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Fans credit LIV Golf and Phil Mickelson for the new changes within the Tours

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Phil Mickelson

Fans credit LIV Golf and Phil Mickelson for the new changes within the Tours
LIV Golf was the first golf league to offer guaranteed money for its players. The DP and PGA Tours were against the Saudi-backed league’s this scheme. However, many are accusing that they are following the same now with the introduction of their new programs.

regardless of your thoughts on LIV, no denying a lot of good has come from them existing right?

— Chris Podymaitis (@cpodymaitis) November 3, 2022

“Now, let’s go back to ridiculing the tour that helped every professional golfer in the world get more money.”

— Sekrah Sports (@sekrah) November 3, 2022

Competition breeds excellence

— Hellacious Bombs (@hellacious_bomb) November 3, 2022

thanks Greg. I would be very careful signing up for the card and accepting that though as I’m sure there will be a little small print that legally bans players from even speaking with LIV. Be very careful you read the terms PROS

— LIVBOT (@steven1976a) November 3, 2022

Maybe those players should thank Phil and LIV.

— Billy Sanchez (@Bsanchez2121) November 3, 2022

Phil was right

— Ian Welker (@iancwelker007) November 3, 2022

Will Phil end up having a bigger impact on all golfer’s paychecks than Tiger? Hard to imagine this being the case a year or two ago but I don’t know that you can deny it now.

— Zachary Dosch (@zacharydosch) November 3, 2022

All pro golfers should be sending @PhilMickelson whatever bottles of wine he wants

— John Peterson (@JohnPetersonFW) November 3, 2022

Phil Mickelson was one of the first golfers to start supporting the Invitational Series of LIV Golf. He was also the first to question the financial dealings of the Tour. This has made him distant from the PGA Tour and many of its loyalists. However, now that the fans allege the Tours have followed the same path, some even asked the Tour players to thank Mickelson for helping them to get such benefits.

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Golf

Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy — going at it over which tour represents the future of the game.

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Phil Mickelson

How LIV Golf Is Tearing The Sport Apart, In 3 Charts

It seems you can’t go a week without players from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf sniping at each other in the press. The most recent edition featured maybe the two biggest principals in golf’s civil war — Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy — going at it over which tour represents the future of the game. And that very argument has been at the heart of the battle tearing professional golf apart ever since the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit hit the scene earlier this year.

From debates over the ethics of helping LIV Golf “sportswash” the Saudi royal family’s human-rights violations1 to questions about which pro golfers LIV Golf has afforded greater financial leverage to, it’s not melodramatic to frame the PGA Tour-versus-LIV Golf battle as a fight for the soul of the sport itself. But how did we get to the point of a major sport being ripped in two directions, within the span of a little less than a year?

One of the big reasons why the meteoric rise of LIV Golf has created such a huge rift in the sport is simply the magnitude of the names the upstart tour has poached in such a short period of time. When Mickelson became the first golfer to publicly entertain the notion of defecting from the PGA Tour — in comments made to journalist Alan Shipnuck, first published in February — he ranked among the top 100 players in the world (and was the defending PGA Champion), but he was largely out on an island as a then-51-year-old whose prime days were probably well behind him. In the time since, however, LIV Golf has managed to significantly upgrade its roster: Forty-four of the top 150 players in the world as of June 112 have departed for the rebel tour:

Image

That group includes 2022 British Open champion Cameron Smith, who defected for LIV Golf in August. While a majority of top golfers still play in the PGA Tour and/or affiliated organizations, the fact that nearly a third have jumped ship helps explain the shockwaves LIV Golf has set off within the golf world.

And if you want to know why they left … well, it’s all about the money. (When is it ever not?) We compared per-tournament PGA Tour and LIV Golf earnings for players who went from the former in 2020-21 — the last full PGA Tour season without LIV Golf as a competitor — to the latter in 2022, and the differences for most players ranged from a modest raise under LIV Golf to an astronomical increase in money for any given event:

Players who have left the PGA Tour earn more per event with LIV
Average individual earnings per tournament for players who competed in the PGA Tour in 2020-2021, compared with earnings while playing for LIV in 2022A dot plot shows the difference in players’ winnings per event between PGA Tour events in the 2020-21 season versus LIV events in 2022. Cameron Smith leads the chart with less than $500k at PGA Tour events and has made more than $2.5 milllion playing for LIV.
$500K
$1M
$1.5M
$2M
Dustin Johnson
Cameron Smith
Joaquin Niemann
Branden Grace
Charl Schwartzel
Patrick Reed
Brooks Koepka
Anirban Lahiri
Carlos Ortiz
Matthew Wolff
Sergio Garcia
Paul Casey
Talor Gooch
Lee Westwood
Harold Varner III
Abraham Ancer
Louis Oosthuizen
Ian Poulter
Kevin Na
Matt Jones
Cameron Tringale
Phil Mickelson
Marc Leishman
Hudson Swafford
Jason Kokrak
Bryson DeChambeau
PGA avg earnings|LIV avg earnings|
Excludes players who didn’t earn any money in the PGA Tour in 2020-21. Dustin Johnson won the LIV individual title, worth an additional $18 million, which is not included here.

For some golfers, like Smith, this at least partially reflects the benefits of a well-timed career year. (Smith had nearly doubled his previous career-high earnings in a PGA Tour season even before moving to LIV Golf.) Some of LIV Golf’s higher per-event payout is also a function of having more money going to fewer events — there have been seven since June 11, compared with 19 for the PGA Tour — though most top players only play a fraction of the total events on the calendar anyway.3 But it’s mainly a testament to just how much money the Saudi government has spent to lure elite golfers away from the PGA Tour’s sphere of influence. According to The Athletic, $2 billion of the country’s $620 billion Public Investment Fund has been earmarked for spending on the startup golf tour — and that money has done its share of talking so far.

In fact, another way we can see the effect of LIV Golf’s presence on the pro golf industry is in how the PGA Tour has reacted to those defections. At various points in the summer and fall, commissioner Jay Monahan announced that the Tour would be working with players to boost the prize money for multiple events on the calendar for future seasons — clearly in an effort to retain players mulling the idea of hopping to LIV Golf.

Image

In response to the response, LIV Golf also announced increased prize pools for its events, sparking what many have called an arms race between the two competing tours. The increased pressure to acquire and retain talent might be good for high-level players in the short run, but it’s still unclear where the increasingly bitter fight between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will ultimately leave the sport.

A successful LIV Golf tour will do nothing to discourage the types of human-rights abuses that critics say the Saudi government is using golf to obscure. Meanwhile, if top players continue to defect in larger numbers, LIV Golf may become an even less viable option for the middle and lower class of players, whose status on the Tour is actually the most tenuous.4 (Plus, the younger players who join LIV Golf directly out of the amateur ranks could find themselves never being eligible for the PGA Tour.) And although there are historical cases of rival leagues forcing mergers and elevating the established organizations they once competed with, there are also counterexamples in which a split left its sport in tatters.

Which outcome will golf find itself in when the smoke clears on this battle? Only time will tell.

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Golf

Why does Phil Mickelson have debt? Real reason behind gambling debt explored

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Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson recently became one of the wealthiest golfers. The golfer reportedly bagged a whopping $200 million to join the inaugural season of LIV Golf. The 2021 PGA Tour champion made his rebel series debut in June and has been creating ripples in the series ever since.

However, the golfer did not always rank among the richest. Mickelson’s defection to the newly introduced controversial circuit garnered some harsh criticism. This included people speculating that his move was motivated by money. Turns out, it was not wholly false because Mickelson was struggling with some gambling debts when he first considered a move to LIV Golf.

Phil Mickelson recently became one of the wealthiest golfers. The golfer reportedly bagged a whopping $200 million to join the inaugural season of LIV Golf. The 2021 PGA Tour champion made his rebel series debut in June and has been creating ripples in the series ever since.

However, the golfer did not always rank among the richest. Mickelson’s defection to the newly introduced controversial circuit garnered some harsh criticism. This included people speculating that his move was motivated by money. Turns out, it was not wholly false because Mickelson was struggling with some gambling debts when he first considered a move to LIV Golf.
Phil Mickelson’s take on his gambling problem
Phil Mickelson himself addressed his gambling problem earlier this year. In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig, the ace golfer spoke about his “gambling addiction” and admitted he suffered from it. The player went on record to call it a “reckless” and “embarrassing” problem.

Opening up on his addiction, the 52-year-old athlete said:

“My gambling got to a point of being reckless and embarrassing. I had to address it. And I’ve been addressing it for a number of years. And for hundreds of hours of therapy. I feel good where I’m at there. My family and I are and have been financially secure for some time.”
He added:

“Gambling has been part of my life ever since I can remember. But about a decade ago is when I would say it became reckless. It’s embarrassing. I don’t like that people know. The fact is I’ve been dealing with it for some time.”

The former PGA Tour champion also admitted to losing millions due to the habit. Terming it a part of “poor decisions” he made in the past, Mickelson said he was better at it now.

It is interesting to note that Mickelson has admitted to being the one to propose bets to fellow golfers while on the course. The LIV golfer said that he would often bet during practice rounds of competitions to “create competition.” However, the betting problem also added to his issue as he continually lost significant sums.

A six-time major championship winner on the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson seems to be doing fine now. He has so far earned $1,575,350 from LIV Golf. This is apart from the reported $200 million he took home as a signing bonus.

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Golf

Phil Mickelson on Tiger Woods: “He forced me and everybody else ..”Read for the details

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Tiger-Phil

One of the most experienced golfers in the world is Phil Mickelson. The experience Mickelson has gained as a mentor has helped a number of young players. It is important to never give up on your dreams, as Phil showed. It was Tiger Woods, one of the legends of this sport, who also helped young golfers.

In an interview, Mickelson described Woods’ importance and how much he influenced the golf scene and other players. “He brought out the best in me because he forced me and everybody else to get better. That type of challenge, that type of drive, he instilled in a lot of us.

I really enjoyed the fact that I had a chance to play against him, and granted, I probably would have won some more tournaments. But, I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard”. – he said, as quoted by esentiallysports.com

One of the most experienced golfers in the world is Phil Mickelson. The experience Mickelson has gained as a mentor has helped a number of young players. It is important to never give up on your dreams, as Phil showed. It was Tiger Woods, one of the legends of this sport, who also helped young golfers.

In an interview, Mickelson described Woods’ importance and how much he influenced the golf scene and other players. “He brought out the best in me because he forced me and everybody else to get better. That type of challenge, that type of drive, he instilled in a lot of us.

I really enjoyed the fact that I had a chance to play against him, and granted, I probably would have won some more tournaments. But, I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard”. – he said, as quoted by esentiallysports.com

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Golf

Why did Phil Mickelson switch to LIV Golf? Read for more details

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Phil Mickelson

The golf legend had made a few unacceptable statements about the PGA Tour and later apologized for the same. However, his apology didn’t change his decision to leave the PGA Tour and switch to LIV Golf. And when his fans questioned his decision, the golfer took to Twitter to respond to them. Mickelson said that after successfully spending the last 32 years on the former tour, he was looking for a “fresh start”. He also mentioned that LIV Golf was “transformative” for him and other golfers.

What is Mickelson’s greatest accomplishment?

Mickelson is counted among the most successful players in the history of golf. Although he received some hate after he shifted to LIV Golf, his fans still love his swinging skills. The golfer has always been thankful for his fans and their support. However, there is something else that Mickelson loves and rarely talks about. And it’s none other than his beautiful family.

In an interview with Golf.com, Mickelson was asked about what his greatest accomplishment was. And his response left all his fans with a great deal of respect for him. The golfer said, “the success on the golf course… Amy, and three kids grow up together in a loving home…have a successful family life and a successful career is probably my greatest accomplishment.”

Mickelson has always admitted that the person behind his success is his wife ,Amy Mickelson. According to Lefty, Amy has been a constant support for the player and has motivated him to do better each time. “She’s an incredible wife and incredible mother. And I just couldn’t do it without her”, Mickelson said. He also mentioned that his wife and kids always accompanied him to all his tournaments. And that he was very thankful for the career he had which gave him a chance to travel around the world.

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Golf

Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup rant about Phil Mickelson…Read for more detsails

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Tiger-Phil

US star reveals Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup rant about Phil Mickelson in front of former wife
Golfing superstars Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods shared a rivalry for a generation and had an infamous team partnership at the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills in 2004

It was the rivalry that defined a golfing generation. Phil Mickelson, the once lovable ‘Lefty’ with preposterous talent, who could wilt, but was blessed with a magic wand around the greens. And Tiger Woods, the game’s indomitable, remorseless superstar who transcended his sport with a never-seen-before destructive winners mentality.

Now, golf’s biggest stars of the last two decades could not have more contrasting reputations. Mickelson is saddled with the unlikely tag of golf’s pariah due to his allegiance with LIV Golf and his inflammatory comments on the rebel series’ financial backers in Saudi Arabia. Woods, meanwhile, is a staunch supporter of the game’s current eco-system and has lifted his mask of invincibility to show his true character in recent years.

That Mickelson and Woods were entangled in an individual battle for greatness hinted that a pairing together at the Ryder Cup would not be the perfect marriage. And US Captain Hal Sutton’s decision to pair his two big hitters together at Oakland Hills in 2004 was, perhaps unsurprisingly, an unmitigated disaster.

The duo were given two days notice that they were playing together in Michigan, and lost both the Friday morning fourballs match against Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington, and their afternoon foursomes match against Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

Woods and Mickelson’s contrasting personalties fuelled their on-course rivalry and that did not bode well in a format that requires teamwork and understanding. Europe eventually ran out 18.5 – 9.5 winners in their biggest victory in Ryder Cup history.

And eight-time PGA Tour winner Fred Funk, also in Sutton’s 2004 US team, had the best seat in the house as he witnessed a furious Woods embark on a rant about his partnership with Mickelson. Woods was in a courtesy car heading back to the team hotel with ex-wife Elin Nordegren and Funk after defeat in the morning session.

“I said, ‘How was it?'” Funk told the GOLF Subpar Podcast. “And he goes, ‘How was what?’ I go ‘How was it?’ And he doesn’t reply. And I go, ‘Tiger, how was it with Phil?’. And that was the year [Mickelson] just switched over to Callaway with all new equipment. He was never with us all week, he was always somewhere else testing clubs, testing balls, trying to figure out.”

“And [Tiger] just said, ‘He doesn’t know where the ball is going, he doesn’t know how far to hit it, he can’t keep it on the golf course, he didn’t help me one hole!’ … So we are just laughing.”

Woods has never been able to arrest his own poor Ryder Cup form, with an all-time record of 13-21-3 across eight different events pointing to a stronger priority being placed on his own individual glory.

Mickelson, meanwhile, later hit out at former captain Sutton for the pairing and the proximity of its announcement as he was forced to learn Woods’ golf ball in a limited time period.

“It forced me to stop my preparation for the tournament, to stop chipping and stop putting and stop sharpening my game and stop learning the golf course in an effort to crash-course and learn a whole different golf ball that we were going to be playing,” Mickelson told Golf Digest in 2016.

“Had we known a month in advance, we might have been able to make it work. I think we probably would have made it work. But we didn’t know until two days prior. That’s an example of starting with the captain, that put us in a position to fail and we failed monumentally, absolutely.”

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Rory McIlroy rubbishes Phil Mickelson…Read for more details

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Phil-Rory

Rory McIlroy rubbishes Phil Mickelson’s ‘LIV propaganda’ after golf legend claimed PGA Tour was ‘trending downwards’

RORY McILROY dismissed Phil Mickelson’s suggestion that the PGA Tour was ‘trending downwards’ as ‘LIV propaganda’.

Mickelson, who joined the Saudi-backed league in a deal worth up to €200 million, boasted that he was ‘on the winning side’.

He said: “I think that for a long, long time, my 30 years on the PGA Tour, pretty much all the best players played on the PGA Tour, at least for the last 20 years.

“That will never be the case again.

The 44-year-old continued: “And I see LIV Golf trending upwards, I see the PGA Tour trending downwards and I love the side that I’m on.

“I love how I’m reinvigorated and excited to play golf and compete. I love the experience. I love the way they treat us.

“I love the way they involve us and listen to us in decisions. I mean it’s so inclusive, it’s so fluid that things, LIV Golf is leading.”

This is a claim that was refuted by McIlroy, speaking ahead of the CJ Cup, in which 15 of the top 20 players in the world are competing.

The Holywood man said: “I don’t agree with what Phil said.

“I understand why he said it because of the position he is in, but I don’t think anyone with a logical view can agree with it.

“I love the way they involve us and listen to us in decisions. I mean it’s so inclusive, it’s so fluid that things, LIV Golf is leading.”

This is a claim that was refuted by McIlroy, speaking ahead of the CJ Cup, in which 15 of the top 20 players in the world are competing.

The Holywood man said: “I don’t agree with what Phil said.

“I understand why he said it because of the position he is in, but I don’t think anyone with a logical view can agree with it.

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Golf

Twitter asks what Tiger does for a living…Read for more details

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Tiger Woods

It is safe to say that Tiger Woods is one of golf’s biggest stars. Fans are often wanting to stay in tune with whatever happens in his professional and personal life.

In a recent post viral on Twitter, Fans were asked a fun question that involved Tiger Woods. With a rare picture, The Caddie Network asked fans to guess what Tiger does for a living. Interestingly enough, only wrong answers were welcome in this breakthrough post.

Twitter users went berserk while giving fun yet creative answers for this prompt. Woods was seen in a blue pair of baggy jeans in this post standing in front of his $50 Million aircraft.

Fans did not leave this opportunity and were quick to react.

How did the fans react to this rare picture of Tiger Woods?
Twitter World was filled with back-to-back reactions on seeing this rare picture. As soon as this interesting post made its way to the fans, the golf world started to react. Fans from all around the world started to pour in their diverse reactions to this rather funny picture of Woods.

Thank you @PhilMickelson

— BGE (@ih8theLIRR) October 18, 2022

Sobriety counselor

— Just A Caddie (@LoopersProShop) October 19, 2022

professional car crash tester.

Hope that hasn’t been used yet. 😆😎

— Cutter (@Cutterthecaddie) October 19, 2022

Manages a boy band in the early 2000s. Thinks autotune is the next big thing.

— They call me JC (@1golferincart) October 19, 2022

Latex sales

— Hans Schwartz (@x4kbbb9cp5) October 19, 2022

pickleball pro

— Ken Monroe (@KenM1290) October 19, 2022

Model for ‘Bring Back Baggie Jeans’ ad campaign

— franklin langham (@doughputter) October 19, 2022

He’s worth 100 million that the government knows about! That’s all I got on this guy.

— Taylor McCutcheon (@Cutch_T) October 19, 2022

Wears his mother’s jeans as a fashion, well… 😬

— Paul Clews FCIRO, CMILT (@PaulClews2) October 19, 2022

Steals ya girl.

— jen 🌻🇺🇦 (@JenDurant3) October 19, 2022

Tiger Woods and his new upliftment project
Tiger has been trying to contribute to the betterment of society for a long while now. Shortly after Woods turned pro, he formed the Tiger Woods Foundation. But Woods wanted to do more, and he accomplished exactly that by establishing the Tiger Woods Learning center.

It took him exactly three and a half years to finally establish the said organization. Woods came a long way to further the betterment of education. His learning center strives to not only offer students unique learning experiences in STEM and enrichment programs in college access, but also provide them with an environment where they can recognize their potential and create positive change for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Woods said, “This is by far the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. This is bigger than golf. This is bigger than anything I’ve done on the golf course. Because we will be able to shape lives.”

Woods made this change possible with the help of 25 founding partners, which includes Target, Nike, Augusta National, and many more.

What do you think about Woods’ act of philanthropy? Share your views in the comments section below.

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Golf

Ronnie O’Sullivan makes Phil Mickelson comparison as he tips ‘amazing’ rival for world title

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Phil Mickelson

The seven-time world champion has compared his Class of 92 snooker rival to golfer Phil Mickelson, who has recently lost popularity during his sport’s fierce civil war

Ronnie O’Sullivan has hailed Mark Williams as snooker ‘s answer to Phil Mickelson, tipping the Welshman to replicate the six-time major winner by claiming a huge title late in his career.

O’Sullivan, Williams and John Higgins make up snooker’s heralded ‘Class of 92’, the legendary trio who have resided at the top of the rankings for three decades. They are often compared to the ‘Big Three’ in tennis of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal due to their remarkable longevity and dominance on the green baize.

World No.1 O’Sullivan, 46, created history by matching Stephen Hendry’s magnificent seven Crucible titles and is now considered the greatest to ever wield a cue. But he is never short of praise for his two great rivals Higgins and Williams, who made up the semi-final lineup at this year’s Sheffield showpiece alongside former champion Judd Trump.

Williams will turn 48 before the next World Championship but O’Sullivan believes he is now better than ever and can compete for his fourth world title. “He is a much stronger player now than he ever has been,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport at the Northern Ireland Open.

“He reminds me of Phil Mickelson. He has so much talent, so much game, a winner. He has got everything. Mickelson won the US PGA at 50. It wouldn’t surprise me if he won another World Championship. He is that good. He is good under pressure, and just looks so good out there enjoying it.”

Mickelson’s PGA Championship triumph at Kiawah Island aged 50 made him the oldest player to win one of golf’s four prestigious majors. He has only been bettered by Tiger Woods in his era, and comparisons with Williams are appropriate given both perform their art with such ease and nonchalance, using their gifted talents to thrill crowds.

However, the popularity each have in their respective sports is in complete contrast. Mickelson has become golf’s unlikely pariah for his defection to the controversial LIV rebel series, plus his inflammatory comments on the human right abuses of its financial backers in Saudi Arabia. Williams, meanwhile, remains one of the loved snooker players on the circuit for his relaxed style on and off the table.

“There is no situation you put him in that he can’t handle,” O’Sullivan added. “He could out-safety John Higgins, he could out-pot anyone and can outscore anybody. He is an all-time great, he really is. An amazing player. He is great to watch, I have always loved watching him play.”

O’Sullivan and Williams are both competing at this week’s Northern Ireland Open in Belfast, with the winner claiming the £80,000 top prize in Sunday’s final.

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Check out Phil Mickelson’s comments that almost folded LIV before it started…

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Phil Mickelson

Phil’s comments almost folded LIV before it started, Golf Saudi’s attempt to “rent” Augusta National and other tidbits from the New Yorker-LIV piece

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman admitted in May that Phil Mickelson’s comments to the FirePit Collective delayed the launch of the Saudi-backed circuit. But according to a story from the New Yorker, Mickelson almost torpedoed the entire operation.

The article, which is in the latest issue of the New Yorker, revisits many of the key elements of the PGA Tour-LIV battle that has been chronicled in the golf media throughout the year. However, there are a handful of new tidbits from the piece, highlighted by an admission from Al Sorour, CEO of the Golf Saudi, that Mickelson’s remarks caused the LIV braintrust to question—specifically Sorour and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund—if they wanted to move forward. Zach Helfand writes:

The changes meant that the player exodus was likely to stabilize. Sorour and I retreated to a private suite beside the eighteenth green. He sat on a couch, his arms spread on the cushions, and said, “We have many players who want to come in now. But I need to protect my people.” He felt a sense of loyalty to the early adopters. The first ten had signed before liv had announced its launch. Another group had been ready to sign. Then Mickelson made his comments about the ‘scary motherfuckers,’ and the league, suddenly, was on the brink of folding.

Sorour told me, “I called the boss”—Rumayyan—“I said, ‘Everyone’s walking away. Do you want to do it, or not?’’ Sorour told Rumayyan he had a plan: “Get the biggest mediocres, get the ten that we have, get you and I, and let’s go play for twenty-five million dollars.” Rumayyan decided to press ahead and announce the launch immediately.

Helfand also writes that LIV sees its team concept has a way for the league to recoup its money—a subject Golf Digest broke and wrote extensively about in August—and that some player-owners received equity in their teams.

However, Sorour denied that Tiger Woods received the reported $800 million offer to jump to LIV: Of the Woods offer, Sorour said, “It’s not straight-out money. I never offered him that money, not even close to that.

The article touches on the touchy subject of world ranking points. While LIV and its leadership have been guilty of bombastic claims in the past, what the league might do should they not be granted accreditation, and thus its players losing an avenue to the major championships, is a doozy:

LIV’s other pressing issue is that its tournaments don’t yet earn golf ranking points, making it more difficult to qualify for the majors. There was speculation that the Masters might ban LIV players. “For now, the majors are siding with the Tour, and I don’t know why,” Sorour said. “If the majors decide not to have our players play? I will celebrate. I will create my own majors for my players.” He went on, “Honestly, I think all the tours are being run by guys who don’t understand business.”

What would qualify as a LIV “major” remained unclear.

Speaking of the Masters, Helfand passed along an item that’s floated around the folks of Golf Saudi for some time. Specifically, that the group looked into renting out Augusta National:

At the Masters one year, according to a person familiar with the conversations, they asked about renting Augusta National’s clubhouse to host a meet and greet for top golfers. “You can’t just do that,” the person said.

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