Major(s) News & Notes September 1, 2022

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LIV Lands The Open Champion

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Will Cameron Smith's departure maintain his career trajectory? Niemann, Leishman, Varner, Tringale and Lahiri also give LIV some relevant or relevant-adjacent players.

Still, I have my doubts about what this will do for someone like Smith who is in form, feeds off positive fan energy and now will play 54-holes on mediocre courses surrounding the majors.

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes, July 28, 2022

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The Strategic Alliance Presents: The Genesis Scottish Open

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The sun is out, the wind blowing and the fescue more brown than green at Renaissance Club. If the Tom Doak design can’t shine in this—and of course after Padraig Harrington’s design tweak advice—there may not be much hope for the East Lothian links. From what I’ve seen of the 10th hole, I’m hoping it plays less ghastly than it looks.

But with Genesis injecting new life into the grounds, the PGA Tour/DP World Tour Strategic Alliance (PGATDPWSA) bringing the two tours together for a world class field, it should be a dandy.

Tee times for a field with 14 of the top 15 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In the UK, Sky times go all day essentially and with 160 players this one will take most of the day.

Thursday: Sky Sport Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 8am
Friday: Sky Sport Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 8am
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf from 8.30am
Sunday: Sky Sport Golf and Sky Sports Main Event from 8.30am

Golf Channel times (all ET):

Thursday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ET (Golf Channel – World Feed), 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (Golf Channel), 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (CBS)

Horschel On LIV "Hypocrites" Who Want To Play Less But More When It's Convenient: "I believe they made their bed"

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David Kent shares Billy Horschel’s stunning-even-by-Billy-Ho-standards lashing out at “hypocrites” who are petitioning to play this week’s Genesis Scottish Open while also defecting to LIV golf events in the name of reduced scheduling.

After a hearing this week, Ian Poulter, Adrian Otaegui and Justin Harding had DP World bans lifted and they were added to the field at Renaissance Club, followed by LIV Portland winner Branden Grace.

“They decided to go play on that tour and they should go play there. They shouldn’t be coming back over to the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour.

‘“To say that they wanted to also support this tour, whether the DP or PGA Tour, while playing the LIV tour, is completely asinine. Those guys made their bed. They say that’s what they want to do, so leave us alone.

“They keep talking about how the PGA Tour doesn’t listen. I’ve been really frustrated by it because there’s a lot of guys that are hypocrites, that aren’t telling the truth and are lying.

“I just can’t stand to sit here any more and be diplomatic about it.”

Meanwhile sponsors seem to be quietly leaving the Poulter camp as his logo tally has been greatly reduced:

The Quadrilateral: Wrapping A Wacky Weekend In Golf

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Here I thought it would be a quiet weekend with a few ramifications here or there for the upcoming men’s majors. Instead, we got a fantastic finish in the KPMG Women’s PGA and everywhere else in men’s golf too.

Oh, and how cool did Congressional look? A word not normally associated with what used to be a big, soulless mess! I have before/after pics to prove the point. One of NBC’s aerials:

Monahan Rolls Out PGA Tour Revamped Tour: Wraparound Goes And Several Events Get $20 Million Purses

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A lot of folks summed up Jay Monahan’s presser.

David Dusek’s interpretation of the answers hits on the key points.

Dylan Dethier also singles out the main takeaways and tries to answer some anticipated questions.

The full transcript is posted at ASAPSports.com.

There were obvious omissions in today’s slapped together reaction to LIV Golf:

  • After all this time of disruption, this is the most creative you’ve got? More money to events already in good shape, smaller fields and no cuts (except The Players)? All those fancy pizzamakers, perks and fancy offices producing a WGC concept light on the world or originality?

  • What is going on with the updated DP World Tour alliance details that were close to being unveiled?

It’s easy to sympathize with Jay Monahan’s dilemma. He’s trying to retain the current PGA Tour structure while funneling more money back to players who would rather get appearance fees. But he’s largely putting forward solutions that veer closer to LIV Golf’s exhibition-vibe format and still building everything around an August playoff that gets mediocre ratings.

At the same time, the Global Home’s refusal to take outside forces seriously—until it was too late—is a key driver of this mess. No one could have imagined the Saudis sending silly money to never-weres and has-beens, but you still have to plan for worst case scenarios. No?

Anyway, on to Monahan’s opening statement.

As I said to our members yesterday in a player meeting, we will ultimately come out of the current challenge stronger because of our loyalty and support of our players and fans, the best in the world, as well as our planned future growth and with our values as our North Star.

And as I also said to the players yesterday, let me be clear. I am not naive. If this is an arms race and if the only weapons here are dollar bills, the PGA TOUR can't compete. The PGA TOUR, an American institution, can't compete with a foreign monarchy that is spending billions of dollars in attempt to buy the game of golf.

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

We welcome good, healthy competition.

No you don’t.

The LIV Saudi Golf League is not that. It's an irrational threat; one not concerned with the return on investment or true growth of the game.

Currently no one organization owns or dominates the game of golf. Instead, the various entities, be it Augusta National or the USGA or the LPGA or the PGA TOUR or the PGA of America work together to meet our own respective priorities, but with the best interests of the game overall at heart.

I knew it was Barzini. Maybe “DP World Tour” was in the speech and the shine off Jay’s Daytona blinded him when he got to the part where the strategic alliance partners get a mention.

But when someone attempts to buy the sport, dismantle the institutions that are intrinsically invested in its growth, and focus only on a personal priority, that partnership evaporates, and instead we end up with one person, one entity, using endless amounts of money to direct employees, not members or partners, toward their personal goal, which may or may not change tomorrow or the next day.

Finally, we might get the Crown Prince named by a golf organization. Progress!

I doubt that's the vision any of us have for the game. Now, I know legacy and purpose sound like talking points that don't mean much, but when I talk of those concepts, it isn't about some sort of intangible moral high ground. It is our track record as an organization and as a sport.

On the PGA TOUR, our members compete for the opportunity to add their names to history books, and, yes, significant financial benefits, without having to wrestle with any sort of moral ambiguity. And pure competition creates relevancy and context, which is what fans need and expect in order to invest their time in a sport and in a player. That's the beauty of the PGA TOUR. We have and always will provide a global platform for members to compete against the very best, earn their stardom, and become household names.

Yeah but the kids today…oh sorry, shame on me criticizing the coveted demo. Go on…

You just heard from Exhibit A, Scottie Scheffler's meteoric rise over the last four years: Korn Ferry TOUR Player of the Year in 2019, PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year in 2020, Ryder Cup Rookie in 2021, World No. 1, FedExCup leader, having won four times in six weeks, including the Masters tournament. His journey is that of a true meritocracy. If you're good enough, you will rise to the top; and if you don't continue to earn that top spot, someone else as hungry and as talented is right there to take your place. Again, that's the unique beauty of what the TOUR has and always will offer to fans. It's damn good and it's worth fighting for.

Back to the kids today part. You know, the greatest generation of athletes to ever descend on golf course? They really believed the hype.

Now finally and most importantly, I want to talk where the PGA TOUR is headed. We don't expect to overcome this current challenge by relying on our legacy and track record alone. We've been on a path for a number of years to strengthen and evolve our product for the benefit of our fans and players alike.

Money, money, money!

Those plans are obviously accelerated in light of the current environment and we have some exciting developments coming out of yesterday's policy board meeting that will further secure our status as the preeminent golf TOUR in the world.

This includes moving forward with our future product model for the 2022-23 season and beyond, a return to a calendar year schedule beginning in 2024, with the FedExCup contested from January to August, culminating with the FedExCup playoffs, and followed by the fall events, which will determine the top 125 and finalize eligibility for the next FedExCup season.

Gee, who could have seen the need to do that? No details goes missed at the GH.

Revised field sizes for the FedExCup playoffs in 2023 and beyond of 70 players for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, 50 players at the BMW Championship, and 30 players at the TOUR Championship.

The 70 players who qualify for the first playoffs event will be fully exempt for the following season, including the invitationals.

Oh so like, a playoff that’s actually a playoff. Kinky!

The creation of a series of up to three international events to be played after the conclusion of the fall schedule, which will include the top 50 players from the final FedExCup points list.

Those were going to be out alliance partners but, well, maybe not now?

Alongside these changes, the policy board also amended the resource allocation plan to increase purse sizes at eight events during the 2022-23 season, with an average purse at 20 million dollars.

Where have I seen that number?

Again, there is more work to be done and details to confirm, but implementing substantial changes to our schedule gives us the best opportunity to not only drive earnings to our players, but also improve our product and create a platform for continued growth in the future.

I know that's a lot to digest.

Actually not enough.

Monahan: “Why is this group spending so much money--billions of dollars--recruiting players and chasing a concept with no possibility of a return?”

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Doug Ferguson files an AP report on PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s booth visit—finally!—blasting the Saudi Arabia government backed golf league. Facing questions from Jim Nantz, a severely overdue dicussion about the money source took place on national televsion.

Speaking of the folks who brought us 9/11, journalist carvings, beheadings galore and high oil prices because it’s fun for the Crown Prince—Monahan offered this:

“It’s not an issue for me, because I don’t work for the Saudi Arabian government,” Monahan said, a veiled dig at the notion of being a free agent. “But it probably is an issue for players who chose to go and take that money. I think you have to ask yourself a question: Why.

“Why is this group spending so much money — billions of dollars — recruiting players and chasing a concept with no possibility of a return?” he said. “At the same time, there’s been a lot of questions, a lot of comments, about the growth of the game. And I ask, ‘How is this good for the game?’”

Monahan also focused on the relative integrity of PGA Tour competition compared to the first LIV stop.

“You’ve got true, pure competition, the best players in the world here at the RBC Canadian Open, with millions of fans watching. And in this game, it’s true and pure competition that creates the profiles and presences of the world’s greatest players. And that’s why they need us. That’s what we do,” Monahan said.

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.

In an interview with Steve DiMeglio, Na elaborated on this decision, saying he wants to play less and spend more time with his family.

"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.