When the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced a framework agreement to merge their commercial operations, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan appeared the future leader and golf and LIV Golf’s Greg Norman a casualty of the deal.
Monahan lauded the “historic day,” and was hailed as the man who would oversee both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which is bankrolled by the PIF. And it was reported he even had the power to make LIV Golf go away.
As for Norman, LIV’s CEO and commissioner, we were told during a Senate subcommittee hearing one month after the announcement the Palm Beach Gardens resident is “out of a job” if a deal is reached.
Seven months later, Monahan’s star has crashed and burned and Norman, well, he’s as defiant and confident as ever.
Whether or not the sides reach a deal by Sunday’s deadline — Tiger Woods believes it’s possible — the biggest surprise in 2024 could be Monahan, a man who not long ago was a rising star in his field, cleaning out his desk in Ponte Vedra Beach and Norman surviving the chaos.
A scenario that suddenly is a real possibility.
While some PGA Tour members are calling for new leadership, Norman expressed his confidence that he and LIV are here for the long run during a meeting with select members of the media at Doral two months ago.
Norman was asked what he thought when he heard the PGA Tour’s chief operating officer, Ron Price, declare Norman would be squeezed out.
“I knew it wasn’t true,” he said. “There’s so much white noise floating around out there that I actually paid zero attention to. … I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that.”
And Norman insists LIV Golf would continue as a “standalone entity” even if a deal is reached with the PGA Tour.
Meanwhile, Jupiter’s Xander Schauffele has been one of the most outspoken about Monahan’s future, telling Today’s Golfer he “wouldn’t mind” seeing new leadership.
“I would be lying if I said that I have a whole lot of trust after what happened,” Schauffele said. “That’s definitely the consensus that I get when I talk to a lot of guys. It’s a bit contradictory when they call it ‘our Tour’ and things can happen without us even knowing.
“It’s hard. I’m sure there are reasons for what happened, but at the same time, it puts us in a really hard spot to trust the leadership that did some stuff in the dark and is supposed to have our best interests at heart. I am a bit in the dark still. I hate to sit here and hope for the best.”
Monahan’s mistake was holding about two months of negotiations with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who heads the PIF, in secrecy. This angered the players and led to Woods being added to the Player Advisory Board to give the players a stronger voice.
Hearing the outrage, Monahan later regretted not looping in the players.
But Monahan clearly has lost the trust of the players, and watching Jon Rahm, who voiced his mistrust in Monahan at the U.S. Open, join LIV in November continued Monahan’s downward spiral.
“Management has not done a good job,” Viktor Hovland said in a recent podcast. “You see what happens behind closed doors, how management actually makes decisions that are not in the players’ best interest but best for themselves and what they think is best.”
As much as Monahan dismissed LIV Golf publicly — he once said LIV was an “irrational threat” — the league that has poached stars like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and now Rahm — from the PGA Tour, also has gotten its attention.
The Tour’s infusion of money into prize purses and the Player Impact Program, and begging sponsors to increase financial commitments is a direct result of LIV’s threat.
LIV gained leverage in these negotiations after signing Rahm and the PGA Tour knows it cannot compete with the PIF’s war chest of more than $700 billion.
That puts Norman in a position of strength. And Monahan desperately trying to hold on.
[source: Golfweek.usatoday.com]
It pays to play well, even in golf’s silly season events. Just ask this weekend’s winners, Bernhard and Jason Langer.
The father-son duo won the 2023 PNC Championship on Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando by two shots over David Duval and his son, Brady. The win is the fifth for Langer at the annual family event, tying Raymond Floyd with the most wins.
For their efforts, Team Langer will take home the top prize of $200,000, while the Duvals earned $80,000. Check out how much money each team earned this weekend at the 2023 PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.
Visit the article below to see payouts for every team!
[Source:Golfweek.com]
Jon Rahm could be headed to LIV Golf.
The two-time major champion has reportedly held talks with LIV Golf executives in recent weeks. Still, no formal agreement has come to fruition, according to a report from the UK website Bunkered and the Argentinian outlet Handicap 54.
Speculation of Rahm’s departure arose when he decided to leave TGL, the new golf league founded in part by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. TGL has since been postponed to 2025.
But Rahm will only join LIV Golf—and likely his compatriot and good friend Sergio Garcia on his Fireballs GC team—if the Saudi-backed circuit changes its structure.
Fireballs GC could become an all-Spanish team, with Rahm and Garcia as co-captains. Youngsters Eugenio Chacarra and David Puig would round out the foursome.
Yet, this will not happen unless Rahm sees a change in the format of the league, perhaps so that it could receive Official World Golf Ranking Points (OWGR) in the future.
Earlier this Fall, the OWGR denied LIV Golf points because of its current structure. The league has prided itself on 54-hole events and shotgun starts, two elements on which the OWGR board did not look too keenly.
Nevertheless, Rahm would have no worries about the OWGR, one of the criteria major championships use to determine its fields. Thanks to his win last year at Augusta National, Rahm has an exemption into the major championships over the next five years. All major winners receive this exemption.
Whether or not Rahm makes the jump remains to be seen, but the rumors of his PGA Tour departure have never been more valid. If he does leave, it would surely hurt the PGA Tour more than anything else.
[Source: sbnation.com]
TGL, the tech-infused golf league that was to launch in January and air on ESPN will be delayed one year until 2025.
Its arena, being built on the campus of Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., sustained significant damage last week after a power outage. The dome structure was compromised but no injuries were reported.
The league, started by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, released an official statement explaining the decision on Monday.
“Overnight on Tuesday, Nov. 14, a failure of the temporary power system and backup systems used during construction caused the dome to deflate, which caused damage to the air-supported dome section of the site,” the statement from TGL read. “There were no injuries, and most of the technology was not impacted. Following discussions with key partners, including players, our six team ownership groups, PGA Tour leadership and our commercial partners, SoFi, ESPN and Palm Beach State College, the decision has been made to postpone the start of the TGL season until early 2025.
“This decision came after reviewing short-term solutions, potential construction timelines, player schedules, and the primetime sports television calendar. Despite this new timeline for the venue, we remain excited about the future of TGL and will continue to build excitement between now and the start of the season with our players, fans and teams. We have begun to update plans and timelines and are confident that the extension will only improve our delivery.”
Sports Business Journal first reported the news of the delay.
The simulator league is set to feature six teams of four PGA Tour players playing in a three-player, two-hour team format.
The air-supported dome that was under construction is approximately 250,000 square feet and will allow for an oversized simulator that will have a 46-by-64-foot screen for players to hit shots along with various other aspects including greens and bunkers. It is expected to seat 2,000 people.
The matches were set to be broadcast on ESPN starting Tuesday, Jan. 9, and playing weekly through late March.
Both organizers and players have weighed in on the unexpected delay of the tech-infused league.
“The postponement brings mixed feelings of disappointment and excitement,” McIlroy said. “Above all, we are happy that no one was injured. We are looking forward to the launch of TGL. Given the circumstances, while the delay is disappointing, the postponement will allow us to regroup, refocus and return stronger.”
Woods, who was recently announced as the first member of the Jupiter Links TGL team, also commented on the league’s new start date.
“I’ve been a believer in TGL, and as the momentum has built this past year, I’m even more excited about what this can become for fans of the game all around the world,” the 15-time major champion said. “Although the events of last week will force us to our timelines, I’m fully confident that this concept will be brought to life by our great committed players.”
[SI.com]
