The Washington press corps has plenty of weighty topics to occupy its time these days: misplaced classified documents, war in Europe and a looming debt crisis among them.
So, when the National Press Club takes sides on a golf TV deal, there must be something more than potential Nielsen ratings behind the story.
The NPC, a century-old industry group dedicated to furthering free expression and the First Amendment in the nation’s seat of power, criticized LIV Golf’s TV deal with CW Network, the 25th-most-watched network and owned by Nexstar Media Group. What Greg Norman, the CEO of the Saudi-funded tour, hailed in a statement as “a momentous day for LIV Golf,” the National Press Club drubbed as “a shameful PR stunt.”
There is, as an analysis by Global Golf Post’s Ron Green Jr. excerpted on the preceding page attests, potential conflict with the PGA Tour with the agreement. The NPC pointed to a far more sinister reason to oppose the deal: what U.S. intelligence officials contend was the Saudis’ role – the same Saudis who are bankrolling LIV Golf – in the slaying of a Washington Post columnist who was a critic of the Riyadh regime.
“We are deeply disappointed that a company that makes money from news like Nexstar would agree to participate in such a shameful PR stunt as LIV Golf, which is fundamentally designed to rehabilitate the Saudi reputation, tarnished irreparably by the state-ordered gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018,” the National Press Club statement read. “We are left to wonder what if anything Nexstar stands for. You cannot have a brand in news and act this way. Saudi Arabia murdered a Washington Post journalist and cut him up with a bone saw.
“Riyadh wants to use golf to get Americans to forget about murder. We must not let them get away with it. We call on Nexstar employees – many of whom are journalists – to demand management explain why they have partnered with the murderers of a journalist. We urge Nexstar to do the right thing and cancel their bloody golf show. And if they don’t drop the program here is what we can do: don’t watch it; and write each sponsor asking them not to sponsor.”
LIV Golf, which poached Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and some of golf’s biggest stars with massive signing bonuses for its inaugural season last year, returns late next month in Mexico. As of Sunday night, the tour had yet to announce its complete 2023 schedule. READ MORE
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TAP-INS
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The DP World Tour played its first of five Rolex Series events last week with a commitment to being carbon neutral and adopting comprehensive emissions reductions at the events: the recently completed Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, plus the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Genesis Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and the DP World Tour Championship. The United Arab Emirates will be hosting the U.N. Climate Change Conference this fall after the DP World Tour finale. READ MORE
The R&A extended its contract with IMG by 10 years to include expanded digital services in addition to the other services provided by the management company. READ MORE
Nick Faldo was named as the long-term host of the Betfred British Masters, which will be played at The Belfry in his native England through 2026, the DP World Tour announced. Faldo, 65, a six-time major champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member, retired last year after 16 years as the lead analyst on CBS golf broadcasts. This year’s British Masters is set for June 29-July 2. READ MORE
The Golf Channel cellphone app will go dark at the end of January, with all Golf Channel content moving to parent NBC Sports’ app, the company announced in a brief posting on its website.
Davis Love III, a two-time Ryder Cup captain who played in six of the biennial matches and won 21 times on the PGA Tour, was named a U.S. vice captain for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, captain Zach Johnson announced. READ MORE
Steven Alker, a four-time winner last year on PGA Tour Champions, was named the 50-and-older tour’s 2022 Player of the Year in a vote by tour members. READ MORE
Steve Stricker, Bob Ford and Peter Jacobsen were named winners of awards from the Golf Writers Association of America, which will be presented April 5 during Masters week in Augusta, Georgia.
The PGA Tour announced its 16-member Player Advisory Council, which advises and consults with the Policy Board and commissioner Jay Monahan, for 2023: Ryan Armour, Sam Burns, Corey Conners, Rickie Fowler, Brice Garnett, Brian Harman, Max Homa, Mackenzie Hughes, Shane Lowry, Maverick McNealy, Keith Mitchell, Henrik Norlander, Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, Kevin Streelman and Will Zalatoris. READ MORE
Kortnie Maxoutopoulis Barrett of San Jose State and Matt Clark of North Carolina were named assistant coaches for the U.S. team and Minnesota’s Rhyll Brinsmead of Australia and Tennessee’s Brennan Webb of Canada for the Internationals for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup. The annual college matches will be played June 8-10 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. READ MORE
Stephen Szurlej, who spent nearly 30 years as a photographer at Golf Digest, will receive the PGA of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Photojournalism on May 17 during the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. READ MORE
The inaugural National Links Trust Championship, for men’s and women’s public-access golfers 25 and older, will be played September 30-October 1 at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, the National Links Trust announced. The tournament coincides with the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Public Links Championship’s debut at East Potomac, a 1923 Walter Travis design. READ MORE
The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation added four members to its Board of Directors. Bones Floro (Philippines), Abdulla Al Hashmi (United Arab Emirates), Yoshihiro Nishi (Hong Kong) and Sarah Chia (Australia) were appointed to two-year terms. They replace Rae-Vadee T. Suwan (Thailand), Mohammed Al Naimi (Qatar) and Dato’ Rabeahtul Aloya Abbas (Malaysia). The APGC represents 47 national golf associations across the region. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon