HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, ENGLAND | To be in England last week was to be at the epicentre of Britain’s sporting summer. The renowned Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames, begun nearly two centuries ago and attracting rowing crews from around the world, had just finished. The famous tennis tournament referred to simply as Wimbledon and held in one of London’s most fashionable suburbs was coming to the end of its first week. England’s cricketers were struggling to avoid an ignominious defeat by Australia, their greatest rivals in a sporting contest known as the Ashes that goes back to the late 19th century.
And then there was LIV Golf’s tournament in England.
LIV Golf, the nascent organisation financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, split professional golf one year ago with the way it burst onto the scene and is attempting to liven up a game it believes has not changed much for 50 years. This is the LIV Golf that is occasionally referred to as golf’s ugly stepsister.
Last week, LIV Golf London was played here at the Centurion Club, 25 miles northwest of London. It was conducted with all the bells and whistles associated with LIV’s tournaments, beginning soon after lunch on Friday with a countdown and an announcer bellowing “Welcome, beautiful people, to a beautiful course for a beautiful event” on what was undeniably a beautiful day.
Precisely at 2:15 p.m., teams of four teed off simultaneously to an accompaniment of loud music and heavy security. The blare of the music, constant as it is at LIV events, strikes an odd note, particularly as it continues when the players tee off and when marshals hold up signs reading “Ssshh” or “Zip it.” There was a lively fan village, and evening concerts were staged after the first and second rounds. On Friday, there were several reported sightings of Greg Norman, LIV’s CEO and commissioner, but attempts to talk to him were rebuffed.
As is the way with LIV Golf, there was more going on off the golf course than on it. Talor Gooch, who had previously downplayed the Ryder Cup, conceded to a change of heart and that now he “dreamed of” playing in the biennial event after winning three of the first eight tournaments this year, including the previous week’s LIV Golf Andalucía.
Gooch’s form this year has had some of his fellow LIV players purring with envy.
“That was Talor’s third win of the eight we’ve played in 2023, and he has beaten some of the world’s best players,” Ian Poulter said. “If Talor does not get picked [as one of U.S. captain Zach Johnson’s six selections], it’ll be crazy.” Asked what it was like to be on the same RangeGoats team as Gooch, Thomas Pieters replied: “Easy. He’s just striping it.”
In Hemel Hempstead last week, we were at the core of an issue that is dominating the world of professional golf, but nobody knew what was going on.
It became clear why some LIV players will not compete in next week’s Open Championship. Martin Kaymer has not yet recovered from surgery on his left hand late last year. Paul Casey has issues with his right leg and foot. Sergio García, who tied for fifth and second in the 2006 and 2014 Opens at Royal Liverpool, won by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. respectively, failed to qualify for what would have been his 25th consecutive appearance. Poulter and Lee Westwood declined to attempt to qualify.
A row between Brooks Koepka and Matthew Wolff, both members of the Smash team, has been simmering for weeks and was ramped up by Koepka’s comments last week to a reporter from Sports Illustrated.
“I’ve basically given up on him,” Koepka said. “He has a lot of talent, but the talent is wasted.”
Wolff, who has acknowledged having mental-health issues, clearly was hurt by his team captain’s criticism.
“To hear through the media that our team leader has given up on me is heartbreaking,” he said. “It’s not what a team member looks to hear from its leader, and I think we all know these comments should have been handled much differently. But I am moving on and won’t ever give up on myself …”
There was the fallout when 350 pages of court documents containing quotes by Tiger Woods and remarks about the finances of the DP World Tour were first released by mistake and then ordered re-sealed. Woods later denied any knowledge of the quotes, and it was later made clear they were intended as guidance for him.
But one issue above all others was causing great concern, namely what lies ahead for LIV Golf now that a joint company, originally called NewCo but since known as PGA Tour Enterprises, has been proposed as a result of surprising recent meetings between Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, and representatives of the PGA Tour. Under the proposed terms of this partnership, the PGA Tour would continue to control its tournaments, as would the DP World Tour, but the business and commercial rights of these two organisations would be owned by NewCo, chaired by Al-Rumayyan.
At Valderrama in Spain one week earlier, Al-Rumayyan is said to have told certain players: “It’s full steam ahead.” But in Hemel Hempstead, if one player or manager asked what that meant, then so did one dozen or even two. Will the U.S. Department of Justice give its approval to the formation of a company that is to all intents and purposes controlled and backed by Saudi Arabian citizens and money? Where will the DP World Tour and its current strategic alliance with the PGA Tour fit into what is called “golf’s ecosystem?” Will LIV players be given Official World Golf Ranking points? Do they need world-ranking points? What does the future hold for Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, and Keith Pelley, chief executive of the DP World Tour?
I asked Casey, a man whom I have known for 30 years, whether I could talk with him. “Of course,” he replied. “But I can't tell you anything.”
I spoke with Ron Cross, who used to be at Augusta National before he was recruited first to the PGA Tour and then LIV to organise the venues. I have known him for 20 years, too. “I know nothing about what is going on,” the amiable Cross said. “I am concentrating on my job, which is to set up the all the venues for the rest of this year. Next year there will be 14 venues.” He said goodbye with a cheery: “If you hear anything, let me know.”
I spoke to Craig Connelly, Martin Kaymer’s caddie, and got much the same response. “I don’t know anything.”
“How are you?” I asked him. “LIV-ly,” (as in “lovely”) he replied with a smile.
It was weird. In Hemel Hempstead last week, we were at the core of an issue that is dominating the world of professional golf, but nobody knew what was going on. To say there was uncertainty in the air is both an understatement and a true statement of undoubted noble proportions. One nine-letter word describes the current silence that greets questions about the future of LIV Golf, NewCo and all associated issues. That word is “deafening.”
E-MAIL JOHN
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