19th Hole

More LIV contract details emerge: Suspensions, media rights, caddie microphones and more

Published

2 years ago

Sep 14, 2022

Matt Vincenzi

A new court filing has revealed new information regarding LIV Golf regulations.

Related: Ian Poulter accused of lacking ‘manners and common decency’ after post-round Wentworth incident

In early September, Judge Beth Labson Freeman ordered LIV Golf to come forward with information about contracts and operations. While much of the financial information was ordered to remain sealed, Monday’s court filing did shed light on many aspects of LIV that were previously unknown.

Related: Report: Sergio Garcia in hot water unless he can provide valid reason for Wentworth withdrawal

Judge Freeman’s September 1st decision read:

“The Court finds that TRO Plaintiffs have not demonstrated compelling reasons to seal any portion of the Rules and Regulations. The redactions TRO Plaintiffs seek are substantial, and Mr. Loffhagen’s declaration (John Loffhagen is the chief legal officer for LIV Golf) lacks specificity regarding any competitive harm that TRO Plaintiffs or LIV may face if the Rules and Regulations are made public. Moreover, TRO Plaintiffs offer no factual support for their contention that their proposed redactions to the Rules and Regulations are narrowly tailored. The Court therefore denies without prejudice the motion to seal as to the Rules and Regulations.”

Sports Illustrated’s “Morning Read” shared some interesting revelations from the language in the player agreements, which include the following:

“All golf tournaments are to be scheduled to create optimal co-existence with professional golf and the majors.”
“Players may not make any statement or commit any act, nor make, post, publish or communicate to any Person or in any public forum any false, defamatory, libelous, or slanderous remarks, comments or statements, if such statement, act or failure could reasonably be expected to, or actually does, adversely affect (i) the Player’s public image and/or ability to participate in connection with any Tournament or Series event or (ii) the reputation or public image of the Series event, the game of golf, LIV Golf, and any other Player, any official partner of the Series, or any other sponsor of the Tournament.”
“Players are not permitted to gamble on any golf tournament, either directly or indirectly, this includes LIV Golf or other golfing events.”
“Player must make themselves available as required for the purposes of the conduct of all anti-doping regulations.”
“Players are required to comply with all reasonable requests to attend press/media interviews and to cooperate with the media immediately upon the completion of each round of a Tournament.”
“Players grant almost exclusive media rights to LIV Golf for LIV Golf events only, but are also allowed to sell, transfer their individual media rights specifically the value of his name, image, and likeness.”
“Any suspensions or disciplinary actions by LIV Golf regarding a player will be made public once the matter is final.”
“Caddies are expected to comply with any request by LIV Golf to wear a microphone.”

The latest LIV Golf event gets underway in Chicago this week.

The Open TV ratings don’t make for pretty reading

Published

2 days 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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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

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.