Matt and Dom discuss the controversy around LIV Golf, much of which comes from a major source of funding (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund). Matt points out the Ladies European Tour just hosted an event funded by Aramco and the very same Public Investment Fund, but with little to no controversy.
Related Posts
35 Comments
You know why it’s working on the LPGA? bec their commissioner isn’t Monahan
Matt you've been very fair,I tip my cap to you !
There is no hypocrisy. You might as well ban Hollywood as Saudis and China own 55% of CAA, studios, and all Agencies. The funding source issue is moot. First and foremost, who owned Shell corporation? Saudis. Shell sponsored multiple PGA Golf events and tournaments for over 50 years. ARAMCO Team Series is NOT the LPGA it is in conjunction with it. The main issue with LIV is that the FAN LOSES. The Fan loses in the end due to the sport being fractured. Players can do what they want but LIV is built upon destruction of the PGA. It is NOT to grow the game. LIV Tournaments have no meaning, the reason players are now worried forcing LIV to throw darts by lining up with dormant dead tours to gain OWGR., adding a cut, and expanding to 72 holes. Obviously the sails are coming off the ship, but how does any LIV player NOT realize their ability to play in Majors would be compromised based on OWGR. Tiger himself warned about it.
The funding issue is just a cudgel for the pga tour to use ,all the money on both sides is dirty,CHINA !! China a BILLION times worse than Saudi money .
LIV has bigger problems right now than getting world golf points. It was already controversial having the Saudi royal family trying to take over world golf, but now the same dudes are fooling around politically such that their popularity is so plummeting as to probably cause players to rethink their decision to join. Much less getting more players to jump.
PGA Tour doesn't want the competition from the LIV Tour. The PGA Tour knows everyone does business with the Saudis.
How can there POSSIBLY be a pathway for these 2 groups to co-exist??? How can you possibly expect to gain OFFICIAL ranking points when you are playing 54 holes, NO cuts, same players week in and week out. They ALL said that they wanted to play less…so why this huge concern over playing PGA/DP tournaments as well as the easy money tournaments. In the end, they will have to sue LIV/Greg Norman for false representations…NO points…NO majors….NO network contracts = no sponsor contracts because nobody is exposed to the circus
these woke liberals just call people names when they hate others, but they are exactly what they accuse others of. Great tournaments in Saudi and Spain, congrats to Liv players Brooks and Adrian !
A glimpse into the future and maybe that's next year sees LIV doing a big money womens series fully endorsed by all the women's tours . Ploughing large amounts of cash into women's golf and integrated into the schedule complimenting and not competing. The women will come n go as they please and will all be in teams called crushers smash majesties 4 aces . There will be women's and men's elements to franchises and mixed team competitions.. This is the future of golf and its the PGAT who like you said want all the sandpit. This is going to hit a lot of people between the eyes who can't see it coming and there nothing the PGAT can do to stop it bar buy women's golf .
Here is a few more Hypocrisy pointers. CNN's flagship golf show "Living Golf" is sponsored by "Golf Saudi". Jack Nichalus is building a Golf course in Saudi as we speak, for teh Saudi's, so I guess that's not blood money because its Jack. DP World tour has had relationships and tournaments in Saudi. the PGA has allowed its players to play in Saudi many times and recently. Keith Pelly of DP has said recently that if LIV was to go away the DP World tour would be happy to have the Saudi's invest with DP.
to answer the question, no one cares about the LET or women's golf in general. Frankly, I didn't even know there was a LET tournament, or who had won, or anything. I just don't care about women's golf. I'm not criticizing women's golf, or complaining about it in any way, shape or form. I'm simply saying that it really doesn't interest me much at all, so I just have no clue about when they play or who plays or anything. And if I am totally honest, unless Brooke Henderson is playing I wouldn't watch. But I just think she is sexy as hell, so that would be my only reason to watch women's golf. Just one man's opinion. You are free to your own.
There's growing public support for LIV Golf because of the way it's being treated. The outcome for the OWGR, legacy tours, organisations and majors is intense scrutiny and negative exposure.
Make them go through the qualifying process.
I was hosting the neighborhood dads’ poker night this weekend, so I was up late/early. LIV came up in my YouTube feed, and I clicked in with less than 10,000 other viewers to watch it all unfold. That’s a brutally low number.
For all the pearl clutching critics who speak out. Ask Nicklaus about the huge payday he got for designing golf course in Saudi Arabia, or Tiger about the Uyghurs slaves in China who made Nike gear. The hypocrisy is next level, as you say. I’m over the empty outrage. I’m now about the PGAtour anti competitive behaviour and how it will hurt majors, the Ryder Cup etc. Jay isn’t about golf or golf fans, he’s about protecting a monopoly that’s already falling apart.
Norman is trying to ruin the PGA Tour…full stop.
Saudi Arabian Investment Group To Invest Nearly $38 Billion In Games Industry
BYSEAN MURRAY
PUBLISHED SEP 29, 2022
Matt, seriously what point was your sidekick trying to make today? 🤣🤣🤣
They all knew that they would be on the outer when they signed. Harold Varner confirmed this yesterday.
You guys are missing the point. It is not about where the money comes from, or necessarily the source of funds. LIV has come and paid upfront for big name players from other tours to join them. This does not happen on any other tour. For other tours (PGA or DP), every player has an equal opportunity to play after going through a qualifying system (e.g. Korn Ferry Tour). LIV is actually a closed tour of just 48 players.
More US tour propaganda……WHY would any major exclude LIV players….why not talk about the CORRUPT OWGR board….
The ONLY problem is Monahan and his corrupt cronies protecting his monopoly
Americans just don't understand the LIV mindset…..they are not going away…..and nor should they..look at how corrupt Monahan and the tour mafia are
Dom should disclose his ties to the US tour and thus his conflict of interest
EPIC hypocrisy regarding ARAMCO funding ladies golf
Talk about the US tour Japan event with limited field and no cuts…but full OWGR points what hypocrisy……Corrupt OWGR board
STOP THE INSANITY!!!! You both know very well the moral outrage is a cover for the PGA Tour and everyone making money within that system. They know LIV is an existential threat to their livelihoods and fat corporate packages. Every golf reporter and Golf Channel commentator who get free VIP passes and perks have lined up to carry the PGA Tour's water buckets to throw on the LIV brush fire. Let's stop pretending we don't know what this is about. Hiding in the background is the haunting reality for the PGA Tour…. TIGER IS GONE. How long do the corporate sponsors stick around when a Max Homa or Tom Kim are on the Media Guide Cover??? They say Sharks have a sense of smell that can detect 1 drop of blood one mile away from the source. Greg Norman has been circling the PGA Tour raft for quite some time….
How do you rank guys playing the “Company Picnic Tour”
This is hypocrisy is the PGA wants to make this about them, no one else, and in reality the Lady PGA is 100% dominated by Asian females…..
it doesnt exit because the media is in the tank for the PGA, in many cases Matt, but you are not included in my thinking..
i cant recall any pga men talking about the ladies pga tour, seriously…
Stop the lies no one ever said they were guaranteed to get rankings and yes they can play in the US OPEN and British Open but they will have to Qualify through Qualifiers. However Past Champions should be honored by all majors to their past champions. ARAMCO is Saudi based.
Cause no one gives a fuck about womens anything…thats facts.
Why the big surprise? America and American society is the epitome of hypocrisy. Wake up and look around bro.
…yeh, but the TOUR is only as good as the players it has!!!!!