TRUTH UNVEILING: LIV’s stigma is fading. But another inconvenient truth unveils
At LIV Golf’s debut tournament in London in June 2022, you couldn’t blame the players for wanting to wear body armor when interacting with the media. Because my first sessions with reporters felt more like sparring sessions than press conferences.
The players had to explain not only why they quit the PGA Tour, but also why they accepted so much money from a government-sponsored league with human rights issues. Does Talor Guchtan understand the “evidence” that Saudi Arabia and its regime legalize a certain amount of sports washing? he asked. Graham McDowell, Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen were asked how they reconciled Saudi Arabia’s claims of atrocities with their decision to sign the LIV. (“We’re not politicians,” McDowell fumed. (“We’re professional golfers”) Phil Mickelson raised the biggest question in his scathing remarks about his “horrible” Saudi boss. A journalist asks if Mikkelsen “could be considered a Saudi player and would that have an impact?” he asked. Business. Your legacy?”
Ari Fleischer, the controversial press secretary under President George W. Bush, was also hired by LIV to help the media train players and conduct press conferences. “Ari,” he asked during the first wave of the press conference. “You tweeted in 2011 that Saudi Arabia isn’t collapsing because it’s spending billions and hundreds of billions of dollars.” Was this series of waves planned to prevent the overthrow of Mohammed bin Salman and perhaps to protect him? Is that why you work?
“It was a long time ago,” Fleischer said.
LIV’s first story also seems to be a very long time ago. Just 17 months after the league officially started, LIV signed Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith. Watch one of Koepka’s players win a major championship. And then there was the most unprecedented twist involving PGA Tour investment negotiations. Vader and Skywalker, Inc. Then on Thursday, LIV announced its biggest entry yet. World No. 3 Jon Rahm is a global star who not only brings a Q rating, outstanding talent and a green jacket to an up-and-coming league, but also a testament to the power of the PGA Tour. Players can be substituted. You may have seen or heard Rahm make a compelling case for the U.S. PGA Tour. Open five months ago. (On Friday morning, the audio clip also aired on WFAN, a New York sports radio station that rarely covers golf.) Legacy, better format, more money for players, yadda yadda. It’s impossible to hear Rahm’s credo and think he’s going to jump, but he described his transformation to a gaggle of eager reporters Thursday night wearing a black-and-white LIV sports jacket. . He hosted a Zoom call and soon caught up with Fox News viewers in a live interview with host Brett Baier.
Rahman asked what had changed. While he said money was the lure, he also pointed to LIV’s “innovation” and team format. There were no difficult questions like the previous ones. There are no questions about human rights, sports laundering or murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Journalists no longer approached him with judgment and struggle. Lam’s tourists, who felt left out, also seemed reluctant to push him.
Several pundits expressed sadness Thursday about the growing rift in golf, but none publicly criticized Rahm. Even Rory McIlroy, who carried the tournament’s torch during the turbulent days of LIV’s founding, has bowed to the new reality of professional golf. “John is a great player and it’s difficult for me to sit here and criticize him because I’ve had experience with him,” McIlroy told Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir earlier this week. McIlroy even said Ryder Cup entry rules on the DP World Tour should be changed to allow Rahm to play in Europe at Bethpage in 2025.
He added: “You can’t judge someone for making the decision they think is best for them. Is this a disappointment to me? Yes. However, with the announcement of the basic agreement on June 6, the landscape of the Gulf has changed. So the jump from the PGA Tour to LIV was a little easier for the players. They sent heat to the first people. This framework agreement justifies what LIV is trying to do.”
McIlroy is right. Even in the unlikely scenario of the framework agreement collapsing, the Tour showed that LIV and Saudi Arabia were open for business. For players who don’t want to join LIV, a tournament offer could be the push they need. With the addition of Lahm, players on the tour will be encouraged to move. Whatever you think of LIV’s supporting cast, their stable includes Rahm, Koepka, Cam, Bryson, DJ, Phil, Nieman, Reed, Mito, Gooch and others. – giant
But – and this is an important qualifier – LIV, despite its positive momentum, still faces a very uncomfortable reality. No matter how many stars you’ve lined up, the tournament is mostly a blur. This is not just a reporter’s opinion. This is the belief of golf fans who have been reluctant to watch LIV broadcasts due to viewership restrictions.
Will things change with Ram joining? doubtful. But what if more players come? Could it be a twist? Rahm will soon have a team to fill out, and it’s hard to imagine him filling that team with his predecessors. In addition to these vacancies, LIV says other team members are likely to be added. That means there are seven more players following Rahm at LIV. Which player? You don’t have to watch the game closely to hear the whispers. “There are rumors,” Justin Rose told the Golf Channel on Thursday. “I spoke to them about the rumors and they are very honest. It sounds like a rumor.” “But I don’t know where the truth is.”
Nobody does that now. Even the highly educated and connected McIlroy, who spoke to Rahm a month ago and said he would be “very surprised” if he signed with LIV, said: “I’m pretty sure John is a PGA Tour player” .
This is the new paradigm in professional golf. No one seems to know much about anything. With 23 days left until the tournament deadline, sponsors LIV are expected to announce the progress of their partnership with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and players still seem to be in the dark about what will happen next. It is surprising that Lam canceled the tournament 11 hours after the negotiations began. This could be a sign that negotiations are not going well, that Lahm is using the bait as a shot at the Tour and that he and many other players feel betrayed. Or, conversely, it could be a sign that a deal is in the works and that LIV players will soon no longer have to deal with many of the restrictions they were used to. So why not take the money and run?
Either way, Rahm’s decision goes a long way toward cleaning up LIV’s reputation, and a new wave of conversions seems imminent.
