The arrival of LIV Golf in our sporting landscape recalls, in certain respects, that of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972. We find the same desire to shake up the established order and to compete with “old” circuits, the PGA today and the NHL 50 years ago.
Posted at 7:45 a.m.
The comparisons stop there. There was in the AMH a good dose of romanticism completely absent from LIV Golf.
First, the team owners were business people who dreamed of owning a professional club. Sometimes for ego reasons. Sometimes also, as for the founders of the Nordiques de Québec, so that their city gets a taste of major professional sport.
Unlike LIV Golf, AMH was not created out of billions of dollars pumped from the sovereign wealth fund of an oil-rich country… but out of utter human rights poverty.
The reality of the players is also different. The hockey players of the time, by virtue of the infamous “reserve clause” which tied them to their team, earned modest salaries. The AMH broke this unfair system and gave them real bargaining power. This breakthrough has benefited them all, no matter where they have evolved.
Golfers who chose LIV Golf were not in this situation. They made a superb living. But when the Saudis offered them small fortunes to take the leap, they chose wallets over ethics.
They now find themselves indebted to an execrable regime and will soon be able to thank its leaders in person since a tournament will begin in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next Friday.
Notice that in the category “Let’s keep good ties with Saudi Arabia”, the example comes from the top.
During his election campaign, Joe Biden said he would treat this country as a “pariah”. Having become president of the United States, he went to genuflect in Riyadh in the hope that Prince Mohammed bin Salman would open the oil tap more to counter rising prices.
A few days later, the prince was received at the Élysée by French President Emmanuel Macron. All these diplomatic efforts were in vain. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced a drop in production on Thursday.
But that doesn’t change the fact that LIV golfers have to live with their conscience. In order to legitimize their decision, they spouted nonsense like their desire to “improve” golf.
Oh yes, really?
One of them, quoted by the New York Timesexplained his choice by arguing that golf could be an agent of “change and good”, a real joke when the funding comes from a country that violates individual freedoms.
In this concert of nonsense, the clear voice of Justin Thomas, one of the best players in the world, rose. He told Summer on the Podcast No Laying Up “I hope at least one of them has the guts to say, ‘I’m doing this for the money.’ I would have more respect for that. The more I hear them say they’re doing this for the betterment of the game, the more agitated and irritated I become. »
Well said, Mr. Thomas.
The creation of LIV Golf was also made possible by the recklessness of the leaders of the PGA. Installed quite comfortably at the controls of a monopoly, they should have been more sensitive to the recriminations of Phil Mickelson, who often addressed them to reproaches.
If the PGA finally counter-attacked, it is thanks to Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who assumed leadership in this matter. They explained to the PGA how to satisfy professional golfers.
As if by magic, we then saw the PGA improve the sums given to the players. Without LIV Golf, none of this would have happened.
Twelve tournaments will now offer an average purse of 20 million (this does not count the majors). The best players have committed to participate.
In a statement from the PGA, Rory McIlroy explained the importance of this change: “If I watch a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, I expect to see Tom Brady throwing a pass. When I watch a Formula 1 race, I expect Lewis Hamilton to be in a car. We will all play together more often, which will strengthen the product. »
That’s not all. Players who participate in 15 tournaments during the season are guaranteed to receive $500,000. (If, for example, they receive $300,000 in purses, the PGA will make up the $200,000 difference.) Rookies or those who find their PGA card after losing it will get that amount at the start of the season.
Bonuses related to player popularity with fans (a ranking based on media visibility) have been doubled to 100 million, and 20 players, instead of 10, will share the prize pool.
Travel expenses of $5,000 will also be paid to lower ranked players unable to qualify for the last two rounds of a tournament.
Will these changes end the move of many PGA players to LIV Golf? For now, unless you think Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed can shine for a long time to come, the PGA’s real loss is the electrifying 29-year-old Australian Cameron Smith.
The 2023 season will be crucial for LIV Golf, with its 54-hole shotgun tournaments and team competition in addition to individual fights.
In order not to remain a second-rate product despite its unlimited bank account, the circuit will have to find a broadcaster and, above all, charm the fans.
This last challenge will be difficult to meet. Contrary to the AMH which embodied a certain romanticism, LIV Golf bets first on greed and the direct association with a country which does not care about human rights.