19th Hole
Greg Norman: Some of my dear friends don’t speak to me because of this
Greg Norman’s decision to start a golf league to rival the PGA Tour has been unsurprisingly met with an immense amount of animosity from many in the world of golf.
While speaking with People I (Mostly) Admire podcast, Norman shared with host Steven Levitt that in result of the emergence of LIV, he’s lost some friendships along the way.
“Some of my dear friends don’t even speak to me because of this. That’s their choice. If you don’t want to talk to me again, happy days.”
Although it’s been undeniable that LIV has been disruptive in the game of golf, Norman still sees it as an overall positive development for the sport.
“It is the biggest thing to ever happen to the game of golf in over 53 years.
“And when you think back over time, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus and a few others broke away from the PGA of America that the PGA Tour. Why did they do that? They do it as players, right? All their independent rights – to compete. This is no different than what were doing today.”
LIV Golf uses a system where there are 12 captains, who each own 25% of their “franchise”, with the rest owned by the league.
“So we have 12 principal players. Those 12 principal players own 25 percent of that franchise. The league owns 75 percent of it. Now that principal player is responsible for his own P&L over his team. No different than any NFL team, right? They’re responsible for their own P&L – profit and loss. So he has to bring in individuals to help him manage his team.”
The controversial league is set to debut its second season this week for LIV Mexico, which will be played at El Camaleon Golf Club Course at Mayakoba. The tournament will take place February 24-26.
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19th Hole
DP World Tour pro has score improved after round following bizarre rules situation
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.
More from the 19th Hole
- 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
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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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”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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