19th Hole
‘They don’t return my calls’ – Cam Percy on the fallout from revealing Aussie duo were LIV-bound
Last month, PGA Tour player Cameron Percy made headlines after declaring on a radio interview that Open Champion Cameron Smith and veteran Marc Leishman would be taking their talents to the LIV Golf series.
Apparently, Percy’s willingness to spill what he heard in the locker room from his fellow Australians rubbed Smith and Leishman the wrong way.
“It is what it is,” Percy said to Bunkered.
“They knew they were going, everyone else knew they were going and it was just a matter of time.
“The thing is, we don’t see these guys now. Before if something happened, you could see them at the next tournament and talk to them. I don’t see Cam or Leish now and they don’t return my phone calls at the moment.”
The 48-year-old claims he was surprised by the reaction to his interview.
“I didn’t think anything of it, and the next day I woke up to 300 text messages and missed calls.”
“I woke up thinking ‘what the hell has happened here?’ Everyone took it as me confirming they were gone. If I’d said, ‘what I’m hearing is they’re gone’ it would have changed everything.”
While it’s likely that Smith and Leishman are upset about Percy sharing the news with the world in a radio interview, it’s also possible that they aren’t thrilled with some of his comments about their new tour as well.
Percy has been extremely vocal criticizing the Saudi-backed golf series over the past few months and doubled down in his interview with Bunkered.
In the interview, he claimed that LIV “is not an actual Tour” and questioned why LIV thinks it’s worthy of world ranking points.
“There are things you need to do to get them and LIV doesn’t cover half of it. It’s not a real tour, there’s no way to qualify, it’s 54 holes, no cut, 48 guys. I don’t understand the arrogance. They’re living in a different world.”
“I don’t understand why they’re calling themselves one because there’s no way to qualify for it. The 54 holes, it is what it is, but how do you get on it? They just say ‘we like you, here’s X amount of dollars’. It’s not real yet.
“My son was watching it on YouTube and Patrick Reed was saying he’s sick of the grind and all that stuff. Now he’s travelling to Asia, he’s playing at Wentworth. The stuff they’re saying doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Percy isn’t alone in feeling the way he does, but I wouldn’t be waiting around the phone for a call back from his compatriots anytime soon if I were him.
More from the 19th Hole
- DP World Tour pro makes a hole-in-one and then gets disqualified
- Gary Player blasts Cam Smith’s LIV move and claims another major champ ‘had no money, so he had to go’
- Golfer suspected of cheating in wild disqualification incident at Q-School
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19th Hole
The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading
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.
More from the 19th Hole
- Shane Lowry says this prevalent criticism surrounding Rory McIlroy ‘makes his blood boil’
- Brandel Chamblee on why he feels Rory’s game ‘deteriorates in the biggest moments‘
- Tiger Woods aims brutal dig at Colin Montgomerie
New here?
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
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.
??? #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.
More from the 19th Hole
- Shane Lowry says this prevalent criticism surrounding Rory McIlroy ‘makes his blood boil’
- Brandel Chamblee on why he feels Rory’s game ‘deteriorates in the biggest moments‘
- Tiger Woods aims brutal dig at Colin Montgomerie
New here?
While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB.
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19th Hole
John Daly says this is the best golf course in Scotland…and it’s not St. Andrews
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.
More from the 19th Hole
- Shane Lowry says this prevalent criticism surrounding Rory McIlroy ‘makes his blood boil’
- Brandel Chamblee on why he feels Rory’s game ‘deteriorates in the biggest moments‘
- Tiger Woods aims brutal dig at Colin Montgomerie
New here?
While you’re here, check out BK’s look at Xander Schauffele’s winning WITB.
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