If you thought that LIV Golf had sucked an inordinate amount of oxygen out of the room that is professional golf, wait until this week.
The Saudi-funded rival tour returns to action for its third tournament, with the second U.S. event of its inaugural season to be held at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey. Former President Donald Trump, whose golf portfolio includes the New Jersey property where he maintains a summer residence, is expected to be a fixture at the event, which begins Friday. He recently turned to his social-media channel to urge more PGA Tour players to jump to LIV Golf.
“All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.”
There will be other prominent golf figures appearing in the rolling hills just west of New York City after LIV Golf dominated golf’s news cycle in recent days.
Consider:
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson abandoned his European Ryder Cup captaincy for next year when he agreed to compete on LIV Golf. Stenson, 46, the 2016 Open Championship winner, was a six-time winner on the PGA Tour who also won 10 more times on his home European Tour. Stenson will be the 11th major champion lured by LIV Golf’s riches – in many cases, multimillion-dollar signing bonuses plus $25 million purses for the 54-hole, no-cut, 48-man team events. In fact, as news of his impending defection spread, Europe’s Ryder Cup committee dropped him as captain before Stenson made the announcement. In a statement released via Twitter, Stenson held out hope that he might continue to play the PGA and DP World tours, though that’s a nonstarter with the tours. He will join Americans Charles Howell III and Jason Kokrak and England’s Paul Casey, all multiple winners on the PGA Tour, as newcomers in New Jersey, LIV Golf announced.
David Feherty, a past champion on the European Tour and a Ryder Cup player who has emerged as one of golf broadcasting’s most witty and entertaining voices, will make his debut behind the mic at Trump Bedminster, LIV Golf announced. Feherty had been an analyst in recent years with NBC and Golf Channel. The news comes amid reports that Charles Barkley, a Basketball Hall of Fame member, could become part of LIV Golf’s broadcast team soon. According to a report in the New York Post, Barkley was scheduled to play in this week’s pro-am at Trump Bedminster amid negotiations with LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman. Barkley is an NBA analyst with Turner Sports. Former CBS analyst Gary McCord also is talking with LIV Golf, according to a report in Golf Digest.
After Norman opened the door recently to potential expansion into women’s golf, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan declined to slam it shut. “It’s my responsibility to evaluate every opportunity,” she said in a report by the Times of London. “I would engage in a conversation if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf, but there needs to be input from players and sponsors. There’s a lot of factors to consider before we do business with LIV Golf.”
The PGA Tour has paid $360,000 since last year to lobby Congress and the White House on various issues, including “Saudi Golf League proposals,” according to a report by CNBC.
Family members of 9/11 victims, who accuse the Saudis of funding the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths in the U.S., criticized Donald Trump and his golf organization for hosting the LIV Golf event. LIV’s head of communications Jane MacNeille, in an emailed response to a request for comment from the New York Post, wrote: “These families have our deepest sympathy. While some may not agree, we believe golf is a force for good around the world.”
TAP-INS
£126,000 (about $150,000) has been raised for charity in an auction of The Big Bag Trail sculptures to commemorate the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews’ Old Course in Scotland, organizers announced. The project involved students from St. Andrews schools Madras College and St. Leonards School who designed a tour bag for Callaway-sponsored players to use during the Open. Led by winner Iona Turner, 17, of St. Leonards, the 10 finalists’ designs were positioned around the town to help tourists navigate the area, composing The Big Bag Trail. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Children’s Hospices Across Scotland and Scottish Sports Futures.
Boosted by the return of Tiger Woods for the celebrated 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, NBC averaged 2.52 million viewers across the network’s TV and digital platforms, up 16 percent (2.17 million viewers) from a year ago and 27 percent (1.98 million) from 2019, the network reported.
Staff and Wire Reports