| By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.
For comments: [email protected]
Good Friday morning, golf fans, as the fallout from wildest week in the sport’s history continues and day two of the Canadian Open gets underway. |
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1. 59 alert
From the Golf Channel digital team…”Michael Feagles made a left-to-right, curling 30-footer for birdie on his final hole Thursday to shoot 59 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.”
- “It marked the ninth sub-60 round all time on the Korn Ferry Tour and the second this year.”
- “Mac Meissner shot 59 in April’s Lecom Suncoast Classic. Prior to that, no one had broken 60 on tour since 2017. The lowest score ever recorded on the KFT is a 58 by Stephan Jaeger at the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic.”
- “Feagles had never shot better than 64 in his KFT career, which includes 33 previous starts.”
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2. On how Jimmy got it done
The AP’s Doug Ferguson…”It was Dunne and Ed Herlihy, chairman of the PGA Tour policy board, whom Monahan leaned on to set his first meeting with Al-Rumayyan a short time after the Masters.”
- “They were the only PGA Tour principals involved in the deal that joins the commercial business of the PGA Tour, European tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in a for-profit entity that for now goes by “Newco” — new company.”
- “I came to the table not being comfortable with criticism why we didn’t meet with them,” Dunne said. “If you look at what happened (with LIV), we never would have done anything they did. We never would have hired Greg Norman. We never would have him flying to an event in a parachute. We never would have done so many of these things.
- “What does that tell me? That I have no idea what they’re thinking,” Dunne said. “And when you have no idea what an adversary is thinking, I want to ask them, not their lawyers. I want to ask them directly.”
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3. Too-early-to-tell winners and losers
From the team at Golf Digest…
Winner—Saudi Arabia: This is arguably a better outcome than LIV Golf succeeding on its own, for golf’s professional tours embracing the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund as a formal business partner—and thus allowing it into the sport’s political matrix—is exactly the aspiration at the heart of its Vision 2030 plan, a blueprint to help sell the ostracized country to the rest of the world. —Joel Beall
- Loser—Idealists: Those who billed this as a moral crusade against LIV and its questionable source of funding were reminded Tuesday that golf is ultimately run by capitalists. This, it turns out, wasn’t a battle of good vs. evil, but a clumsy courtship between two sides beholden to their bottom lines. —Sam Weinman
- Winner—Phil Mickelson: In the early portion of this saga, Mickelson had not only become a punchline, he had destroyed his own legacy. All the goodwill he built up with his remarkable PGA Championship win at age 50 at Kiawah Island was gone when he got in bed with the people he called “scary motherf—-ers.” But, as Mickelson proclaimed before all this chaos began, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape the sport and how the PGA Tour operates. Tuesday’s news all but confirmed Mickelson, among others, achieved exactly that. Of course, another way to look at it is that Mickelson brought those same scary MFers to the PGA Tour’s doorstep, which now seemingly taints the entire golf world at large. Then again, it appears Saudi Arabian influence can be found in more than a few places these days. Mickelson didn’t make this world, he just lives in it and takes advantage of it like the rest of us. Whether or not he can salvage his legacy remains to be seen, but at this very moment, #PhilWasRight. —Christopher Powers
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4. Who is Jimmy Dunne, anyways?
Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers…”In basic bio terms, Dunne is the vice chairman and senior managing principal of Piper Sandler, an investment bank and financial services company heavily involved in mergers and acquisitions. He was one of the founders of Sandler O’Neill and Partners, which in January 2020 was acquired by Piper Jaffray. Dunne helped Sandler O’Neill grow into becoming one of the largest independent full-service investment banking firms, focusing on the financial-services sector. A graduate of Notre Dame and a Long Island, N.Y., native, he began his career on Wall Street and has risen to become a rather large deal in the financial world. He’s also an avid golfer, and his love of the sport not only played a role in saving his life… it led to him having a very important hand in what has transpired in the golf world this week.” |
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5. Meanwhile, on the PGA Tour…
ESPN report…”Corey Conners shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 on Thursday to share the first-round lead at the RBC Canadian Open, the first PGA Tour event since its announcement of unifying with Saudi-funded rival LIV Golf.”
- Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy opened with a 71 at Oakdale. Matt Fitzpatrick, who will seek to defend his U.S. Open title next week at Los Angeles Country Club, was one of nine players at 68.
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6. First TGL team, ownership
Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”The first of six team ownership groups for TGL has officially been announced.”
- “Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC) will be the inaugural team of TGL, a “new tech-infused league” developed by Tiger Woods and Rory’s McIlroy’s TMRW Sports, which was announced last August. LAGC will be owned by Seven Seven Six (776) founder Alexis Ohanian, and joined by tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams.”
- “Ohanian, the creator of Reddit and Serena’s husband, is also the principal owner Los Angeles’ National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team, Angel City FC.”
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7. Ripple effects, questions
Lillian Rizzo for CNBC…”Despite those tensions being settled between the tour and LIV, they could be relevant when regulators comb over the deal.”
- “The commissioner’s statement that this is necessary to end all this tension leaves the question of what do we mean when we say tension? That could be from a competition angle, which is a good thing for pricing and consumers,” said Henry Hauser, a former FTC lawyer and currently an antitrust attorney at Perkins Coie. “It can also mean tension in the sense of a distraction.”
- “While the two organizations were feuding, golfers were divided between the PGA Tour and LIV. Some left for the hefty paychecks being doled out by LIV, even as they lost their endorsements. Others turned down big paydays to stay with the tour. Monahan has been outspoken in the past, saying he believed players would face “significant implications” for going to LIV. On Tuesday, he said he expected to be called a hypocrite and accepts the criticism.”
- “Since the announcement, several players have voiced their frustration with the deal. Sponsors, likewise, have been slow to make statements or decisions, likely waiting to see how the deal is structured and the regulatory process goes, according to two sponsors close to the tour.”
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8. Rose: I’d be more concerned if I was on LIV
Paul Higham for Golf Monthly…”Justin Rose says it won’t be easy for some LIV Golf players to get back onto the PGA Tour, and would be more worried about the future from their perspective than players who stayed.”
- “Obviously playing Major championship golf was always the thing I could never give up. So I was kind of always very content,” Rose said of his decision to stay on the PGA Tour.
- “I’d probably be more concerned if I was on LIV right now than on the PGA Tour.”
- One thorny issue from the big merger news is that of LIV players returning to the PGA Tour, and Rose says that some form of sanctions or reintegration process will have to be sorted out.
- “We’re looking for a harmonious world of golf. This is what I think this is designed to achieve. That’s not going to be overnight,” Rose added.
- “Obviously there’s a lot of players that you guys want to watch play golf, who we know all know who they are on LIV. They got a lot to offer the game of golf. I think just because they made a certain decision doesn’t mean they’re outcasts forever.
- “I don’t know what the protocols will be, to be honest with you. I think there would be if it’s just a straight, hey, boys, come on back, that’s not going to sit well with anybody out here necessarily.
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9. Photos from the Korn Ferry Tour
- Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event.
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