A non-majors Golf Thread for 2023 and beyond

[mister d]

I think I'm in the same boat. I get the money is nothing to them and I get its an attempt to sports-wash, but I can't grasp how $400MM to Messi accomplishes that result. And don't even know what the end result looks like?



(Unless its like the PGA where in short time via a merger they've bought a stake in major sports league? Does the threat of huge money to soccer stars scare the big 5 euro leagues into some action?)

[Nonlinear FC]

Yeah, I can see them not trying to purchase players, but actual teams OR trying to foster/restart the notion of the Super League, where they are the central players.

[Rex]

Seems like LIV was a stalking horse for the kind of arrangement that was announced today. Perhaps the same is going to happen in soccer. We know that what they want is to basically replace UEFA.

[Pruitt IV]

I have a feeling that the money the Saudi government is pouring into soccer is more for domestic and regional consumption rather than in the west.

Bread and circuses are one way to distract a population from its lack of freedoms.

[mister d]

Yeah, I can see them not trying to purchase players, but actual teams OR trying to foster/restart the notion of the Super League, where they are the central players.

This one makes sense.

[degenerasian]

As disgusting as this news is, it's sad to say that LIV Golf was never going to lose this. The Saudis were willing to keep burning money from a limitless war chest; the numbers meant nothing to them. It's like fighting a final boss with infinite hit points, there's just no way to win this game. Just a sad reminder that the bad guys win because they're the bad guys and have less to lose.

The thing is the Saudis weren't going to lose money forever. That they could afford to doesn't mean they were just going to. I think the two biggest factors to this merger were:

- The Saudis still wanted golf as part of their sportswashing portfolio, but realized LIV was never going to succeed, so they came back with an over the top offer the PGA would never refuse, even if it meant selling players out.

- The PGA Tour did not want to go through discovery on their lawsuit, who care about the players?

In the end this resolution is a win-win for both.

The ultimate goal of the Saudi is the host the Summer Games, since Qatar already beat them to the World Cup.

[DaveInSeattle]

[A_B]

I think they get to keep tax exempt because of how much they donate at each tournament.

[Pruitt IV]

I think they get to keep tax exempt because of how much they donate at each tournament.

That makes sense.

[Nonlinear FC]

Meh. The NFL, up until pretty recently, used that charity stuff (in part) to argue for their tax exempt status. Sports generating billions in revenue, kicking back some pittance percentage wise to charity, is just clever accounting/lobbying.

[tennbengal]

Ben Strauss
@benjstrauss
·
56m
From an exec at a TV partner of PGA Tour: "We just learned about this."

Exec said it looks like PGA Tour and LIV remain their own brands, doesn't know if/any changes to rights deals or production.

Asked if network was now a partner of Saudi govt, exec said, "We're not sure."

[wlu_lax6]

The Saudi's are following an MLS style playbook for soccer. MLS was garbage and then some aging superstar vets joined and the league kept getting better and better. Saudi's have bigger pockets, but the MLS did not become a legit league without that (see Aussie A-League)

[mister d]

But MLS is still a 2nd or 3rd tier league that no one outside of the US gives a shit about. It succeeding, but small scale and domestically.

[wlu_lax6]

But MLS is still a 2nd or 3rd tier league that no one outside of the US gives a shit about. It succeeding, but small scale and domestically.

Depends on the criteria and publication but the MLS has gotten into the top 10 leagues in the world. Sure it is not the EPL, Germany, France, or Italy..but moving ahead of leagues with way more history.

[Nonlinear FC]

I know we're not here to be full historians on every post, but the success of MLS is only partly due to Designated Players over the years. Talking up the development of US players, moving toward a model of playing almost exclusively in soccer-specific stadiums, and the concurrent/symbiotic relationship with a National Team that has only failed to make the WC once since 1990 (I know 94 doesn't count, but it in of itself was massive for soccer dev in the US) are items that standout.

David Beckham was a MASSIVE signing and the era of adding quality (aging, not OLD) players absolutely played a role. That was in 2006-08 I think. And there were a handful of other signings in those years (Blanco comes to mind) that helped solidify or bolster the quality of the league. But, really, by then we were moving into the expansion era, a far cry from when they had to contract Miami and Tampa in the early years. The league added a new Earthquakes, the Sounders and the Philly Union in those years (2008-2010 or so). They'd already added Toronto FC, who stormed into the league with a rabid fan base and sold out games.

All of the groundwork for the next stage of the league (designated/high profile players) was laid in the years after the 2002 WC (Dos a Cero!) and the signing of Freddy Adu. Soccer was turning the corner, but it took a lot of faith from a few of the rich owners and a solid strategy to guard against an NASL-type of crash (outsized salaries and more often than not, shitty stadium rental agreements).

When I see/hear ppl squawking about relegation/promotion my immediate thought is "tell me you don't know the history of American soccer without actually saying you don't know the history." I actually think that we are moving incrementally closer to that model, but I still don't foresee existing owners agreeing to that type of risk on their investment.

[sancarlos]

[Pruitt IV]

Oakdale Golf and Country Club (site of this week's Canadian Open) was also home to my Bar Mitzvah party.

[Rex]

The Canadian fans just stormed the green at the end of the Canadian Open, which makes you wonder what would happen if the Leafs ever won the Stanley Cup again.

[A_B]

What a great finish.

[Pruitt IV]

The Canadian fans just stormed the green at the end of the Canadian Open, which makes you wonder what would happen if the Leafs ever won the Stanley Cup again.

Toronto would be in flames.

That was an unbelievable couple of hours of golf. Goose bumps and a bit of dust in here!

[degenerasian]

My favorite part of the celebration was "and security just tackled Adam Hadwin not knowing who he was".

[A_B]

My favorite part of the celebration was "and security just tackled Adam Hadwin not knowing who he was".

Yeah, that was a nice addition to the coverage. Imagine your country's 2nd or 3rd best golfer getting tackled AT A GOLF TOURNAMENT.

[degenerasian]

My favorite part of the celebration was "and security just tackled Adam Hadwin not knowing who he was".

Yeah, that was a nice addition to the coverage. Imagine your country's 2nd or 3rd best golfer getting tackled AT A GOLF TOURNAMENT.

[Pruitt IV]

Adam Hadwin seems to have married well.

His wife is pretty funny...

[sancarlos]

[Giff]

Good taste in kid's names too.

[sancarlos]

I don't know how many of you read The Defector, but they have a great piece today about the hurdles (legal and otherwise) facing the new behemoth created by the pending merger of the PGA and LIV.

LINK

[brian]

[brian]

Scottie Scheffler has won $6.1M in his last six events, more than the career earnings of Jack Nicklaus. In none of those tournaments did he win.

[Nonlinear FC]

Anybody else catch the end of the Celebrity match yesterday.



Fish was leading and a decent tee shot would've set him up to win the tournament. Instead he short armed it wound up in the woods.

Curry drained a 15 footer to win, but it was pretty tainted.

[mister d]

Semi-related, I should have been thrown out of a 12U game a few weeks ago because the other team was doing that kind of shit during our pitcher's windup and the ump refused to stop them.

[wlu_lax6]

Semi-related, I should have been thrown out of a 12U game a few weeks ago because the other team was doing that kind of shit during our pitcher's windup and the ump refused to stop them.

The just wanted a pitcher, not a belly itcher..man kids these days are soft.

[Nonlinear FC]

Well, yeah, that's just science.. as we'd like to request a catcher, preferably not a booty scratcher.

[DaveInSeattle]

Well, yeah, that's just science.. as we'd like to request a catcher, preferably not a booty scratcher.

No mention of needing a batter, not a broken ladder?

[Nonlinear FC]

I mean, if we're going to go down that path we might as well open up the discussion about what happens when you're sliding into third.

Slippery slope, indeed.

[mister d]

The just wanted a pitcher, not a belly itcher..man kids these days are soft.

She stole on you, she stole on you ...



(We have umps in our league who will stop any cheering that is directed at the other team, no matter how tame. This dude was allowing startle yelling and cadence shit mid-windup. I figured at the very least our kid, who was melting down, needed to see we had her back and figured I'd just antagonize him every time they antagonized her until he tossed me, at which point I'd say it proved my point about distractions except the guy never took the bait. 100% chance we get him for the playoff game tomorrow.)

[sancarlos]

Maybe your team’s manager could have a word with the ump before the next game starts, and discuss that issue?

[Nonlinear FC]

Yeah, that seems like fair play.

[mister d]

Its all diff teams and diff umps. Needed real-time intervention and didn't happen despite us asking nicely and then less nicely.

[Jerloma]

I know Liv bad and everything but Bryson shot a 58 today (with a bogey and no eagles). Last 3 holes were pouring and he birdied all of them.