As LIV Golf rolls into New Jersey this week for its third event, executives are beginning to shed light on two main questions surrounding the upstart circuit
Noted fisherman Cameron Smith reeled in Rory McIlroy for the biggest catch of his life, delivering a final round for the ages with a 64 at the Old Course. There is so, so much to discuss. Here are 18 parting thoughts from the 150th Open.
Viktor Hovland smiles an awful lot for a villain. He didn’t ask for that label. He hasn’t done a single thing to deserve it – apart from having the audacity to match Rory McIlroy shot-for-shot on Saturday at the Old Course.
The R&A’s not-so-subtle stiff-arming of the defectors – there are 23 players in the field who have either played in a LIV event or committed to doing so in the future – began before the week even started.
For all the hundreds of millions of dollars splurged to lure big-name players away from the PGA Tour, both of the first two LIV events have been won by players outside the top 100 in the world ranking.
LIV’s tournaments do not have history nor identity to build upon. There is no precedent for this team concept in professional golf. It’s a not-small mountain to climb. LIV hopes to spend its way to the top.
LIV Golf’s original plan called for multiple years of its ‘Invitaitonal Series’ before switching to a league schedule down the road. That timeline has been accelerated.
Multiple sources, some of whom spent years working at Pumpkin Ridge, described the local conversation around the first LIV event in the US as tense, divisive and the last thing the Portland area needed.
For Greg Norman, the Saudi government and LIV Golf, the overnight press conferences were a victory lap of sorts; an opportunity to show off six legitimately big-name golfers they have successfully lured away from the PGA Tour.
Matt Fitzpatrick is a Major champion, winning the US Open with a legendary ball-striking performance – and doing it at The Country Club, where it all started. There is so, so much to discuss. Here are 18 parting thoughts from Brookline.
Should the PGA Tour emerge from this existential crisis and remain the dominant force in professional golf, it’ll be in no small part due to pro-bono work from the law firm of Rahm, McIlroy & Thomas.
Phil Mickelson wants to keep his PGA Tour membership – he made that clear in a carefully worded statement released Tuesday – but Dustin Johnson is grabbing his bag of cash and speeding away from Ponte Vedra Beach.
Australian Golf Digest
