Golf can be a cruel and complex game, particularly at the elite level. Sergio Garcia, after 26 years as a pro, was reminded horribly when he came within three feet of securing a place in the Open Championship at the Asian Tour’s International Series Macau in China.
As golf in the Olympics continues to navigate its way towards relevancy, its latest challenge may be the one that puts it most in line with golf’s major championships.
There was no complaining, no bitterness. Carlos Ortiz stood over a pitch shot on the final hole of LIV Golf Houston confident he would win, and certain he would be asked later about the fact he will not be playing in this week’s US Open at Pinehurst.
Some on LIV Golf accepted what can only be estimated as generational wealth. Their omission from the OWGR is not a punishment, but the price of that payday.
Keeping an unusually low media profile during the opening events of his divisive LIV Golf Invitational Series, Greg Norman is finally ready to do the talking. In a wide-ranging interview with Australian Golf Digest, The Shark explains how golf found itself in conflict, what it all means for countries like Australia, and why his second attempt at globalising the pro circuit will end differently to the first.
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.