Looks like the LIV Tour isn’t going to test for PEDs.
Oh, and Bubba is happy to come back to Augusta, but will not make the Womens Amateur and the kids’ Drive, Pitch and Putt contest, because,
“It’s a little upsetting that I’ll be playing golf the week before in Orlando, but I know it’s for the best, and I’ll be there supporting my team and trying to win that trophy. But I’ll get to Augusta as fast as I can.”
Ah, because he is committed by his contract to play in that event. Funny how the LIV golfers had issues with the PGA not allowing them to play whenever and wherever they wanted, but, hey, money is money, and it’s for the best, for my wallet and for my life, to skip out on something I think is important else I’ll get killed in a Saudi Embassy.
More:
Apparently the players were totally blindsided by this announcement.
This part is funny after all of the rhetoric
Can’t beat em, join em.
PIF will be going after the Majors now.
Breaking news (some time in the future): Augusta has been bought by PIF for $8 Billion. PIF buys out all members for $1 Billion each. Ex-members say they’re sad, but it’s for the best. Trump first new member of Augusta, after blowing the Saudi Prince on the First tee.
My opinion on what happened:
Liv gave players leverage over Tour. Players as a whole more than doubled their pay (add together all LIV contracts and increased purses on Tour). Players are now extremely expensive, however on the consumer side golf was now a 2 Tour product where neither product was as interesting as the prior singular product. So while the product given to consumers was less compelling the cost of providing that product more than doubled. I don’t think either league was going to make it very far in the future with their financial commitments. This combination allows LIV and PGA to cut a bunch of purse money and no player will ever get up front money again.
Seems as if LIV did not give them leverage. it lasted a whole year or so. Worse, it gave the PIF/LIV leverage over the players. That seems like a say worse thumb to be under.
Question now is; Will the PGA/PIF give players appearance money? I’m guessing not, but they could easily give each qualified Tour Player some fixed amount for, say, expenses of an average tour player for the season. And it might not be the RV-crowd-expenses but perhaps charter planes (including baggage which can now be expensive) to each stop? Heck, they might already do that.
And now, the PIF will have leverage over all of PGA. Bloody money all over the place.
Also, whoop-di-do, the “team concept” will continue.
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Yeah the Saudi’s were playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers. They just funded LIV long enough to make the Tour sell out. I post on a golf forum where a lot of manufacturer’s are involved. They said some of the folks in the room at the players meeting yesterday were told LIV will fold and the players on LIV will be allowed to come back to the Tour if they give up the remainder of their contracts or they can keep their contracts and not rejoin the Tour. I’m sure the Tour will see some bigger purses but LIV had 14*$25million or $350 million in purses that is now off the table for any pro golfer. Some of that will help fund the shortfall I assume the Tour was looking at and some may go to create a few super $25-$30 million events but most of that and any contract money they renege is going to be a cost cut for the new combined organization.
I assume the Saudi’s are going to have to cut some checks to folks like Rory, Jon Rahm, Tiger, Justin Thomas, etc that stuck around so they don’t rock the boat too much for being played as fools by Tour leadership.
I am in your boat though. This whole thing stinks and I don’t like it one bit. I may shrink to just watching the majors moving forward.
Not sure when these LIV events will take place. Silly season, maybe, for big money, maybe. Or, will The PGA Tour make room for silly events, say one a month, and drop traditional tour stops, or simply have two events on the same weekend, with the paid slaves forced to play their silly games?