open is a go.
Mickelson made the back cover of the New York Post:
"The LIV Golf broadcast will be unlike anything fans have seen before"
/Where have we heard that before? Oh right, Fox Sports with Greg Norman as its lead analyst. We know Fox did end up innovating, raising bars and showing new ways to televise golf. Perhaps the LIV streams will do that, though given the complexity of televising golf on short notice, the first impressions could be rough.
“The LIV Golf broadcast will be unlike anything fans have seen before,” said Will Staeger, LIV Golf Chief Media Officer. “The innovations we are introducing to the sport will be distributed to existing and new audiences all over the world as we deliver golf coverage dedicated to entertainment and access. We’ve built a world class production team that has combined the industry’s best practices with a reimagined experience for viewers to create a one-of-a-kind broadcast. We’ve been counting down the days to Thursday’s start so fans can tune in and watch what we have been working on.”
The broadcast will be available on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook.
Besides prying Jerry Foltz away from Golf Channel LPGA on-course reporting duties to be the analyst after Darren Clarke said no, the rollout suggests plenty in the golf broadcasting world passed. From Bob Harig’s Morning Read story:
Arlo White, the voice of the Premier League in the United States for nearly a decade, will handle lead play by play duties.
Foltz, who played professionally for more than 15 years, has spent more than two decades as an analyst, play-by-play host, studio host, instructional series host and on-course reporter. Foltz has been an on-course reporter for various tours, with a focus as a leading voice for the LPGA Tour.
The three-person booth will be completed with Dom Boulet, a former player on the Asian Tour who is widely known throughout Asia as the voice of golf.
Well he’s got that going for him.
Su-Ann Heng, a former No. 1 ranked golfer of her native Singapore and six-time member of the Singapore Ladies National Team, will lead on-course commentating. An experienced golf analyst with networks including FOX Sports Asia, she has covered women’s major championships and hosted marquee global events for more than seven years.
Troy Mullins will serve as an on-course reporter and social influencer for LIV Golf. Mullins is a former Women’s Long Drive Record Holder (402 yards) and a regular contributor on the Golf Channel.
White was expensive to pry away from his NBC duties hosting Premier League, reports Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
And White, not surprisingly, will be paid very handsomely, according to sources. We do not have exact figures, but White has gone from making hundreds of thousands per year to millions in the move, according to sources. And we are told besides the eight-to-ten events for LIV, White is still allowed to add a soccer component to his duties.
White had been NBC’s lead Premier League soccer play-by-player and has been the game-caller on Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” series. (By the way, he will continue on “Ted Lasso,” The Post has learned.)
The shows will be run by former Golf Channel producer Keith Hirshland, the husband of current United States Olympic Committee CEO and former USGA executive Sarah Hirshland.
Minjee Lee Sets The U.S. Women's Open Scoring Record
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Minjee Lee wins at Pine Needles (John Mummert/USGA)
Norman On Nicklaus: “One hundred percent truth? Jack’s a hypocrite."
/The Washington Post’s Kent Babb profiled Greg Norman on the eve of LIV Golf’s first event and shared several eye-opening anecdotes. Including how he’s “cut off his longtime mentor” according to Babb’s description.
“One hundred percent truth? Jack’s a hypocrite,” he says. “When he came out with those comments, I’m thinking: Jack must have a short memory.” He says Nicklaus attended a LIV presentation and later wrote in an email that the new tour had his blessing.
“Quote-unquote, he said: ‘This is good for our game. If it’s good for the game of golf, it’s good by me,’ ” Norman says. “So, you want the facts? You’ve got the facts. Know what you said before you open your mouth.”
A spokesman for Nicklaus, who’s being sued by his own company partly because of his negotiations with the Saudis, declined to make him available for an interview but sent a statement reiterating Nicklaus’s “unwavering support” for the PGA Tour and wishing Norman well.
I think their mutual friend, hero and favorite President Donald Trump should bring these two back together! The Palm Beach Peace Accords! Jared can package it so everyone profits.
Norman on critics and players who’ve signed up:
“It doesn’t bother me,” he says. “I’m not going to back off. I’m not going to show weakness to my team. I’m not going to show weakness to monopolists. I’m going to stand up for the rights of the players.”
He pauses before continuing. “The players who decide to come on board, God bless them,” he says. “They’re going to make a lot of money.”
Norman recently went to say goodbye to his dying father and, well…
Three weeks before this year’s Masters, Norman traveled to Brisbane. The time had come to say goodbye. He walked in for the first time in four years and saw Merv in a chair he rarely leaves, where he sleeps 17 hours a day, the once-muscular man who had raised and taught and scarred him now frail at 135 pounds.
He won’t let Norman pay for a nurse, won’t sit in a wheelchair. Imagine being that stubborn, Norman says. Merv faded in and out, and Norman spoke fast as he tried to explain this thing he’s building. It’s big, he said, though Tiger and Phil and Jack, of all people … But Merv couldn’t hear him. He’d fallen asleep.
Norman talking about LIV Golf will do that to a lot of people.
Seems his sister and mother aren’t enjoying this much, either.
When Norman was in Brisbane this spring, his mother and sister tried probing him. Toini was alarmed by some of what her son was saying, in particular that Nicklaus had flipped on him. Janis said she recently stopped reading about LIV and her brother in the Australian press because, she says, they’re “crucifying” him.
“I know he doesn’t always care,” Janis says. “But we do.” “We don’t want his reputation to be ruined completely,” Toini says. “He’s always been looked up to, and now …”
Norman’s 91-year-old mother pauses.
“We don’t know,” she says. “He’s certainly becoming more and more like Dad,” Janis says. “When he gets an idea,” Toini says, “then he will just — he won’t give up on anything.”
LIV Golf's London Fire Sale: Free Tickets For Anyone Who Wants Them!
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England’s Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are the top stars returning to home turf for LIV Golf’s first event in London this week. To celebrate, they gave out a coupon code offering free passes to the first 100 fans using the codes POULTER25 or WESTWOOD25.
Days later the offer still works in Westwood’s case, while 24 hours in the freebies are still there using Poulter’s name. Note in the example above, I asked for the max of 8 and
Some just tried for fun, put in JOHNSON25, and also got a free pass. Or up to 8 if they want.
One player + 25 who did not work? MICKELSON.
Some Google searchers are also getting this 70% off ad when entering a query for the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia’s grow the game initiative:
LIV's Cutting Edge Talking Points: We're Here To Grow The Game
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One can only close the eyes to picture the jubilation that must have come over the LIV Golf executive team as they landed on the real mission of their scheme to get-rich off the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Hoping to find their Think Different vision for the league and appeal to the young people who have not been wowed by modern game messaging, they brainstormed and landed on? Grow the game!
I’ve written about this virus before and its ability to keep going even as the game has grown substantially the last few years. But it’s such an elusive strain. So much so that LIV’s high-paid executives aren’t dialed in enough to know it’s a laughing stock amongst those in the coveted demo they are so hungry to sportwash on The YouTube.
You’d think a young, hip leader like Greg Norman would have known this.
Nice job by The Fried Egg to obtain and share these profound talking points which, unfortunately, were put in writing. Generally a medium not conducive to reaching the world’s leading golf professionals.
The fan stuff and how they reached their conclusions on format is, of course, extra ridiculous given that the blueprint and details for LIV Golf were stolen from the Premier Golf League concept.
Kevin Na Address His Lone Fan: I Must Resign From The PGA Tour
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In a blow to slow play and delusional entitlement, Kevin Na announced his resignation from the PGA Tour.
In a Tweet addressed “To my fan-”, Na tells his legion of one that he did not want to deal with PGA Tour sanctions for his future in the LIV Golf event and “the buzz it brings to golf.” He will not be missed. But don’t tell his fan.
"[LIV Golf is] something that doesn't represent the grind."
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Graeme McDowell explained his rationale for moving to the LIV Golf series and essentially admitted it’s an easy way out.
From Brian Keogh’s Irish Golf Desk report:
"It has been very demoralising, especially when you've got kids," the struggling world 376 told National Club Golfer of his struggles over the past 18 months.
"You look around and think, is this worth the sacrifice? It is worth the sacrifice when you're being successful and financially it's very lucrative. But when you're not successful and you're leaving your kids 35 weeks a year, you do ask yourself the question."
He added: "[LIV Golf is] something that doesn't represent the grind. The prize money is guaranteed, there are no cuts. It's new and exciting and it's given me a shot in the arm from an energy point of view. It's come at a perfect point."
The item also includes some comments from Paul McGinley. This stood out:
"There's no doubt that this will go down as a historic moment in the game. If this Saudi league does gather a head of steam and it does challenge the established two tours, considering the background and who's involved and the whole ideas of team events, it could turn golf upside down and on its head."
"Skyline Seats for a 100 foot high golf viewing experience like never before"
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Set against the self-proclaimed audacity of next week’s LIV Invitational outside London, a crane hoisting Canadian Open spectators sponsored by a betting company seems almost quaint.
Nice spot by Jay Rigdon at Awful Announcing with the details for those who’ve wanted to view golf from the drones-eye perspective.
The seating structure hosts 22 people, who will be harnessed into their seats.
The experience in the sky is 30 minutes with additional time allotted for embarking and disembarking. Food and beverage is included in the experience.
Colonial 2022: Another Rough Ratings Week On The PGA Tour
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The 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge featured World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler as the third round leader and Jordan Spieth in contention, but that was not nearly enough to help CBS’s ratings.
Eventually won by Sam Burns in a playoff over Scheffler, the final round telecast drew a 1.46/2.43 million average audience, down 2021’s 1.79/3.11 million for Jason Kokrak’s win over Jordan Spieth. All numbers courtesy of ShowBuzzDaily’s weekly sports report on a busy weekend for viewers.
Saturday’s CBS broadcast from Colonial and all Golf Channel telecasts showed declines. The LPGA’s match play event at Shadow Creek was also down across the board and did not draw a top 150 rating for Sunday’s final match.
The NCAA Women’s Championship earlier in the week on Golf Channel also failed to rate.
Darren Clarke Turns Down Lucrative LIV Broadcasting Due To Threat Of Champions Tour Sanctions
/Miller Brady, the president of the PGA Tour Champions, delivered the bad news to Clarke in a phone call on Tuesday, stating that Clarke’s involvement in the broadcast would be a breach of regulations and would be subject to disciplinary actions.
“I really enjoy my time on the Champions tour and didn’t want to jeopardize it,” Clarke said in a call with SI.com/Morning Read from the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines.
Clarke would not disclose the amount of the offer but was clear that the offer was considerable.
The initial tournament in London is expected to be exclusive to YouTube barring a last-minute media rights deal.
