19th Hole

Phil Mickelson reveals the untapped market that will ‘revolutionize the way golf is viewed’

Published

2 years ago

Aug 1, 2022

Jason Daniels

Phil Mickelson has had one hell of a year.

Related: Phil Mickelson’s LIV heckler is revealed…and here’s what happened next

With everyone surely aware of what’s been said, reported, seen, rumored, proven and guessed, the latest statement from Phil Mickelson has provoked just as much interest.

Over the weekend, Phil went into detail about why he’s so bullish on LIV as a whole.

Related: Bryson opens up on relationship with Tiger that’s now gone cold since LIV

Speaking to media, Lefty mentioned that “LIV Golf….addresses the two areas that for the 30 years I’ve played the Tour, they have tried and struggled, meaning LIV has the chance to bring professional golf throughout the world.”

Seeming to ignore the Asian, Australian and South African tours, Mickelson says that having received “a ton of money” players will “commit to wherever they hold the events we’re going to go and we’re going to be there.”

That seems to contradict many of the players’ previous press conferences at which they claimed to want to spend more time at home, and to be free to play where they want, when they want, but Mickelson says, “that’s a really big thing as we try to grow the game of golf throughout the world.”

Another area points to the speed of the LIV day – the traditional 18 holes but played shotgun style — as “it’s not a 12-hour day, having to watch golf all day. You’ve got a four-and-a-half hour window.”

Secondly, Mickelson talked about “when” a streaming partner comes along it is going to revolutionize how golf is viewed.

“Second, when I think a streaming partner comes about, I think it’s going to revolutionize the way golf is viewed, because you’ll have no commercials and you’ll have shot after shot after shot.

“It will capture that younger generation’s attention span. We’ll open up a lot of opportunities to get the younger generation, which again, for 30 years we’ve tried to do and it’s gone the other way.”

Whilst many argue that television golf coverage is often lacking in appeal to anyone other than a die-hard golf fan — too many breaks, too much studio time, not enough coverage of all players in contention — latest YouTube figures suggest that viewing, on that platform at least, might have reached a plateau, although the event can also be watched on Facebook and via the event website.

There are ideas that would certainly bring the game further into the modern world, but whether LIV gets it right, time will tell.

The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading

Published

1 day ago

Jul 24, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, last week’s Open Championship suffered its lowest television rating in almost a decade.

NBC and Peacock drew 3.39M viewers on Sunday for Xander Schauffele’s two-shot win in @TheOpen, down 4% from last year and Brian Harman.

That’s the lowest number for the final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015, which finished on a Monday on ESPN (cable) pic.twitter.com/9r7guxnfx1

— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) July 23, 2024

The final round was down four percent from Brian Harman’s win in 2023 at Royal Liverpool, which offered very little drama down the stretch. It was the lowest-rated final round since Zach Johnson’s win in 2015 at St. Andrews: and that was a Monday finish.

Stars such as Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland all missed the cut, which may have contributed to the lack of interest from casual golf fans.

This year, the Masters and The Open have decreased in ratings while the PGA Championship and U.S. Open saw an uptick. It’s fair to speculate whether the inclusion of Bryson DeChambeau deep into contention had an impact.

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While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander’s Open-winning WITB.

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19th Hole

‘That looks brutal’ – First photo of Tiger Woods’ leg without sleeve shows depth of injury

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

It’s been a struggle of late for Tiger Woods on the golf course. The 15-time major champion has only teed it up five times in 2024, finishing 60th in The Masters and missing the cut in the other three majors. He also played in the Genesis Invitational and was forced to withdraw.

Woods has many ailments, but none as debilitating as his surgically repaired leg. Since his car accident three years ago, the 48-year-old has rarely been seen without wearing a leg sleeve. However, on Monday, a fan was able to take a photograph of Woods’ leg without the sleeve.

@blakebunkersgolf IG

??? #LOOK: A photo has emerged of Tiger Woods without his leg sleeve @TWlegion

(Via: blakebunkersgolf/IG) pic.twitter.com/ppaGLdXg8X

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

The photo was taken at an event Tiger’s son, Charlie, was playing in by “blakebunkersgolf” on Instagram, and one of the top responses on X towards the photo was simply “That looks brutal.”

Woods has struggled with the lack of reps on the course but hasn’t given any indication as to whether his schedule will look any different come 2025.

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19th Hole

John Daly says this is the best golf course in Scotland…and it’s not St. Andrews

Published

3 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

John Daly withdrew at last week’s Open Championship with a knee injury, but the 58-year-old was back on the links this week showcasing one of the most famous golf courses in the world for his fans.

While at Trump Turnberry, John Daly recorded a video of the 18th green.

In the video, the 1995 Open Champion shared his opinion that Turnberry is the best golf course in Scotland, even better than St. Andrews.

?????????? #BEST OF THE BEST — John Daly says Trump Turnberry beats out St Andrews for the title of best golf course in Scotland.

Do you agree?

(Via: @LGlick1) pic.twitter.com/Ya7FIJEfp2

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2024

“Hey everybody, John Daly here. I’m at Trump Turnberry today. I went out and tried to play a little bit. This place is amazing. It is the best golf course in Scotland, I think. St. Andrews is my baby, but I think I just found my new baby. I’m at the 18th green right here, this thing is unreal.”

Turnberry hosted its first Open Championship in 1977, which was dubbed “The Duel in the Sun” when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a single stroke. The most recent Open the course hosted was 2009, where Watson almost won again, but lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff.

The course is not slated to host any Open Championships in the foreseeable future.