PGA Tour vs LIV

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Anybody following this? I hadn't realized this was happening until recently and I think it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

I assume the LIV players will make more money since there are no contracts or guarantees with the PGA.

Here's the list of guys who have joined LIV

Name (Country)OWGR ranking
Dustin Johnson (USA)15
Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)21
Bryson DeChambeau (USA)29
Kevin Na (USA)34
Talor Gooch (USA)35
Patrick Reed (USA)38
Sergio Garcia (ESP)57
Richard Bland (ENG)67
Shaun Norris (RSA)68
Matt Jones (AUS)69
Pablo Larrazabal (ESP)70
Phil Mickelson (USA)72
Sam Horsfield (ENG)74
Lee Westwood (ENG)78
Ryosuke Kinoshita (JPN)89
Scott Vincent (ZIM)91
Ian Poulter (ENG)92
Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)94
Hudson Swafford (USA)95
Oliver Bekker (RSA)96
Jinichiro Kozuma (JPN)106
Justin Harding (RSA)109
Sadom Kaewkanjana (THA)118
Laurie Canter (ENG)119
Branden Grace (RSA)123
Charl Schwartzel (RSA)126
Hennie Du Plessis (RSA)133
Phachara Khongwatmai (THA)136
Sihwan Kim (USA)139
JC Ritchie (RSA)156
Adrian Otaegui (ESP)165
Hideto Tanihara (JPN)180
Martin Kaymer (GER)215
Jediah Morgan (AUS)239
Blake Windred (AUS)259
Wade Ormsby (AUS)265
Ratchanaon "TK" Chantananuwat* (THA)269
Peter Uihlein (USA)327
Ian Snyman (RSA)367
Graeme McDowell (NIR)374
Travis Smyth (AUS)395
Viraj Madappa (IND)493
Itthipat Buranatanyarat (THA)591
Turk Pettit (USA)600
Oliver Fisher (ENG)N/A
Chase Koepka (USA)N/A
Andy Ogletree (USA)N/A
James Piot* (USA)N/A
David Puig* (ESP)N/A
Kevin Yuan (AUS)N/A
 
DJ is getting 125 million for 4 years. Its getting interesting. Greg Norman is a hated man.

Was just reading that. Sounds like a no brainer to me.

"It will also be a profitable choice for Johnson. It is reported that he received roughly $150 million to join LIV; that is more than double his career PGA Tour earnings of $73.4 million, and that's without factoring in any potential prize money that Johnson — the highest-ranked player in LIV Golf's 48-man field — could take home."

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/gol...ce-pga-tour-liv-golf/ofddx8h0abpg1wkp5isncmfb
 
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Ever notice that the decline of western civilization coincided with the rising popularity of Golf and the thought that has somehow changed from an old guy's activity into a sport?
 
I agree. I am officially an old guy (72) and golfed through my 50s and 60s. I would go to the course, pay my fees and go to the first hole to meet a bunch of DINK yuppies dressed in clothes that cost more than my clubs. They would tee off, with comments for every drive, then jump in their carts and race down the fairway to hit. Some even drove their carts onto the greens. Their goal was to finish 18 holes in just over three hours. Rush - rush - rush. I liked to take it easy, walk the course, have a beer or two and just relax. Finally found a course that was frequented mostly by vets (we have a lot of them in SA) who were also not in a hurry and I really enjoyed golfing there. Of course, a couple of years ago it was sold and they are building apartments on it.
I don't 'real' golf anymore. There is a par three course not too far away that I play, but only when the temps are below 95. Not for the last couple of months.
 
I guess I just lack ambition. If I had a few million (like all of these guys), I'd be looking to buy a new Jeep and go Wheeling.
 
Sportswashing is nothing new. Nazi Germany and Beijing both hosted the Olympics. Saudi and China currently host a F1 Grand Prix. The PGA stood up on its hind legs and pulled memberships but that won't kill the LIV tour and if the cash continues to flow more players will join. If more players join more viewers will watch causing more advertisers to get in.
 
the PGA and PGA Tour are two separate things fyi.

the Tour hasn't pulled any memberships and i doubt they will, that would open another can of worms and hurt them even more when this inevitably goes to litigation.

i like the LIV tour. wish my brother caddied for a LIV player rather than a PGA tour player but we will see how that pans out. guaranteed money with less tournaments is pretty nice when you've got interests outside of golf.

it'll be interesting to see how the LIV tour operates now that they have more than a 48 man roster..
 
Im not a big golfer. Is LIV just a Middle East golf league/ association like the PGA?

it's a new tour financed with saudi money and they are throwing an enormous amount in. all the snowflakes are up in arms about the saudi money aspect.

the LIV players aren't handcuffed like PGA Tour members, they can play any tournament anywhere they want at anytime as long as it doesn't coincide with any of the LIV events they are contractually required to play in. PGA Tour players are not under contract, yet they aren't allowed to play where they want whenever they want without a release from the PGA Tour.
 
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it's a new tour financed with saudi money and they are throwing an enormous amount in. all the snowflakes are up in arms about the saudi money aspect.

the LIV players aren't handcuffed like PGA Tour members, they can play any tournament anywhere they want at anytime as long as it doesn't coincide with any of the LIV events they are contractually required to play in. PGA Tour players are not under contract, yet they aren't allowed to play where they want whenever they want without a release from the PGA Tour.

oh, and every player that plays a LIV event makes money even if they finish in last place. Andy Ogletree finished last in 48th position at 31 shots back of the winner in LIV's first event and got a nice little $120,000 for his efforts. He played 2 events on the PGA Tour this year.. finished Tied for 51st in one and got paid $17,324, missed the cut in the other and got sent home with no money..
 
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The tour began in 1929 and at various times the tournament players had attempted to operate independently from the club professionals. With an increase of revenue in the late 1960s due to expanded television coverage, a dispute arose between the touring professionals and the PGA of America on how to distribute the windfall.

The tour players wanted larger purses, where the PGA desired the money to go to the general fund to help grow the game at the local level. Following the final major in July 1968 at the PGA Championship, several leading tour pros voiced their dissatisfaction with the venue and the abundance of club pros in the field.

The increased friction resulted in a new entity in August, what would eventually become the PGA Tour. Tournament players formed their own organization, American Professional Golfers, Inc. (APG), independent of the PGA of America. Its headquarters were in New York City.

After several months, a compromise was reached in December: the tour players agreed to abolish the APG and form the PGA “Tournament Players Division”, a fully autonomous division under the supervision of a new 10-member Tournament Policy Board. The board consisted of four tour players, three PGA of America executives, and three outside members, initially business executives.

Is history repeating itself? The biggest difference with Golf comparted to other professinal sports is that all the player start from the same place every week and every year, i.e., $0. Since most of the money in golf comes from TV revnue, and the ratings are driven by just a few golfers, there has long been rumblings that the pros bringing in the money should be treated differently. The FED EX events constitute one of the ways the PGA Tour has tried to reward it's headliners - big money tournaments limited to elite golfers. Note that the PGA is already making changes that have been driven by the LIV golf challenge. I believe that all of this is just the opening shots in a long war.

There is a joke I want to share but can't remember it in exact form. The gist of it is really poor kids play Basketball. Kids a little better off play football. Youppie kids play baseball. Executive kids play golf. The conclusion is that the farther up the ladder you go, the smaller your balls.
 
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There is a joke I want to share but can't remember it in exact form. The gist of it is really poor kids play Basketball. Kids a little better off play football. Youppie kids play baseball. Executive kids play golf. The conclusion is that the farther up the ladder you go, the smaller your balls.

LMAO :ROFLMAO:

Youppi is my favourite mascot btw..

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he used to play baseball with the Expos but got traded from the MLB to the NHL.. i wonder what a playing with a puck means in your joke :unsure: :ROFLMAO:

all in all, the PGA Tour does great work for the game of golf. the money they raise with the tournament sponsors for local charities at every event is amazing. they are definitely growing the game. they produce a great television product which attracts a variety of sponsors which fills their coffers up. they just don't share enough of it with their "members"..

their reaction to the LIV tour is only beginning.. it's nice to see that they are going to be opening up those coffers a little bit more next year!
 
it's a new tour financed with saudi money and they are throwing an enormous amount in. all the snowflakes are up in arms about the saudi money aspect.

the LIV players aren't handcuffed like PGA Tour members, they can play any tournament anywhere they want at anytime as long as it doesn't coincide with any of the LIV events they are contractually required to play in. PGA Tour players are not under contract, yet they aren't allowed to play where they want whenever they want without a release from the PGA Tour.

Without knowing much about golf, it sounds like a no brainer to play over there.
 
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