Golf Players

LIV Golf Cancels The OWGR



Greg Norman announces LIV Golf withdraw of their application to The OWGR official world golf rankings points system. Coincidence or strategy….

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Special credits in this episode: (none this time)

Darkstar the live golf tour Greg Norman leader thereof has cancelled the owgr they have released the news that they are cancelling the owgr they’ve done this in the form of a memo or letter to their own uh tour members so all 54 players on Liv have been alerted from

Corporate uh by Greg that the owgr is no longer going to be in their strategy moving forward it’s no longer serving their purposes there’s no way to work with them at this point so we’re moving on okay that is the news of the day today is Wednesday this all came out

Yesterday on the 5th of March and we have the Palmer starting tomorrow and we have Hong Kong starting uh Friday for the live guys so there’s two possibilities here audience two possibilities and we’re coming to you quickly here on YouTube because we just didn’t have time to put the video

Together Darkstar was in the shower he couldn’t get he couldn’t get his hair done quickly enough forgive us the YouTube viewers for having uh uh just still photos but here we go so we wanted to get this reaction obviously it’s big news big news to us at least there’s two

Possibilities Darkstar one this news is coincidental or incidental to the overall flow of what’s going on between Liv and PGA Tour and the paused or dying or however you want to characterize negotiations between PJ tour and piff on the framework so this news is either yeah you know no big thing they just

Dropped it on a Tuesday March 5th because they did and it’s no no more interesting than that that’s possibility a possibility B is it’s strategic we dropped it if your live we drop it on Tuesday March 5th for a reason there’s a reason to do it that way the way in

Which we’ve done it rather than totally private we knew it was going to leak we wanted it to leak we put it out as a letter to you know a whole bunch of people so they got picked up by the Press just as we intended and we’re

Doing it on this date at this time for these reasons because of these following points so it’s either strategic option b or nonstrategic option A where do you fall in your analysis Darkstar well I I I think it’s nonstrategic you think it’s a I think it’s a for the entire ecosystem they’re

Not they could care less anymore Greg Norman has everybody realizes Greg Norman is correct when he says one the owgr has no interest in getting us points Phil Mickelson pointed that out months ago they were never going to get points okay so what does this do this

Gives their players who were coming into the major season what this really does is it gives the Liv golfer you know that something less to worry about he do there’s going to be some live golfers in these Majors the majors are what really matter um and so the timing is simply

Going into the major season we’re going to take this off our plate because these guys have no interest in us getting points because if we get points we are the premier tour and they have as we’ve discussed in every single episode we’ve done the aristocracy is no interest in

Giving up its power so yeah it’s it’s the timing is the timing in the sense that yeah you know we’re going to drop it at the Arnold Palmer it’s a signature event there’s only going to be the top players in the world and the only strategic thing that I see and I’m sure

You’re going to go into this in Greater detail but the only strategic thing that I see is it the players on the PGA tour are starting to come around to these live guys are really happy I really like their schedule preparing for the majors and it’s a little ridiculous that Dustin

John is 266 in the in the world and wae nean is 76th in the world the whole point of the owgr is it’s supposed to rank golfers in an equitable Manner and it’s not doing that it’s not even close so Greg Norman’s giving up the ghost because it’s it’s a

It’s a ludicrous system it’s an the owgr had by their lack of ranking the top players in the world has made themselves irrelevant they’re no longer the official world golf rankings that’s for sure uh no question to that uh the question is is it a or b

And you’re going with a all right I I respect that I think it’s B and we can have that debate right here uh I don’t think they’re going to do anything there without a strategic reason at Liv no no need to do that so what could it be if

It is for a strategic reason what are those options and uh the timing is important I think it’s preemptive I think it’s preemptive that means we need to do it now we need to get it officially out of our off of our to-do list here and tell the whole world that

That’s what we’re doing we’re no longer interested in you we’re cancelling you owgr not interested in you anymore well got to get that out because in the next one two 3 days or one two 3 weeks or one two 3 months we have something else else

That’s going to come out and this has to be before that whatever that is and I don’t think it’s one two 3 days and I don’t think it’s one two 3 months I think it’s one two three weeks maybe it’s important before the Masters begins to say whatever they’re going to say

Next and what could that be well as far as I can tell there’s only one thing that Liv really wants right this minute and that’s for its players to have a pathway and to play in the majors okay because everything else takes care of itself we can keep

Recruiting we can keep going what we’re doing without anything else happening except for that we want our guys sure everybody agrees with that so what could they then they’re not working on anything else besides the bump and grind the usual back and forth of the tournaments so that’s all they’re doing at Liv

Headquarters is trying to figure out how to get into the majors for their guys well the owgr is on a pathway what’s left what’s left well cornering the market so to speak on players and they can’t do that tomorrow by having you know spe and anybody else you care about

Sheffer shley you just go down the list H whoever they think they need in order to make it ridiculous Rory maoy of course they can’t do that tomorrow so what’s Plan B as Bryson D Shambo alluded to in December now that the deal’s dead we’re not getting points what do we do something

There is a plan B what is it and who has been advertising that they have switched sides who has advertised that they’ve switched sides Darkstar in the last month really two months well the the who is Rory has switched sides to some degree he the DP tour is switching sides

They have they it seems to me that Mr maroy Switcheroo is 540 we started talking about in December is relevant to what’s going on so the we can I think it’s okay to say now to all of our audience that the framework is on a deep freeze the framework agreement is on a

Deep freeze and the now the owgr is dead too so everything that was being worked on you know six months ago is now gone so live is proceeding okay well their goal hasn’t changed and that is to to be a part of a healthy Global Golf progolf

System not to have their own tour dominating pro golf with nobody else that’s not the goal the goal is to exist inside of a broader landscape where all these businesses and business deals and all this stuff and it’s great for tourism and it’s great for Saudi because

They want to be part of this Western sport that’s a big deal to business Elites that’s their goal they already have soccer well under control and they’re moving in that direction fast on soccer and they want golf for different reasons because of the business Elites that that that golf gives you okay well

They can’t destroy all the environment in the process of trying to do that then there’s nothing left to can’t be king of the ashes so what can they do well I’ve put forth we’ve put forth and I think this is part of that that they can get

Into the the DP World Tour the European tour and have mroy play there more and have their guys get a pathway to that so if the live guys are playing broadly and generously and regularly in the DP World Tour events you know however many that would be particularly

The ones in the Middle East and maroy is also playing in those events now we have something we have something moving along that looks like a global League so now we live exist DP World Tour is now enhanced because our top players are playing there as they qualify let’s say

Somehow to play there and now you have 15 20 live guys playing in a DP world event and Rory and maybe another couple of guys like Fitzpatrick whose name has surfaced mysteriously with this this uh live cancelling owgr points Matt Fitzpatrick has now we’ll get into that

In a second I’ll let you cover that Darkstar so I I think this is a preemptive move towards what they’re going to be doing with the European tour and I will tease my next Point as I turn it over to you by saying that the DP World

Sponsor of the Euro tour is right down the road from Saudi Arabia and there’s a relationship there there has to be so if the Saudis wish to bring pressure upon the euro tour through the sponsorship or through the next sponsor who won’t be DP World they can do that they can also

Become the title sponsor instead of DP world or any number of combinations but DP World being a uh emirati company uh at the UAE right down the roadway from Saudi Arabia where they have a very very good long-standing relationship very healthy relationship a lot of Saudis in

The UAE all the time um well you know that is not to be overlooked I turn it back to you that’s a tease for my next point right well this is where I I will say that in a sense they’re not doing anything because they’re letting the

Chips fall because the PGA Tour cannot stand on its own in its present format very much longer the SSG group guys don’t mind losing a 100 million they do mind losing a billion dollars a piece and this tour is in tatters so Greg Norman withdraws um his application for points from the

Owgr and all of a sudden what do you see what happens well we want to talk about Matt Fitzpatrick all of a sudden when they question Matt Fitzpatrick about the owgr he is more of a European and it’s like well this is ridiculous the owgr was screwing over the DP tour to begin

With now you’re not giv Live Points you’re not a relevant Factor so a Matt Fitzpatrick who a few months ago said h is an idiot because he just gave the top 10 DP tour players to the PGA tour now he’s fully in the camp of the

DP tour which is now looking more and more like it’s going to be relatable to live golf in the sense that yes they should form a merger the enemy of my enemy is my friend because their enemy is the PGA Tour and this farcity that is their Signature

Events their coalition with the owgr leading to the majors so a matford Patrick is saying and even a will zotus is saying yes it’s a ridiculous system it no longer ranks the top players so I think they throw this out there before the majors start because they’re getting

A lot of PGA Tour players to do their bidding for them they don’t have to tell the world that the owgr is a terrible system and the pathway to the majors is incomplete without living golfers the PGA tour players are saying it for him true true now let me put some

Attention on who’s getting quotes here uh in the Press commenting on the live guys cancelling the owgr this is dated today March 6 so Same Day stuff um there’s three names here Darkstar three names that are being quoted by Golf Digest Xander goley Matt’s Matt Fitzpatrick and a really interesting not

That Matt’s not interesting enough will zalatoris three guys kind of went out of their way to get a quote that’s going to be picked up and printed in you know maybe the largest golf publication at print anyway Golf Digest those are three interesting names all three of which all

Three of whom have been pursued by by What entity I live yeah and and let’s be honest there’s only there’s 69 guys at this signature event so the the the madis don’t get to stick their face in the microphones all that much so you have 10

Guys 15 guys that wanted to comment and Golf Digest of those 10 guys obviously is printing the three guys who obviously are the most outspoken about the Ridiculousness of the system and as you said just happens to be they’ve been Ed pretty heavily by Liv and would be great

Additions to live golf yeah and here they are out saying you know very nice and supportive things about Live players Fitzpatrick particularly jumps out for those of you who haven’t seen it it’s just I quote I don’t think the world rankings are a true representation of the golf game at the minute said

Fitzpatrick who is currently ninth in the world I don’t really look at them or pay attention to them anymore I don’t think they’re right are you kidding me Matt Fitzpatrick who has not been a friend to live at least I can recall at all and you have a photographic memory Darkstar

Maybe you could recall but I don’t think so and he couldn’t say anything really more friendly than what he just said about that that’s almost like saying I love those live guys boy they’re good yeah and that and they’re good and the odr is bad bad odr bad live good but

There now there is not something you’re going to see every day zator said much the same thing uh with fewer words and shafley of course we know he’s been back and forth to live many times and he said essentially the same thing those three guys huh H yeah now I’m not saying that

That’s the that that that this is preemptive to those three guys getting signed to live although sure that could happen but they all that not Fitzpatrick he doesn’t have a a major problem Matt could go he’s got exemptions Xander does not and will does not although Will’s

Been injured big time maybe he’s seeing the world a little differently now and maybe that you know maybe they’re chatting with John RAM and Rory now there’s another element to this that I’m getting to that the the the union of players that needs to happen for the

Major to be in real trouble maybe it is maybe it’s happening you know through the organization of friendships and professional relationships maybe we have enough guys that are talking the same language capka Rah those two names come to mind Michelson um and they are you know in

The ears of mroy somehow which just strikes me as miraculous although Kea has said he’s got a friendship with mooy um they were in Rome together we know how that unfolded uh and now you have Fitz Fitzpatrick high top 10 European player exemptions to Majors maybe good friends likely reasonably

Good friends with Roy maroy that’s I don’t have to go out of my way to think that uh gee if if we all go over to live then it’s it’s it’s over as soon as Liv gets too many guys the majors will be forced to adjust not because they

Want to because I have to because the main threat to the majors is a very simple one dark we’ve said it many times becoming not irrelevant that’s not right but having their fields so watered down that they look stupid that they no longer are a major they can’t allow that

To happen they they they may go Kicking and Screaming but they can’t allow that to happen and all of a sudden they have too many guys on live to to look at it any other way or as I’ve we’ve been saying really if there’s a European tour

Where Liv guys are playing with the Euro guys including maroy then it’s also over and I like that pathway the best the only missing ingredient is is the European tour available for investment can that happen with the PGA Tour owning a minority stake in that I think I think

It can but we would need to know more about the capital structure of the European tour go ahead yeah well a quick Point some other breaking news today the was the talk of how the Arnold Palmer as a signature event it’s like a maum it’s dead because you what the PGA Tour is

Just messing things up so much they’re have on on Monday and Tuesday there was nobody there you had a lot of guys you have a few guys at seminal some of the big star playing at seminal but it’s open all day so from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00

P.m. you have those few people few Stars well they’re not all on the ground at the same time so sheffler was there from 8:00 a.m. till 10: p.m. and he left and you know then a Fitzpatrick shows up at noon and alator maybe likes to play in the

Afternoon they they don’t even know how to run their their quality events let alone run a regular Tour event and keep people happy again this is my point is Greg makes this release to take it out his players are in Hong Kong so they’re not going to be commenting a lot from

Hong Kong right so it’s a good time for them to just let the PGA Tour player sort of run with the ball and obviously golf is dying for any kind of publicity so they’re going to print this stuff it’s going to make live look better and

Then you put it in the backdrop of the Arnold Palmer and the other thing that I’ve said for the last two years they’ve turned golf into a winter sport Orlando is still kind of in Northern Florida and it is early March it’s winter still I mean obviously last week’s hit and

Giggle event Sunday was rained out why the PGA Tour plays golf as a winter sport when it’s outdoors I don’t know confusing to me always been will be forever I guess until they figure things out so the PGA Tour is tripping over its own feet and live is in my opinion just

Sitting back watching them screw up and as you said on the other side of the pond things are looking better and better yeah I it’s uh interesting yeah those are all interesting points we’ll see I I just can’t quite get to the place where everything that live is done has been

Strategic from the beginning necessarily so um and I would imagine that Mr Norman would consider himself a corporate strategist as a as a corporate leader as a CEO um so he probably doesn’t look at the world any other way along with the piff people who have a very

Decided plan of everything that they’re doing the the vision 2030 plan on down and this is just a small part of that but everything is planned so this is planned and then the only question in my mind is what is this preempting and uh audience please comment you know we

Don’t have it surrounded but uh I think it’s a Europe move and and that may include Fitzpatrick that may include and part of Plan B is potentially a war of attrition I mean the piff isn’t going to run out of money anytime soon and the private

Equity guys are going to get angry you know it’s kind of like I said let me get this straight you’re going to invade Russia in the winter okay you go ahead and do that we’re going to kick back and have some fun in the summer while we play golf in good

Weather yeah yeah yeah you know exactly it it it I I don’t get these moves that are illogical to me are just they just you know crazy so now you are literally as live with this announcement getting more PGA Tour top players on your side let’s I’m just

Gonna say that flat out yeah it’s it’s very loud in that they have you know name brand and PGA Tour players pooping all over the odg and and also positively elevating Liv they could just poop on the odr but they are including Liv as oh you know a

Lot of good players there we all need to come together and play as one big tour well as we’ve said many times and we’ll say it here and maybe we can get out on this at least for the news of the day we’ll be back when there’s more to say about it

Um I if if if there’s enough player momentum then the majors are in trouble and we’ve said the majors there is so much more risk to the majors than the average fan thinks um it it just just once they lose enough players they don’t look right anymore it’s tenuous and uh

We said what yesterday that here’s another little wrinkle we’ll go out on this the players show up at Majors for free for free you know you you know how much the payroll looks like for a Super Bowl they show up at the US Open and the M for

Free it’s free cost us nothing they gotta pay 50 bucks to Reg yeah right every Super Bowl player in the NFL in America has to pay $1,000 dollar or they don’t get to play yeah it’s it’s crazy the way that this thing is runs and the

Way that it it that the everybody in golf world just you know oh that’s just the way it is well it it doesn’t look like that’s gonna stay the way it is and the players at some point are are waking up and they are waking up and uh you

Know it’ll be interesting I we’ll be looking at Phil among other people to maybe throw a comment in in the next 24 to 48 hours and see if there’s more to it but I I I’ll go back I think it’s I think it’s preemptive I’m waiting um

Waiting for what the next shoe could be but I’m looking at Europe very carefully and I’m scrutinized ing Fitzpatrick’s comments and uh with exemptions I I’m and Rory I mean boy it’s looking like that’s Plan B to me yeah well and my last comment is usually the Masters does

Things above board and does not make too many mistakes I think in combination with the other majors and trying to keep this Monopoly thing going inviting Wen nean was a little bit of a device move continuing the division because you’re going to invite nean and you’re not

Going to invite us tasin and you’re not going to invite Taylor G because if I’m a golf fan I’m like L haen has just finished first first and second in tournaments around the world real tournaments gu wins live last year I’m like so you’re going to invite Neiman

Who’s playing great now what about the accomplishments in the last six months or a year by the other two guys there that you’re skipping over and that’s just two names to mention so I think as I said Liv is just kicking back and loving this Greg Norman’s like this is

The greatest thing ever they’re self-destructing in front of my eyes I don’t even have to do anything yeah well and yet they are doing something they’re canceling thegr and announcing to the world therefore that they are busy with Plan B yeah whatever that is well we’ll be back when

That uh takes place and uh hopefully with more than just a placeholder show as far as the images go but wanted to get this together quickly and uh with that B team is out Dr Darkstar is out if you’d like more thinking Man shows and topics then subscribe to our audio

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30 Comments

  1. LIV need to go for tours not individual players like the DP tour, japan tour and womens tours. Really pump the money in so that they are allies. Even LPGA tour commissioner said she would listen if PIF came knocking on her door. Got to undermine the OWGR system as is by back door.

  2. pga tour is destroying golf, official world golf rankings points system is aiding and abetting the destruction the trouble with that is they will be the first to fail they might have Strategic Sports Group 3 billion dollar investment but they won't keep pouring money down the pga tour drain, PIF can't pour money down any drain as fast as they make it, it will be a great look when the top 100 players in world ranking points turn up for the start of the corn ferry tour, but at least they will still get world ranking points, who knows maybe the majors and the corn ferry tour will amalgamate

  3. LIV don't need PGA or OWGR!
    OWGR is already totally irrelevant…PGA is on a fast-track to become irrelevant (just look at their leaderboards on Sundays)…and if the Majors keep ignoring and excluding LIV golfers, and abide by the fake and irrelevant OWGR, they will also fade into PGA Elevated Events…my opinion anyway.

  4. USA is not the world…they are merely a part of the world. Could never understand why golf had to be centered in the US, and why they could have 3 of the 4 Majors!
    After the British Open, the South African Open is the 2nd oldest Open…why not a Major when South Africa had a number of Major winners…?
    And that's where LIV can start getting their own Majors…South African Open, Australian Open, Spanish Open etc.
    Everything golf in the world doesn't have to be for and by the PGA…in total there are more golfers, golf courses, golf fans and followers in the rest of the world than in the USA…it is a world game, not an American game!

  5. If Rory, Hovland, Fleetwood and 1 more (would like Max Homa) join LIV…the camel's back will be broken and PGA will basically become like the Korn Ferry Tour…

  6. It was okay for Jack and Arnie to break up the status quo in golf, but when Greg did it he he is the anti-Christ…PGA and PGA-loyalists are all a bunch of hypocrites!!

  7. Its strategic, but its to take heat off themselves. They do this now in order to place blame and make it seem that they have no culpability. Their own members are getting salty about it – this is an attempt to lay the blame elsewhere.

    The idea that LIV is the premiere tour is silly. Data Golf ranks everyone, and LIV has fewer of the top 20. Maybe they get there with their deep pockets but they aren't it today.

  8. Once LIV either gets fair OWGR points or they get access to the Majors, the PGA Tour as we know it will be effectively finished. The OWGR want to stretch this as long as possible to squeeze more money out of LIV. The should just buy the DP World Tour and split off a section as LIV which would be similar to the PGA Tour’s elevated events.

  9. I think the LIV’s top shopping list are Rory, Scheffler, Spieth, Matsuyama, Morikawa, Clark, Hovland, Cantley, and Schauffele. They probably won’t get Scheffler and Spieth. Rory, Matsuyama, Morikawa and Clark are getable. The others don’t have a major so it is a tougher sell. If the majority went the PGA Tour would be forced to make a deal which would be good for everyone.

  10. I like your scenario and should work and be good for golf and golfers. The loser would be The PGA Tour. Everyone else is a winner. The DP World Tour could also have a North American events.

  11. DP World and LIV makes a lot of sense. Can then position LIV like the Cricket IPL benefitting players within a World Tour.

  12. PIF is pissed, pgatour partnership is definitely off, gloves are coming off, absolutely strategic, i was watching some vision of Yasir in the pro am in Jeddah, he had the look of a man who was happy and comfortable "cat with the cream" comes to mind. MBS has obviously said to Yasir I've got your back, go get them

  13. Only one thing is stopping the OWGR from "creating" equitable points for LIV (and even applying them retroactively) and that is pressure from the PGAT. What kind of pre$$ure? Take a wild ass guess…

  14. LIV is farcical. Nobody watches(tv ratings are lower than roach bait) Nobody goes. Saudi money drying up. LIV will be gone by year’s end or folded into PGA by 2025. Horrible experiment.

  15. My thought several months ago was that PIF should take over (merge) with the DP and Asian Tours and leave the PGA Tour on their own island.

  16. Yes, DP World Tour is the key here… Rory basing himself in London, wants to compete against the 'other' top players and will attract strongest fields amongst those eligible.. I wouldn't be surprised if LIV negotiate an 'agreeable' schedule next year with the DP World Tour….

  17. The PGA Tour has been screwing over the DPTour ever since LIV started. OWGR’s first reactions to LIV was to “rightsize” points awarded to Austral/Asian and DP World Tour events.

  18. Majors want top 20 or so players to win. When lower rank or lesser name players start winning majors, then they will make changes to get more top players in to increase the odds of better golfers winning

  19. Seems to me PIF can buy ads in golf magazines for the magazine to do rankings on an even handed basis. Each poll/ranking will be independent, but no doubt each will laugh at OWGR results and they may shame the majors for their snubs. I wonder if that is the next strategic move.

  20. Rex and Lav hating on AK s return is pathetic
    These hacks should be called out
    Ak in Ryder cup performance buys him lifetime pass as far as Im concerned

  21. Wonder how the players, who were promised standing, are reacting to this? Are they seeing their future wiped out for a fabulous payday, now put under glass? And would any of them admit it?

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