LIV Releases Schedule, $250 Million In Purse Money And A Return Visit To The Magical Royal Greens

/

Greg Norman and friends rolled out a schedule for eight events beginning in June offering big money and venues that scream “not quite good enough” for big time tournaments. The league does not yet have a television partner though in the era of streaming they have more options than a few years ago. The bigger issue will be attracting players after the last few weeks of bad news and inability of the Kingdom to stay out of the news.

From Bob Harig’s SI.com story where Greg Norman says the PGA Tour forced a change in plans and also the chances of a lawsuit:

“We had to react,’’ Norman said. “No question the PGA Tour’s reaction to where we were positioned at that time was very strong. They put down a tree in their road to put another obstacle in our way. But no matter what obstacle they put forth we work our way around it. And that’s why we are here today. It’s up to the players.

“We are going to give them opportunities to play where they want to play and choose. We are not going away. We are here for the long haul.’’

The LIV Golf Invitational (oh what a name!) 2022 schedule would allow a player to use their three waivers per season if allowed to play these without a full commitment (thanks to the wraparound schedule putting the first three events against the 2021-22 schedule and the last four against the 2022-23 schedule):

• June 9-11: Centurion Golf Club – London

• July 1-3: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club – Portland

• July 29-31: Trump National Golf Club Bedminster – New Jersey

• Sept 2-4: The International – Boston

• Sept 16-18: Rich Harvest Farms – Chicago

• Oct 7-9: Stonehill Golf Club – Bangkok

• Oct 14-16: Royal Greens Golf Club – Jeddah

• Oct 28-30: Team Championship

Time will tell who plays and how long before waivers are denied. Though with the wraparound schedule it would appear four of the individual events are played after the 2021-22 PGA Tour schedule’s window.

Meanwhile, they’re exited about the LIV Tour over at Golf.com, where they also have a partnership with Saudi Arabia to promote Nicklaus designs and buddies trips to the land of beheadings.

PGL's Updated Proposal: Co-Sanctioning, $460 Million Advance, For-Profit Model, No Crown Prince

/

Bob Harig at SI.com has details of the World Golf Group/Premier Golf League’s latest pitch to get a meeting with PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour Policy Board.

Set aside the silliness of the current 200 PGA Tour players getting $2 million each for being in the right place at the right time (Thanks Tiger!), and consider the specifics.

World Golf Group states it believes the PGL will generate $10 billion of equity value by 2030, which would equate to $20 million per PGA Tour voting member and $3 million per Korn Ferry member.

In addition, the proposal includes a cash advance on future equity value of $460 million. In simple terms, each of 200 voting members of the PGA Tour would receive $2 million upon the launch of the PGL, with 200 Korn Ferry members each getting $300,000.

Andy Gardiner, the CEO of the Premier Golf League, who was recently at the Players Championship, declined to comment.

Harig noted Rory McIlroy’s comments on the No Laying Up podcast last December that all but force him to bring the proposal to the table.

“Yes, OK, I get the business model that the PGA Tour is currently under, Andy said 'hamstrung,' in terms of ... this is just sort of what they can do and they’re doing their best with what they can, and I agree that they’re doing a wonderful job within the structure they’re in because that was what was created before Jay (Monahan) took charge. You know it is what it is. But if someone comes along and says I think I can create this amount of revenue and distribute it amongst every player, you have to listen to that, right? Because again, that’s my responsibility to all the players who voted me into this position.’’

But as Harig notes…

What remains to be seen is if McIlroy, the PGA Tour Policy Board and Monahan will take a meeting with the World Golf Group to discuss the PGL proposals.

Music Video: Harrop's Latest Takes On @useGolfFACTS

/

For those not aware of golf Twitter’s underworld and the bizarre burner account @useGolfFACTS offers a range of conspiratorial takes generally defending Patrick Reed.

The account has inspired singer, songwriter and satirist Sam Harrop’s latest single. If you aren’t aware of @useGolfFACTS won’t make a bit of sense but that should not stop you from watching. Or doing a little Google work to discover the belief that yes, the Hero World Challenge sand rearranging video has been doctored. Really.

PIP Comedy: Tiger Ends Up Winning, Bubba Finishes 10th Despite Shocking Meltwater Miss

/

The continued comedy that is the PGA Tour’s popularity program has shockingly produced the pre-determined winner. Despite Phil Mickelson’s December declaration of victory and press reports backing him up, the number-crunchers finally tallied the 2021 totals and found that Tiger Woods won.

After saying they would not comment on the PIP, the PGA Tour revealed the Woods victory and Cameron Morfit’s story implies Woods’ return at the PNC Championship put him over the top.

Independent auditor Grant Thornton certified the results. Lucky them.

GolfDigest.com’s Dan Rapaport had the story as well with exclusive numbers.

Despite not hitting a shot until December’s PNC or doing much all year while recuperating from a car accident, Woods rode that deadly combo of Google searches, Meltwater Mentions and Q-Score to victory. Meanwhile, Mickelson will rue his Nielsen and Meltwaters while he takes a hiatus from the game.

Tiger took his victory in stride. Wait you said he invoked emojis to stick it to Phil?

Most compelling—if that’s possible with this “competition”—are some of the category numbers obtained by Golf Digest. The dismal Q-Scores for Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm jump off the page. Get those guys French bulldog puppies and Gram it up!

Bubba Watson also somehow overcame dismal scores in most categories to finish tenth thanks to a first place finish in the MVP Index, bringing $3 million to his account.

Jordan Spieth, finished 19th in the MVP Index co-started by his father, but killed in other categories thanks to about 25 totally sponsor-related and boring social media posts. Long live the PIP!

No Laying Up added the PIP with the other bonus pools to offer a 2021 money list:

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News & Notes, February 24, 2022

/

Player moves and Zach gets the Ryder Cup nod lead off this edition.

Plus, distance talk, the fairway landing area on Augusta National's 11th, Oakland Hills update, women's major notes, Rory's Masters approach and Reads. Never have I been more thrilled to deliver some old school notes and observations.

As always, Thursdays are guaranteed free for all Quad subscribers and looky-loos.

Subscribe here if you haven’t already.

Cantlay: "The biggest problem for me is when we lose the architectural integrity of the golf course...Something has to give.”

/

In conversation with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Patrick Cantlay became the rare under-30 golfer to have given the topic of distance its impact on courses any thought.

But he did better than that. Golfweek’s Adam Schupak reported on the comments and transcribed.

“That’s the hardest part of it. The knee-jerk reaction is don’t do anything. They may mess up the implementation, so it won’t be worth it,” he said.

“Theoretically, the golf ball needs to go shorter,” he continued, “Every golf course I go to has different tee boxes farther back than even 4-5 years ago when I visited the golf course. It’s getting to the point where the tee boxes are already to the perimeter of the property, so much so that Augusta National has been buying up all the adjacent pieces of property so they can put more tee boxes and change the holes.

“That’s not sustainable. Not only that if pace of play is one of your biggest concerns, how many golf course do I go to on Tour where the tees are 100 yards back? They can’t keep going in this direction.

Cantlay added: “The technology isn’t only better but young guys are trying to hit it farther and farther because the stats say the farther I hit it, the better I’ll play. Something has to give.

“I think the biggest shame is that I can’t go to Cypress Point and play the course the way the designer designed the golf course to be played. The biggest problem for me is when we lose the architectural integrity of the golf course. We’re to the point where that’s where we are. Something has to give.”

The full conversation:

DeChambeau: "Just another inaccurate report" Regarding His PGA Tour Future

/

Reacting to conjecture on the No Laying Up podcast about his PGA Tour future, Bryson DeChambeau denied suggestions he has played his last PGA Tour event.

The speculation about his future has been intense after a recent trip to Saudi Arabia to learn more about its rich culture and to collect a sizable appearance fee. The No Laying Up team suggested that multiple players had been told by DeChambeau that “he is no longer playing on the PGA Tour.”

DeChambeau offered this rebuttal:

SI.com’s Bob Harig shared this from Brett Falkoff, DeChambeau's agent: "Bryson is planning on defending at Bay Hill provided he is healthy enough to compete. The only reason he is not in LA this week is due to his injuries. Any other report is false.”

Last week DeChambeau played down the seriousness of his injuries, blaming them on a fall and not on his much-hyped speed training.

Waste Management Open: Scheffler Scores First Win As Theegala Hangs In Late

/

He’s contended in majors, played a key role on the Ryder Cup team and now Scottie Scheffler has a signature victory in the 2022 WM Open. A birdie at 17 and a 26-footer in the playoff to beat Patrick Cantlay came when 99% of the viewing public was watching the Super Bowl.

Nonetheless, Scheffler gets the best-player-not-to-have-a-PGA Tour win off his back.

From Adam Schupak’s Golfweek game story:

So was Scheffler’s resume, which included U.S. Junior Amateur champion, All-American at Texas and Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year. Scheffler already had shot 59 in a FedEx Cup playoff event, had a chance to a host of Tour events, most recently at the Houston Open, but victory had remained elusive. Entering the week at No. 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Scheffler was the highest-ranked player in the world without a PGA Tour victory.

Embed Block
Add an embed URL or code. Learn more

Another winner from the week: Sahith Theegala. We got to know him after making the cut in the 2017 Genesis before going on to a Hogan and Nicklaus Award at Pepperdine. But contending in Scottsdale is another matter and Theegala did nothing wrong, including what looked like a stellar tee shot at the drivable 17th. It finished in the water and his bogey there was the difference between making the playoff and his T3 finish.

From Daniel Rapaport’s GolfDigest.com story:

Theegala, a distinctly un-jaded 24-year-old rookie with an easy smile and a hall-of-fame strut, failed to get up and down and failed to get himself into a playoff with Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. He succeeded, however, in capturing the adoration of the 800,000-ish fans who made their way to party this week and the millions more watching on television. (At least until the playoff bled into the Super Bowl.) He slept on the lead three nights in a row and refused to cede his place on a star-studded leader board, even holding a three-shot lead for a brief period on the front nine.

He was emotional after a gut-wrenching loss:

A Tradition Unlike Any Other: The Quest For The Slime Green Jacket

/

I’m not going to quibble with Nickelodeon’s success in reimagining live sports in a way that’s fun for the kids since their NFL reviews have been glowing slime green.

Still, I’m not envisioning a scenario where the Lords of Augusta

Brian Steinberg of Variety reports on Nickelodeon teaming up with producer Bryan Zuriff of The Match fame, Excel Sports and players like Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Lexi Thompson to bring us the Slime Cup. The final “match” will be played in the Rose Bowl and the winner is to receive a Slime Green jacket .

“We are inventing our own golf match,” says Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, in an interview. “It’s definitely different.”

Confirmed participants include: top-ranked professional golfers like Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Lexi Thompson; NFL superstars, Saquon Barkley and Justin Herbert; Terry Crews; and Nick stars Isaiah Crews, Kate Godfrey, Jaidyn Triplett and Tyler Wladis. Nickelodeon’s Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, who has provided commentary for the network’s Wild Card game-casts, will do the same for “Slime Cup.”  Other participants could be named at a later date.

The teams will compete in a two-round tournament, with holes inspired by Nickelodeon shows, all in hopes of reaching “The Unfairway,”an unpredictable final round that will take place inside the Rose Bowl stadium. The victors win the title cup a slime-green blazer, and, of course, the honor of getting Nickelodeon’s signature goo dumped on them.

“This is relay about making a fun, entertaining golf show,” says Robbins. “I think you know a lot of dads play golf, and getting to watch this with your kids really will be fun.”

Ok let’s not carried away.

Production is set to begin in February at a Los Angeles-area golf course with a summer launch in mind. The full press release can be seen here.

Winners And Losers: The Clash With The Clambake

/

A predictably awkward week from the Monterey Peninsula to the Red Sea claims its share of victims. I kind of rank them from least harmed to most harmed, ish.

What would Der Bingle say about all of this. But hey, at least CBS had some stellar production values and Spieth made it interesting.

DeChambeau Denies He Was Offered £100 Million, WD’s From Saudi Event

/

Given the end of his newsboy cap tribute to Payne Stewart and his choice of golf tournament this week while the PGA Tour plays not too far from his childhood home, there have been suggestions DeChambeau consider updating his logo.

DeChambeau subsequently WD’d after his round one 73. Tournament officials said he’s dealing with the same wrist and hip injuries that caused his WD from the Sony Open and missed cut at the Farmers. That’s no way to show you’re worth £100 million.

Special Saudi Edition Of Pros Say The Funniest Things Begins! First Up: Monty

/

We know the grow-the-games will be flying this week when top player descent on Saudi Arabia for the PIFSIPSIA cash grab and audition for those two peas in a pod, Greg Norman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. I anticipate some fabulous rationalizations. But I did not expect Monty earn the week’s first eye-roll.

Andrew Wright summed up Monty’s contribution from a BBC interview at the Dubai Desert Classic.

"It's a shame it's come to this,” Montgomerie told BBC Sport. “We used to work well with the Asian Tour and now we are at loggerheads because of money. It's a problematic issue. It's that horrible, evil word, money. The mighty dollar ruling people's hearts and minds. 

“We never played the game for money on the European Tour when I first started out. I was trying to see how much better I could get as a golfer. Now it's all about that evil word, money. Let's hope the European Tour is closer to the PGA Tour than we've ever been before and we can fight it off."

Ah yes, Monty just played to see how much better he could get while wearing logos on his shirt. Adorable.

What We Learned From The 2022 Farmers

/

The PGA Tour returned to the site of last June’s U.S. Open and always one of the top events of the year. Saturday’s finish did not disappoint, with Luke List finally capturing a win after 207 starts and reigning ROY Will Zalatoris continuing to impress.

Notes on them and other major contenders playing in Dubai and Boca are in this edition of The Quadrilateral.

Final round highlights from the PGA Tour:

Farmers Initially Balked At Saturday Finish, Now Seems Here To Stay

/

Loads of good stuff can be found in this Bryce Miller column about the new and, apparently, permanent Saturday finish as long as the Farmers Insurance Open finishes on AFC/NFC Championship Sunday.

“Do you really want to know?” Farmers Insurance CEO Jeff Dailey told the Union-Tribune on Friday at Torrey Pines, when asked about his initial feelings. “It was presented as a choice at first. Do you go with Wednesday through Saturday? Or do you go to NBC and keep the Thursday-Sunday format?

“My initial, ‘upset’ reaction was, let’s go to NBC. Then cooler heads prevailed.”

Does this mean cooler heads prefer CBS to NBC?

Miller says the loss of the pro-am caused by a quick turnaround from the previous week cost the Century Club $1 million. But ultimately Farmers wants ratings and Saturday’s later finish is their best chance for the largest audience.

Without a Sunday round, the television was shifted later to create near-primetime finishes on the East Coast on Friday and Saturday — a first for a regular PGA Tour event. Golfers began to see benefits, from avoiding pro-am obligations that allowed them to focus on the first difficult course of the season, to an extra open day on the weekend to see family and more easily travel.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s important to us that the ratings are strong, but we still get a tremendous amount of business benefit because we use this as motivation for our top agents around the country. That business benefit for us is probably stronger than a few incremental ratings points.