LIV Golf

[Tuna Town]

So what's everyone's thoughts on this new tour??

Me I am all for it 

The US PGA Tour throwing their toys from the pram is well worth it.

Seeing someone with a Monopoly now getting pushed back and not like it is hilarious 

[elperro]

30 minutes ago, Tuna Town said:

So what's everyone's thoughts on this new tour??

Me I am all for it 

The US PGA Tour throwing their toys from the pram is well worth it.

Seeing someone with a Monopoly now getting pushed back and not like it is hilarious 

Have to say I agree before this thread gets shut down as too political.

[Shamrocksam]

I don't see the issue.  The US and UK government have be taking Saudi money for years.  Why shouldn't sports people .

[Billy Shears]

It just goes to show, no matter what people's beliefs are, money always wins. Really shows how selfish society has become. 

[HimBadMan]

53 minutes ago, WhiteThai said:

It just goes to show, no matter what people's beliefs are, money always wins. Really shows how selfish society has become. 

I dont get it?  I don't see this as selfish at all.    If a company offered me double the salary than my current company, I'm leaving real quick.

It's a business.  Their should be zero loyalty in business.   Make that money.   Not sure I get your point on them being selfish.  

[Fire Bar Matt]

Pro sportsman have limited years to earn their mega bucks, be it golf, MLB, NBL, NHL or the like. Another tour offering up mega dollars is going to entice a lot of guys, be it in the top 25 or top 150 in world rankings. 

The PGA Tour would have most likely reacted the same way no matter where the rival tours money came from, it’s a threat to their business model, the best players in the world, competing for the most money. The best players equal eyes on screens which equals ratings. High ratings means they can charge networks massive amounts for broadcast rights, in the end it’s just business, nothing to do with politics or human rights.

For the top guys having their PGA tour card withdrawn will mean they miss out on playing in the Masters & PGA Championship, I think they’ll still be able to play in the other two majors as I’ve yet to see the Euro Tour which hosts The Open ban them and the US Open isn’t controlled by the PGA Tour (correct me if I’m wrong here).

 

[Ah dinnae ken]

 

52 minutes ago, Dr No said:

The PGA Tour would have most likely reacted the same way no matter where the rival tours money came from   Agree

Dropped in & out of the coverage. Felt the shotgun start did nothing but make it confusing for the casual viewer. Nothing better than seeing the last pair playing the last hole with it all on the line. Poor quality field did nothing to excite me.

[KravinOff3]

I like the idea of competition. The PGA Tour over-reacting has made it even more interesting/funny. 

For a monopoly to be this fearful of competition seems highly unusual or suspicious. Maybe their next move will be better thought out.  

[LASportsNut]

I don't think this is political at all.

I agree with @HimBadMan and @Dr No.

I also was reading comments from PGA and I don't think they are doing anything wrong. They really have no choice but to suspend the players.

Besides allowing participation in the Olympics and World Cup, what other sports organizations would allow their players to have contracts to play sports for two organizations at the same time?

I am American so I know the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL, would never allow it.  They have contracts that don't even allow them to play others sports recreationally, so why would they allow them to play in another league and risk injury.

Obviously golf is a lot different but they have contracts and sponsorships all related to their PGA memberships.

I am unsure about some of the others sports contracts in the UK, Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world.

Edited June 13, 2022 by LASportsNut

[Tuna Town]

11 hours ago, Ah dinnae ken said:

 

Dropped in & out of the coverage. Felt the shotgun start did nothing but make it confusing for the casual viewer. Nothing better than seeing the last pair playing the last hole with it all on the line. Poor quality field did nothing to excite me.

I liked the shot gun start as it meant there was more golf actually being shown 

 

Was much better than some footage of a running water stream and then listening to the commentators dribble complete shit whilst I felt like taking a pee because of the running water like you get when watching the PGA Tour

[Gonetothedogs]

No issues with it. Have worked in KSA many times so can’t get too worked up about it

 

hopefully they will ditch the team aspect and the weird leaderboard 

[Luv2Phuket]

14 hours ago, Dr No said:

For the top guys having their PGA tour card withdrawn will mean they miss out on playing in the Masters & PGA Championship, I think they’ll still be able to play in the other two majors as I’ve yet to see the Euro Tour which hosts The Open ban them and the US Open isn’t controlled by the PGA Tour (correct me if I’m wrong here).

 

I think no decision has been issued as of yet by Augusta National on eligibility to play the Masters.

Pretty sure it has been confirmed that they can play the US Open this year.

Based on the article I read, the bigger issue is in the coming years, in which the LIV players will not be ranked. Unless they have a waiver to qualify (i.e., past winner, etc.), it's going to be difficult for them to qualify.

The article I read suggested this may be what keeps talented younger players from joining the LIV tour.

Dustin Johnson got $125 million for a 4-year commitment. That's more than he earned in his entire career on PGA tour (almost $75 million), so, even if he can't play them again, I think he'll be happy with his 2 Major wins.

 

[Tuna Town]

20 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I think no decision has been issued as of yet by Augusta National on eligibility to play the Masters.

Pretty sure it has been confirmed that they can play the US Open this year.

Based on the article I read, the bigger issue is in the coming years, in which the LIV players will not be ranked. Unless they have a waiver to qualify (i.e., past winner, etc.), it's going to be difficult for them to qualify.

The article I read suggested this may be what keeps talented younger players from joining the LIV tour.

Dustin Johnson got $125 million for a 4-year commitment. That's more than he earned in his entire career on PGA tour (almost $75 million), so, even if he can't play them again, I think he'll be happy with his 2 Major wins.

 

I don't think it will get to that stage 

The players on LIV may get rubbed out of some majors this year n next but I don't see this being a long term schism 

I see one side of them having to fold and I backing it is the PGA coming to the table and having to negotiate a settlement with LIV and a compromise going forward 

 The more players LIV gets to their side it makes it harder for PGA to stay relevant and they don't have the money to bribe the players to stay 

[Shamrocksam]

7 minutes ago, Tuna Town said:

I don't think it will get to that stage 

The players on LIV may get rubbed out of some majors this year n next but I don't see this being a long term schism 

I see one side of them having to fold and I backing it is the PGA coming to the table and having to negotiate a settlement with LIV and a compromise going forward 

 The more players LIV gets to their side it makes it harder for PGA to stay relevant and they don't have the money to bribe the players to stay 

What I don't like is Rory , tiger and the likes taking the moral high ground. 

No problems taking massive contracts either Nike and we all know about those sweatshops producing some of their goods. 

Why aren't any reporters putting those questions to them 

[Joeleg]

1 hour ago, Tuna Town said:

I don't think it will get to that stage 

The players on LIV may get rubbed out of some majors this year n next but I don't see this being a long term schism 

I see one side of them having to fold and I backing it is the PGA coming to the table and having to negotiate a settlement with LIV and a compromise going forward 

 The more players LIV gets to their side it makes it harder for PGA to stay relevant and they don't have the money to bribe the players to stay 

Major players are still with PGA. Liv will not be able to offer similar term to others as it did with DJ. And no player wants to be a seen as a sucker even if they are not happy with PGA. 

 

[losgrad]

I see at least two issues:

1. Are PGA Tour players employees (like NBA, MLB, etc) or are they independent contractors who pay their own expenses to attend and compete in tournaments?
 

In a typical tournament 144 players start, but only 72+/- “make the cut” to play the weekend which pays $.  Winner $1-2 million, but 72nd place pays about $25k.  Yeah, not bad, but after travel, accommodations, caddie expenses, etc…is that really a Pro athletes earnings for one week or a month only on tournaments he makes the cut?

72 players have expenses and work the week, but get $-0-

The annual Honda Thailand LPGA tournament is desired by the women golfers because, the tournament pays all expenses and there’s no cut.

2.  Anti Trust.  Is the PGA Tour permitted a monopoly for professional golf played within the USA?
 

In regards to the funding sources, didn’t the NBA receive $ from CCP?  Do all corporate sponsors have ‘clean’ money?  It’s a slippery slope of hypocrisy.  Does that mean all paying attendees must show their funding sources?   Do we not support various countries when we buy oil and any other imported goods (microchips, plastics, metals, ….).

Edited June 14, 2022 by losgrad

[Leo_Bia]

3 hours ago, Shamrocksam said:

What I don't like is Rory , tiger and the likes taking the moral high ground. 

No problems taking massive contracts either Nike and we all know about those sweatshops producing some of their goods. 

Why aren't any reporters putting those questions to them 

Rory went about they are only playing LIV because of boat loads of money, and then sheepishly admitted that he has in the past received appearance money at tournaments which was more than the winner got.

[Leo_Bia]

On 13/06/2022 at 17:55, Luv2Phuket said:

Dustin Johnson got $125 million for a 4-year commitment. That's more than he earned in his entire career on PGA tour (almost $75 million), so, even if he can't play them again, I think he'll be happy with his 2 Major wins.

Still waiting to hear what the European Tour is going to do with application to join them.

[elperro]

2 hours ago, losgrad said:

 

2.  Anti Trust.  Is the PGA Tour permitted a monopoly for professional golf played within the USA?
 

 

Since the LIV tour is playing several events in the USA there is no monopoly, just competing series. I think it's reasonable to contract players to play for one series and not the other. However I think the World Rankings OWGR would be in trouble if they don't provide ratings to the LIV players as that would be a monopoly. Interesting how LIV tournaments would be rated - field is currently much weaker, but prize money is huge.

[Tuna Town]

8 hours ago, Joeleg said:

Major players are still with PGA. Liv will not be able to offer similar term to others as it did with DJ. And no player wants to be a seen as a sucker even if they are not happy with PGA. 

 

They made a decent dent so far in DJ Bryson and Phil Mickelson in taking out the "star" power 

As soon as the Major Tournament situation is clarified that LIV players can play then I think we will see even more start to go 

If the European and Asian Tours don't show solidarity with the PGA tour in banning those players then the cat is out of the bag as the LIV players will have a "home" to go to outside of LIV events which will only see more players quit the PGA Tour

[Joeleg]

10 hours ago, losgrad said:

I see at least two issues:

1. Are PGA Tour players employees (like NBA, MLB, etc) or are they independent contractors who pay their own expenses to attend and compete in tournaments?
 

In a typical tournament 144 players start, but only 72+/- “make the cut” to play the weekend which pays $.  Winner $1-2 million, but 72nd place pays about $25k.  Yeah, not bad, but after travel, accommodations, caddie expenses, etc…is that really a Pro athletes earnings for one week or a month only on tournaments he makes the cut?

72 players have expenses and work the week, but get $-0-

The annual Honda Thailand LPGA tournament is desired by the women golfers because, the tournament pays all expenses and there’s no cut.

2.  Anti Trust.  Is the PGA Tour permitted a monopoly for professional golf played within the USA?
 

In regards to the funding sources, didn’t the NBA receive $ from CCP?  Do all corporate sponsors have ‘clean’ money?  It’s a slippery slope of hypocrisy.  Does that mean all paying attendees must show their funding sources?   Do we not support various countries when we buy oil and any other imported goods (microchips, plastics, metals, ….).

All major sports operate as cartels and monopolies because it takes serious money over many moons. EPL is a cartel. Players would go for the ones with biggest financial might that they can maximise their earning thru prizes and appearance fees.

All it takes is for a rival entity with serious money to stand up. Worry about monopoly, morality etc will disappear overnight. We talking about sportsmen and women. We know that KSA has the means but what for is the question. Will they get bored? 

Ball is with LIV and no one else. 

[Leo_Bia]

6 hours ago, Tuna Town said:

If the European and Asian Tours don't show solidarity with the PGA tour 

Not sure why they would do that, considering how the PGA Tour has acted in the past.

[Red-Devil]

The only problem I have with this cash fuelled venture is that I wasn't invited....⛳🏌️‍♂️

[cbmgolfer]

I watched the last half of the coverage on Sunday.  It was pretty entertaining.

[Leo_Bia]

3 hours ago, cbmgolfer said:

I watched the last half of the coverage on Sunday.  It was pretty entertaining.

It finished on Saturday.