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Saudi golf tour member list is growing fast

outside shooter

outside shooter

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The addition of DeChambeau and Reed would give LIV Golf at least nine former major champions who have jumped from the PGA Tour. Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, two-time major winners Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer and four others -- Sergio Garcia (2017 Masters), Charl Schwartzel (2011 Masters), Graeme McDowell (2010 U.S. Open) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010 Open Championship) -- are competing in LIV Golf's inaugural event, which starts Thursday at Centurion Club outside London.

Phil is becoming much less an outcast. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

It reminds me of the USAC-CART wars that nearly ended interest in open wheel racing.



www.espn.com

Source: DeChambeau to play in LIV Golf series

Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open Champion, is joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series, a source confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, is also joining the LIV series, according to multiple reports.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
It's an interesting situation. The Saudi's have made so much money selling oil that they can murder a journalist and still get golfers to join their start-up golf tour.

If Vlad Putin started a world hockey league with a minimum salary of 5 million a year, how many Americans would try out? Would ESPN cover it? How would the NHL react? Who would front the league, and how much would they cost? So many questions.
 
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frikkenfrakken said:
It's an interesting situation. The Saudi's have made so much money selling oil that they can murder a journalist and still get golfers to join their start-up golf tour.

If Vlad Putin started a world hockey league with a minimum salary of 5 million a year, how many Americans would try out? Would ESPN cover it? How would the NHL react? Who would front the league, and how much would they cost? So many questions.
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So many questions? Really there is one: what's your price?

Everyone has a price.
 
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outside shooter said:
I get the influence of the dollar.

But once I'm a millionaire 100 times over and could not ever hope to spend it all in 10 lifetimes, I would think that other priorities would compete.
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It's the culture.

Money and having lots of it defines you as an American. It's what's makes America different to from other cultures. In the UK, school ties or class/upbringing defines you.

But it may also lead to people feeling left out -- the societal unease/frustration of being left out of the 'American Dream.'

Obviously like anything it's an issue of degrees but in the states there is a more singular focus on it and ensuring that people are aware of your success more than other countries.

Ironically I see the CCP's China going down this very same track.
 
frikkenfrakken said:
It's an interesting situation. The Saudi's have made so much money selling oil that they can murder a journalist and still get golfers to join their start-up golf tour.

If Vlad Putin started a world hockey league with a minimum salary of 5 million a year, how many Americans would try out? Would ESPN cover it? How would the NHL react? Who would front the league, and how much would they cost? So many questions.
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Take it to the F1 thread
 
outside shooter said:
as expected, they are all suspended by the PGA

View embedded media
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I can tell which sentences were drafted by the lawyers and which were drafted by the PR consultants.

tenor.gif
 
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These guys are smart! You’re guaranteed nothing on the tour. Only a chance to make money. Only a fool would pass it all upfront, especially for guys on that backend. Nobody made a career at the RBC Heritage. Only the majors.
 
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sglowrider said:
It's the culture.

Money and having lots of it defines you as an American. It's what's makes America different to from other cultures. In the UK, school ties or class/upbringing defines you.

But it may also lead to people feeling left out -- the societal unease/frustration of being left out of the 'American Dream.'

Obviously like anything it's an issue of degrees but in the states there is a more singular focus on it and ensuring that people are aware of your success more than other countries.

Ironically I see the CCP's China going down this very same track.
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In times past, Christianity exerated at least a moderating influence on the society.......people were seen as having 'civic obligations' and their souls to worry about......not so much these days.
 
mushroomgod_1 said:
In times past, Christianity exerated at least a moderating influence on the society.......people were seen as having 'civic obligations' and their souls to worry about......not so much these days.
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But the church money and power have been hand in hand for centuries
 
ce36ei said:
These guys are smart! You’re guaranteed nothing on the tour. Only a chance to make money. Only a fool would pass it all upfront, especially for guys on that backend. Nobody made a career at the RBC Heritage. Only the majors.
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How long are they suspended? And will the majors ban them as well?
 
Hoopsdoc1978 said:
How long are they suspended? And will the majors ban them as well?
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The guys that resigned their memberships are probably done for good. The guys that haven't but are suspended seem to have been suspended indefinitely with little hope of coming back.

I saw some quotes from Poulter saying he was going to appeal and they (the PGA) never stopped him from playing on any other tour prior to this.

Poulter told the media, "I will appeal, for sure. It makes no sense given how I have played the game of golf for all this time. I didn't resign my membership because I don't feel I have done anything wrong. I have played all over the world for 25 years. This is no different."
"I am committed to playing around the world like I have done for so many years so it is a shame if they view this as different. Of course, it's going to be sad, when you feel you haven't done anything wrong and want to promote the game of golf. It's a power struggle and it's just disappointing."
 
The PGA will never win the lawsuits. It might take a while. But they’ll lose.
 
ce36ei said:
The PGA will never win the lawsuits. It might take a while. But they’ll lose.
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You may very well be right. All I know is that it's not a good look for golf when guys are taking shots at Jack. Norman is coming across like a guy who is afraid.
 
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Norman is a dolt. They need to can him.

I’m still trying to process the outrage. I think the media is being the mouthpiece for the Tour because they know it’s a real threat. All the European leagues work with the Saudis. Heck F1 has Aramco as a title sponsor and guys like Lewis Hamilton and Seb Vettel have no problem taking the cash despite supposedly being human rights advocates. The LIV isn’t in it to make money. The Tour can’t stop it.
 
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Hoopsdoc1978 said:
You don’t think the tour can control who plays in their tournaments?

What makes you say that? Genuine question, I honestly don’t know.
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They let their members play in any professional league up until this point so long as they fulfill their obligations. These guys all have done that. They literally just made a rule on the fly because they viewed it as a threat. Poulter said it best in his press conference. He said he was going to fight it. He’s literally played on every pro tour as a member of the PGA Tour.
 
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MyTeamIsOnTheFloor said:
They losing money.

They made a big ol bet
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They’re not in it or care to make money. The Saudi oil company basically prints as much money as they want. It’s all about gaining a foothold in world affairs more than anything. Same reason they got into F1.
 
ce36ei said:
They’re not in it or care to make money. The Saudi oil company basically prints as much money as they want. It’s all about gaining a foothold in world affairs more than anything. Same reason they got into F1.
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It's sportswashing.

They are also preparing for a post-oil economy where outdoor activities (like dune surfing, Dakar rally) and watersports tourism plays a part.
 
ORG said:
Aramco has some nice beaches on the Gulf,
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One of my ex at IU grew up in Saudi because her dad worked in the Aramco complex. Phone/telecom systems.
Saw pictures of her on horses -- looked almost like some little Arab girl from all the time out in the sun!!
 
Several have reportedly applied for European Tour membership. Puts them in a pickle. The Tour is struggling and this would inject some real names…but they have a strategic alliance with the PGA Tour. So far the European Tour has not disciplined their players for playing LIV. It would let the players compete in the Race to Dubai, get world ranking points, and most importantly, qualify for majors.
 

Greg Norman claims Tiger Woods was offered $700-800 million to join LIV Golf​


That's some life-changin' money there! May not have to work after that.

Credit to Tiger for turning it down... so far.

Woods has been vocal about his allegiance to the PGA Tour, and last month he denounced LIV during his pre-Open Championship news conference at St. Andrews.

“What these players are doing for guaranteed money, what is the incentive to practice?” he said. “What is the incentive to go out there and earn it in the dirt? You’re just getting paid a lot of money up front and playing a few events and playing 54 holes. They’re playing blaring music and have all these atmospheres that are different.”

The 46-year-old added that golfers defecting from the PGA Tour have “turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position.”
 
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Tiger doesn't need the money, so he can afford to take the high road. But the vast majority of humans would take that deal in about two seconds.
 
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