The LIVGolf Thread

[nycnewsjunkie 1395]

I’m not sure if the Saudi-backed LIVGolf has been discussed on this forum yet, but I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on the subject. There have been several high-profile golfers that have left the PGA Tour and joined LIV after being offered large sums to do so. While LIV has a stated goal of growing and revolutionizing the game of golf, its Saudi government ownership has raised concerns over sportswashing, given Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

 

Despite a lack of global TV partners, LIVGolf has already signed some high-profile voices in the broadcast world. Arlo White, Jerry Foltz, and David Feherty are just some of the people that have already joined the the LIV Tour as broadcasters. Now, two other well-known voices are in talks with LIV about broadcast roles:

 

Former CBS broadcaster Gary McCord is in talks with LIVGolf CEO Greg Norman for the 2023 season. He’s expressed particular interest in working with Feherty, as well as Charles Barkley. Speaking of which…

 

In an even bigger shock, Charles Barkley confirmed on the Dan Patrick Show that he was considering a role with LIV after they reached out to him. LIV has not yet made an offer to Barkley, but when asked if he were offered triple his current earnings from TNT and endorsement deals, Barkley stated he would accept the offer. Barkley is set to play in the upcoming LIVGolf pro-am, and has given the group until this Thursday to make him an offer.

Edited July 26, 2022 by nycnewsjunkie
Fixed links

[bammy99 25]

On 7/25/2022 at 7:55 PM, nycnewsjunkie said:

In an even bigger shock, Charles Barkley confirmed on the Dan Patrick Show that he was considering a role with LIV after they reached out to him. LIV has not yet made an offer to Barkley, but when asked if he were offered triple his current earnings from TNT and endorsement deals, Barkley stated he would accept the offer. Barkley is set to play in the upcoming LIVGolf pro-am, and has given the group until this Thursday to make him an offer.

The Chuckster said no, least according to a phone interview with the New York Post. Barkley's got three years left on his current Turner/TNT deal.

Quote

"I want to thank Greg Norman and LIV for their interest in me," Barkley said in a phone interview. "I wish those guys great success and nothing but the best. But, in my best interest, and being fair to Turner - because Turner and basketball have given me every single thing in my life. It is best for me to move on and I'm staying with Turner for the rest of my TV career."

 

[The Frog 392]

LIV Golf has found their U.S. TV home with The CW in a multi-year deal.

 

Weekend tournaments will air live on The CW, while Friday rounds will stream on CW’s AVOD app. 

[Georgie56 3059]

LIV and the PGA Tour are merging.

 

 

[Action Newsroom 1149]

14 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

LIV and the PGA Tour are merging.

Even though I don't watch golf, I did not see this coming... and I don't know how to feel about this. 

[mightynine 286]

Quote

 

In a move that practically no one in the sports or broadcasting worlds saw coming, it was on Tuesday that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will merge in an effort to promote golf around the world. The two rival tours will also unite with DP World Tour — the PGA’s European Tour — to form a new commercial entity to promote all of the brands in order to deliver “maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players,” according to a press release issued by the PGA Tour.

 

While the three tours will continue to exist and operate independently, LIV’s parent company Public Investment Fund (PIF) will make a capital investment into the new commercial enterprise, whose name will be announced at a later date. PIF is run and funded by Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of crimes against humanity and the brutal murder of Suadi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The organization will be the sole initial investor in the new entity and will have the right of first refusal on any other capital brought into the fund. However, the PGA will maintain a majority on the board and of the voting shares for the organization.

 

In addition, the three organizations will work together on ways to highlight and promote team golf — the format favored by LIV — moving forward. This agreement also paves the way for players who opted to leave the PGA Tour in favor of the Saudi-backed LIV Tour to re-apply for PGA membership following the 2023 season. It also ends all pending litigation between the tours, bringing to a close a particularly heated and nasty period in the history of golf.

Everybody's got a price.

https://thestreamable.com/news/breaking-pga-tour-liv-golf-tour-agree-to-merge-into-global-golf-organization

Edited June 6, 2023 by mightynine

[Yankees4life 529]

3 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

LIV and the PGA Tour are merging.

 

 

WHOA!!

 

Didn't see that coming 

[ColumbusNewsFan 217]

Boy oh Boy, CBS pretty much dropped The CW over LIV Golf because of their friendship and dealings with the PGA Tour and they pulled this move and now CBS has 8 indies because of the PGA and being loyal to them. Man, if you are Paramount you are Pissed but Nexstar wins again in a weird way... they just keep ending up in situations where they should have the hugest Ls but end up getting a W for some weird stroke of luck or fortune that nobody sees or notices till it happens.

[mrschimpf 2050]

I still don't understand what they're going to merge...the team golf concept nobody understands or has any loyalty to, or making LIV a part of the FedEx Cup? The Champions Tour just being yeeted out of existence?

I am just left with more questions than answers about what this merger will do except confuse the rights holders, the PGA loyalists, and the clubs that host events already on the edge (your BC Opens) who may lose their tour stops. Maybe this is more PGA tossing money at LIV to just go away and get back to normal than anything.

[mightynine 286]

35 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

I still don't understand what they're going to merge...the team golf concept nobody understands or has any loyalty to, or making LIV a part of the FedEx Cup? The Champions Tour just being yeeted out of existence?

I am just left with more questions than answers about what this merger will do except confuse the rights holders, the PGA loyalists, and the clubs that host events already on the edge (your BC Opens) who may lose their tour stops. Maybe this is more PGA tossing money at LIV to just go away and get back to normal than anything.

 

Quite the contrary. This is the Saudi's basically buying control of world golf.

[nycnewsjunkie 1395]

37 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

I still don't understand what they're going to merge...the team golf concept nobody understands or has any loyalty to, or making LIV a part of the FedEx Cup? The Champions Tour just being yeeted out of existence?

I am just left with more questions than answers about what this merger will do except confuse the rights holders, the PGA loyalists, and the clubs that host events already on the edge (your BC Opens) who may lose their tour stops. Maybe this is more PGA tossing money at LIV to just go away and get back to normal than anything.

The press release made it sound like the LIV Tour would continue as an independent tour under this new PGA/PIF consortium. However, if prominent LIV golfers switch back to the PGA Tour, I don’t know how that format sustains itself unless it’s some sort of second-tier tour. In any case, the PGA gets a massive cash infusion and the Saudis can exert their soft power over the PGA itself. The broadcasters must be fuming right now.