19th Hole
‘Not the cash value’ – Greg Norman clarifies details on LIV Golf’s offer to Tiger Woods
At the beginning of August, GolfWRX reported on an interview between FOX News and Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, in which the station asked about the figure initially offered to Tiger Woods to join the Saudi-backed organization.
Speaking to host Tucker Carlson the two-time Open champion confirmed the figure to be circa $700 million, three times over any offer we have since heard about:
“That number was out there before I became CEO, so that number has been out there, yes.”
“And, look, Tiger is a needle-mover and, of course, you have to look at the best of the best. So they had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO. So, yes, that number was somewhere in that neighborhood.”
However, in a recent interview with foxsports.com.au, Norman backtracked slightly on his initial claim, saying that, “the numbers that were thrown out were inclusive of future franchise value.”
According to Fox Sports, “Woods was offered a much smaller sign-on fee, with the remainder of LIV’s $A1 billion pitch made up of potential future earnings through ownership of one of its 12 franchises.”
Norman says: “To be honest, we don’t comment on any past or current offers to any players, but obviously the media picks up on information, tid bits, white noise, and they run with it.”
“I just want to make sure for clarification here, the numbers that were thrown out were inclusive of future franchise value.”
“And so if you take a look at this number that’s being thrown out there … the generational wealth that this franchise opportunity has for the individual players is incredible.”
Norman then insists:
“That’s how it is. It’s not the cash value. We never offered that cash value to Tiger Woods. That’s the reality of it.”
LIV has a habit of making news during some of the biggest event on the PGA Tour, and Tiger’s potential earnings were not the only topic for discussion during the week of the second of three FedEx Playoff events.
As Tiger met a select group of PGA Tour players on Tuesday to discuss the future of the tour, Norman was backing up his appeal for LIV events to be awarded OWGR points, therefore giving members a much better chance of qualifying for any future majors, should the various authorities allow them to enter. It would, also, give LIV much more legitimacy within the golfing world.
“I think it’s important for the sustainability of the OWGR, to be honest with you,” he told Fox, before continuing.
“LIV Golf is a proven platform with very significant players with very high-ranking points with a very proven model that works. So I think, really, the onus is on the OWGR as an independent organisation to see that LIV Golf is worthy of these ranking points because of what we’ve produced and what we’ve done.”
Norman sees no reason the limited-field 54-hole events are not being backed by the rankings organization:
“We’ve done all the right things. LIV is living up to it, LIV is proving it. So it’s up to the independent board, the independent chairman.”
“I’m confident they’ll sit back and see that the LIV Golf League (from 2023) and the LIV Golf Invitational Series we’ve done today is worthy and warranted of OWGR points.”
With the PGA Tour rumored to be coming out with their own limited-field big-money events, and the LIV developing a women’s league, the last few months of 2022 are going to be a hive of activity and changes, the like of which we have never seen.
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As originally reported by Ryan French of Monday Q Info, a DP World Tour player was impacted over the weekend by a peculiar rules situation.
Ivan Cantero was playing the Volvo China Open when he hit an errant tee shot on the 13th hole. Cantero was unsure if the ball was in play or not, as it went towards a jungle area, so he played a provisional.
French confirmed with a rules official that the provisional was legal due to the fact that the player didn’t know whether the ball was in play or not.
Cantero’s original ball was found in the penalty area, which should have rendered his provisional irrelevant.
A rules official then told Cantero he could no longer play his original ball because he hit a provisional.
French shares that Cantero asked for a second opinion and was given the same (incorrect) answer. He went on to play his provisional and made a long par putt on the par 5.
After the round, the rules officials realized their mistake and decided to take a stroke away from the player, changing the par to a birdie.
The report cites rule 20.2 in the Rules of Golf.
“If a ruling by a referee or the Committee is later found wrong, the ruling can be corrected if possible under the Rules. If it is too late to do so, the ruling stands.”
The score change resulted in Cantero making the cut on the number and he then rallied on Saturday to finish in 23rd place after a weather-shortened event.
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- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
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19th Hole
‘F*** around and find out’ – Phil Mickelson fires warning shot over LIV’s access to majors in since-deleted tweet
On Sunday, the social media account “Flushing It” made a post about the importance of LIV Golf ensuring that their players have major championship eligibility going forward.
Never has there been a more obvious example of the immediate issue LIV faces than today. The Volvo China Open was played for a $2.25 million purse and several players qualified for the PGA Championship at Valhalla. LIV Golf Singapore played for a purse more than 10 times that…
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) May 5, 2024
“LIV can have the grandest of plans for their future but getting players access to major championships should be their number 1 priority. Especially with the major exemptions running out fast and nearly all player contracts up for renewal this year and next.”
Phil Mickelson then responded to the post, warning the golf world that excluding LIV players from majors will have unintended consequences, saying “FAAFO” which means “f*** around and find out”.
“Maybe some LIV players won’t be missed. But what if NONE of the LIV players played? Would they be missed? What about next year when more great players join? Or the following year? At some point they will care and will have to answer to sponsors and television. FAAFO”
His post has since been deleted, but there are plenty of screenshots out there.
??????? #FAAFO — LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson has sent a clear message to the powers that be, when it comes to LIV players and their access into majors: “F—k around and find out.”@flushingitgolf | @PhilMickelson pic.twitter.com/kVEL7VR6UN
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 5, 2024
It will be easier said than done, but it does appear that some sort of agreement between LIV and the majors could be coming in the future if the PGA Tour and LIV aren’t able to mend fences.
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19th Hole
Greg Norman reveals plan for LIV to own all their golf courses and each team to have a home venue
In an interview with Bloomberg, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman discussed the current state of LIV and what it means for the future of professional golf.
In the interview, Norman said he believes that LIV has been welcomed with “open arms.”
“Our product is received with open arms by many, but a few want to try and stop us for all the wrong reasons. They haven’t been able to sustain their position in the game of golf. What we have done brilliantly is injected more capital. Golf is finally looked upon as an asset class.”
Interestingly, Norman also revealed future plans for LIV to own all the courses they play and have home courses for each team.
“Man United owns their stadium. Indian Premier League, they own their stadiums. NFL, they own their stadiums. Think about LIV owning all their own golf courses, each team having a home venue and they host. And now you can build out around that. It’s not just a golf course. You bring in education, you bring in hospitality, you bring in real estate, you bring in merchandise, you bring in management, you bring in all these other different opportunities that the game of golf has to deliver to a community, to a region. We are gonna be doing that.
“The Philippines are very keen to get us there. Golf in the Philippines is doing very well. We are not just sport, we’re sports and entertainment and culture. So no matter where we go in the world, we adjust what we need to deliver from an entertainment standpoint.”
Norman also talked about his time as the number one player in the world when the best players in the world didn’t always play on the same tour.
“That never happened anyway. Right? I was number one player in the world. Very seldom did I go and play in the United States or Europe or Asia or anything. Did I play against the best in the world outside the four majors and maybe the TPC? They’re the five, right? So very, very seldom did that happen. We got all paid appearance money to go play somewhere.”
Norman added that LIV “isn’t going anywhere.”
“My boss told me LIV is not going to go anywhere. It will be well and truly in operation, running well past his death – he’s a young guy.”
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
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