What a surprise, the LIV golf tour has turned political.
You know this is a waste of time, worrying about the fight for money in golf. The guys who have defected from the PGA are doing so for the dough, but they should at least own up to it.
Brooks Koepka, the four-time major championship winner, is going for hundreds of millions of dollars. The combination of that being a lifetime payoff and his game is slipping due to injuries makes it perfectly logical. But don’t blame it on something you don’t like about the PGA Tour that has already made you a millionaire many times over.
Cameron Young and Justin Thomas are never going over no matter how much money they are offered. That’s because both of their fathers are golf professionals, teaching pros who have been loyal to the PGA all of their lives, and so with their families.
Look, whether or not you like Donald Trump, allowing the LIV tour to play at his Bedminster Club in New Jersey is likely for the same reason he does everything – to pad his pockets.
Cameron Smith, who just won the British Open has been offered $100 million and is thinking about it. Guess what he will decide? He hasn’t been on the PGA Tour long enough to not go.
With the PGA winning a court case that allows it to ban LIV golfers from playing in the FedEx Cup championship, let’s all bet where this fight is going to wind up. Because it is a Saudi-backed enterprise, no one can guarantee a merger or agreement like when the old AFL forged with the NFL and the ABA did so with the NBA.
But it has to wind up with pro players participating in both because of the TV money. With Tiger Woods sidelined indefinitely and Phil Mickelson becoming the face of the LIV tour, golf TV ratings have begun to plummet. As more defect, the chances are that one TV network not carrying golf now will pick up LIV events.
My guess is the merger will also be a way to soften Saudi involvement and let all golfers share in the windfall. If not, like the 3-point shot that changed basketball, the LIV tour has added qualities such as team and league competition that will be very attractive to players and fans alike.
In favor or not, looks like LIV is here to stay.
Featured image via Associated Press/Alastair Grant
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