Links Corner Forum

Jimbo wrote: ↑June 6th, 2022, 8:51 pm Na is a very good golfer-no argument there-but the big name...and the one with the most recognition among non-golf fans...is DJ...who is now persona non-grata in these parts!

The UK won't be very happy with McDowell either. Mickelson.. well he was almost due to play the Seniors' tour so it's mostly the fact he's so well-known that hurts the PGA. I'm surprised Vijay Singh hasn't signed up, he's probably still good enough to play the LIV. And I sort of forgot about these guys, not exactly unknowns: Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer, Talor Gooch.

It's kind of funny now that LIV is here it feels like The Champions Tour but you don't have to be over 50 and play for much larger purses.
I liked how Richard Bland was honest about his reason for going there as his best days of golf were behind him and he couldn't resist the payday to secure his future and he'd be foolish to turn that down.

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/report ... laying-liv

Jim

chad wrote: ↑June 6th, 2022, 11:32 pm tiger-woods-liv-golf-offer-2022

"But it's just like any other sport. It's like tennis. You have to go out there and earn it. You've got to go out there and play for it." -- TW

But golf isn't just like any other sport, with the exception of tennis, pool/snooker, and probably a few others I'm not aware of. Most sports are team sports, each player receiving a guaranteed income once the contract has been signed. Yes, some players on the team get more than others, but still, there's a regular paycheck even if the guy is benched or a "healthy scratch". In golf, a player is paid according to how he performs that week, and if he misses the cut he's not paid anything at all. So to me, it's understandable that a pro golfer is attracted to tournaments that promise much bigger purses ($25M vs $8-$10M), and it's much easier for someone like TW to take the "high road" when his total earnings from playing and endorsements have surely exceeded $1B by now. The PGA gave him $8M last year and he played one event, the PNC Championship. Is he OK with that, basically a non-appearance fee for 2021? Maybe this is just the wake-up call the PGA needed. Think of it this way: Would the PGA Tour even exist if the only prize at the end of a tournament was a trophy for the winner? Ultimately it's all about the money.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/g ... 340846002/

There are those of us who may be too young (what am I saying-we're all old enough) to remember the AFL, the ABA and the WHA.
Could Mr. Norman be using this tour in order to get a piece of the action?
Looking at the LIF schedule the current tour events that are getting screwed are the Canadian Open, the John Deere Classic, and the Rocket Mortgage Classic (Detroit).
The PGA schedule usually runs from December (in Hawaii) to September (the Tour Championship). COVID has screwed things up). That leaves approx. 3 months that players could have played LIV tournaments without jeopardizing their PGA status. I'm rather surprised that LIV didn't elect to start in the UK, then move to the US in September and finish in the winter warmth of Saudi Arabia...as they say in the NBA "No harm, no foul".
Heck-they could even have played a tournament out here-golf season is 365 days in Vancouver. Then we Canucks wouldn't hate Dustin-heck, he might have even kept his RBC patch.

The John Deere is the week before The Open. If I'm not mistaken, the last time (pre-covid) that the Canadian Open was played it was the week after The Open, This year it's the week before the US Open. I'm not sure how the entries will be effected from years past.

Jimbo, the PGA Tour season actually begins in September to November of the previous year, usually but not always after the Ryder/Presidents Cups (check out pgatour.com, Schedule section.) To be sure, most of the top pros skip most of these tournaments except for maybe the Zozo and one or two of the others. It's kind of a way for lesser players to build Fedex Cup points before things get more serious in Hawaii in January. The only tournaments played in December are Tiger's outing in the Bahamas and maybe a special event (the QBE Shootout in 2021.)

Hi Doug-I was thinking back to the good old days. The tour as it currently stands has no "off-season".
There were a couple of years when the Canadian Open was moved into the "last chance" category.
I'm surprised that the golfers themselves haven't made an issue about a 52 week season.

Jimbo wrote: ↑June 9th, 2022, 4:59 amI'm surprised that the golfers themselves haven't made an issue about a 52 week season.

Thats an (allegedly) big part of why they're joining the LIV tour, no? I dont really wanna be the devil's advocate, but I havent seen anyone here even acknowledging that they may be doing it for anything other than the money. Im not really following the story, but I do know that a part of it is standing up for better work conditions so to speak and job secuity.

For years the October to December window was the only opportunity for lesser tours such as the Australasian Tour to have a chance at attracting top line Americans to come play and help promote and generate interest in golf abroad. The PGA knew this but said stuff you to these tours when it started it's over lapping schedule. So if they lose some golfers, well stuff you PGA.