19th Hole
Report: LIV Golf pull offer for PGA Tour pro following new TV deal with CW Network
When LIV Golf announced their ambitious 2023 schedule, they spoke about 14 events, increased prize funds, and a recruitment drove to sign up, “maybe seven players” that wanted to “be liberated” and join the likes of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cam Smith.
However, with just a month to go until the first event in Mayakoba, the public is yet to hear details of over seven tournaments, although that could quickly change after the recently agreed broadcasting deal with CW Network, or of any new names confirming the move.
It’s extremely likely that current world number forty five, Mito Pereira, will join his compatriot and friend, Joaquin Niemann, but even the heartiest of speculation has gone awry in recent months, and it seems the new tv deal has had further effects.
On Friday, Barstool Sports reporter Dan Rapaport tweeted that all may not be that rosy with the recruitment process, so often seemingly free and easy with the cash supplied by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
One player on the LIV fence told me LIV pulled their offer once they got the TV deal and will come back to him with another offer. He seemed to think the offer will now be *lower* since they’re going to get more exposure with the CW deal. Interesting wrinkle.
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) January 20, 2023
One reply was from writer Amanda-Biers-Melcher, who gave one explanation for a tv deal with a network with a different demographic than usually seen watching golf:
The CW is restructuring. This explains their new mandate. https://t.co/ZZQNg7kpGZ
— amanda biers-melcher (@amandabiers) January 20, 2023
Nexstar (the group that owns CW) chief operating officer Tom Carter, outlined the plan for the network, stating that” its programming is targeted for an 18-to-34 audience demographic, while the average age of the CW broadcast viewer is 58 years,” and, over time, they will be “taking a different approach to our CW programming strategy.”
The report from tvline.com concludes with the revelation that The CW will add “high-quality syndicated programming,” to its lineup, which he indicated is “a departure from the prior predominant focus on expensive, original scripted content, which is uncommon among major broadcast networks.”
It seems likely that any player signing up for 2023 is going to be lagging behind the sort of numbers paid to the class of 2022.
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19th Hole
‘You’re a f*****g traffic cone!’ – Brooks Koepka heckles Aaron Ekblad at Florida Panthers game
Brooks Koepka is preparing to play in this week’s LIV event in Orlando. While in Florida, the four-time major champion attended a Florida Panthers game.
At the game, Koepka was seen taunting Aaron Ekblad, who was the first overall pick in the draft in 2014, with a traffic cone.
Brooks can be seen in the video yelling, “Ekblad you suck” as well as calling him a “traffic cone” with the prop in hand.
Is that Brooks Koepka calling Ekblad a fucking traffic cone from the stands in Florida??
?: IG/floridapanthersfp pic.twitter.com/LqolbAuYYt
— Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) March 26, 2023
So far this season, Koepka has finished 31st at LIV Mayakoba and 29th at LIV Tucson. He’ll be teeing it up at The Masters next week in search of his 5th major championship.
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19th Hole
‘Never mind the Masters’ – Gary Player explains why he ranks the Masters dead last of all the majors
In an interview with Sportsmail, Gary Player spoke about which major championship he believes is the best among them. The 87-year-old won nine major championships, including the Masters three times and The Open Championship three times.
“But never mind the Masters, the Open is by far the greatest tournament on the planet.”
Interestingly, Player ranked the Masters fourth of the four majors.
“I rate the Open at one, the US Open two, PGA three and Augusta four,’ he adds. Four marvelous tournaments.”
When asked why he ranked the Masters after the other three, Player said it was because the others have been around longer.
“It’s the youngest of the majors. The others are steeped in tradition and history, and they still have to catch up. Nothing comes to the top without time.”
Speaking of The Masters, Player also spoke about Rory McIlroy’s quest for the career grand slam, of which he’s still one green jacket short. Player believes McIlroy will win and needs to do so sooner rather than later to cement his spot amongst the greatest players of all time.
‘He’s got the best swing in the world by a mile,’ Player says. ‘He’s won four majors but none since 2014. I think he will win the Masters because the course is made for him. I think if he does that, he’ll go down as one of the greats, but that’s something he has to do.
“I’ve always said my judgment of superstars is they have to win six majors. People these days say anyone who wins is a superstar. No. It’s not easily done, but I believe Rory can.”
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At one stage in his career, it looked as if Tiger Woods becoming the record major holder was a formality, but for whatever factors that never materialised.
In an interview with Sportsmail, Gary Player spoke about Tiger Woods and his quest to break Jack Nicklaus’s major championship record, and has his own view on why Tiger never surpassed Jack’s record.
Player, who won nine major championships himself, said that he believes Ben Hogan was the “greatest” golfer he’d ever seen, but Tiger Woods was the most talented.
‘The greatest I ever saw was Ben Hogan,’ he says. ‘He went to war for five years and then had a terrible car accident, so never played in 30 majors. Nobody had a streak like he had (winning his nine majors in the space of 16 starts). If I was a young boy today, I’d watch his swing from 1953 every day.”
‘Tiger Woods was the most talented golfer the planet has ever seen but he made a few bad decisions, which we all do.”
“Having lessons when he won the US Open by 15 shots was inconceivable — if he never went for a lesson, he would have won 20 majors minimum and he would have beat Nicklaus’s record.”
Player is referencing the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which Woods won by 15 shots. Just two years later, Tiger completely renovated his golf swing, which in retrospect looks as if it may have been a mistake.
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Jay
Jan 26, 2023 at 11:29 am
The one advantage of LIV moving to CW means we can now dvr the golf and watch when it fits our schedule
John
Jan 25, 2023 at 8:44 am
The LIV socialist league, guaranteed money, no cut, what a joke. If that’s golf count me out. Never will watch
John Thomas
Jan 24, 2023 at 9:36 pm
Scripted? That would explain the praise and excuses the Golf Channel and MBC, CBS, and the others who constantly try to build up and maintain a high profile for the ‘never been great’ Rickie Fowler! He’s never lived up to the hype.
Tobey
Jan 24, 2023 at 7:57 pm
The deals have to be less – LIV is paying to be shown on CW. Less cash to blow on world #243.
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Jake Green
Jan 24, 2023 at 2:17 am
Mito Pereira is nowhere close to number 5 in the world as this piece indicates.
Ben
Jan 23, 2023 at 11:31 pm
“world number five, Mito Perreira” ummm, not quite. More like #45.
Adam
Jan 23, 2023 at 7:44 pm
Mito is ranked 44, not 5.
McLovin
Jan 23, 2023 at 12:23 pm
“We want to appeal to an older demographic” …..
Said no media executives ever.
LIV to Regret It
Jan 23, 2023 at 11:57 am
Not surprising LIV will be paying less. They go from broadcasting on You Tube which has over 2.5 billion potential viewers to CW which has maybe 80 million viewers. Yeah, no wonder they’re hemorrhaging money.
Mike
Jan 24, 2023 at 11:53 pm
Yes… potential viewers. But how many actual viewers tuned in to see LIV on YouTube? Bet more will on TV.
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