19th Hole

LIV Golf responds after shock report regarding Greg Norman’s future emerges

Published

2 years ago

Nov 11, 2022

Jason Daniels

In music terms, LIV Golf is preparing itself for that difficult second album.

Related: Pat Perez reveals his ‘hatred’ of Phil Mickelson after Lefty committed ‘unforgivable’ act

After mixed reviews, and an awful lot of lucrative payouts, the Saudi-backed series will resume in 2023 with a program the organizers may tag as, ‘Golf, but even louder’.

Related: Greg Norman aims another subtle dig at Rory McIlroy as feud shows no signs of going away

With 14 planned events and the threat/promise of more star names jumping ship from the main tours, LIV are also confident of securing a broadcast deal to showcase their $400 million-plus of prize-money.

Two-time major winner and current LIV CEO Greg Norman has been at the forefront of media promotion from the start of even the mere notion of a breakaway tour, and is easily the most recognized face of a series that keeps modesty aside when declaring itself as having “no interest” in talking to the PGA Tour about a truce, as “our product is working.”

However, according to The Telegraph, Saudi chiefs are in talks with Mark King, former CEO of Taylor Made, the man that took the golf brand from a turnover of $263 million to $1.5 billion during his 12 year tenure to take over Norman’s role.

Proven not only at one company, King was also a success as President of Adidas North America, again increasing the company’s turnover by a significant quarter in his final year.

The report suggests that the boardroom at LIV are seeking some return from what has already been an eye-watering financial investment, with the un-named source commenting:

“The Saudis have already committed more than $2 billion to this and clearly want the business plan to be defined and for it all to be seen as rather less chaotic. The fact it has been frenetic is completely understandable as they have had to do everything off the hoof and where they have got to off a standing start–albeit with an open chequebook–is impressive.”

Whilst the source indicates that the ‘plan’ is on course, there is little doubt that King, current CEO of Taco Bell, would be a less polarizing character, and perhaps taken more seriously as the head of a business that sees itself as “another tour among existing tours” within five years.

King has been seen at several recent LIV events and is reported to have spoken with Yasir Al-Rumayyan–Governor of the Saudi Public Investment (PIF) and Chairman of Saudi Aramco, a company heavily involved in women’s golf, a facet that Norman has always said is on LIV’s agenda.

The report, however, has prompted responses from both LIV’s Managing Director Majed Al-Sorour, who told Bob Harig of SI:

“Greg Norman is our CEO and commissioner. Any suggestion that changes are being made to Greg’s title or role is patently false.”

While Norman’s son called the report “BS”.

Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…

— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.