Friday, February 25, 2022

The Liar In Winter

I'm pleased to report that I have settled into Unplayable Lies Western HQ to give this skiing thing one more chance... Since we're trotting out literary references with wild abandon, we'll just call this the winter of my discontent.  Third consecutive, but let's move on...

I had visions of catching up on other golf news today, but that just isn't going to happen for the simple reason that your humble blogger is just having too much damn fun.  There's a schadenfreudalicous element to it that might be a tad too self-congratulatory, but I've been plying this field since September 2014.

In terms of news, we touched on the meeting with players held by Jay Monahan on Tuesday, although we did not have full details, including this on the timing:

Monahan met with players Tuesday afternoon at the Honda Classic. While the meeting had been scheduled weeks in advance, it began just minutes after Phil Mickelson released a statement in which he apologized for “reckless” remarks about the Saudis and praised Norman’s LIV Golf Investments for sharing his goal of making golf better.

Wow, that fauxpology was such a dis to the Tour and his fellow players, just another curious data point on our journey.  The only thought I can offer is that he released it so close to the start of the meeting that players wouldn't have as chance to read it in any detail, but might just hear that an apology had been offered.

But, this was Jay's message:

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan says he has “zero complacency” when it comes to the threat of a Saudi-funded rival league, and he has a clear message for any player still tempted to
leave.

“I told the players we’re moving on and anyone on the fence needs to make a decision,” Monahan said Wednesday in a telephone interview.

He also emphasized anew that players who sign up for a Saudi golf league will lose their PGA Tour membership and should not expect to get it back.

I didn't think much of that until I saw Geoff's commentary:

Why the ban was brought back up as the whole thing crumbles, is surprising and suggests there are still concerns the LIV Golf effort has legs. Because it seems like Monahan could have just belittled what appears to be left of a league down to some Kokrak’s, Poulter’s, Stenson’s, Westwood’s and Mickelson’s.

I see Geoff's point, but I suspect Jay knows that his biggest vulnerability is such an offer without the noxious Saudi's involvement.  Of course, given the actual enterprise value of all golf, who but the Saudis has such a need to distribute their wealth?

I'm here for LOLs, so Mr. Greg Norman seems a bit miffed at Jay Monahan, and has penned him a love letter.  I am not kidding when I tell you that the letter's salutation is as follows:

Dear Commissioner Monahan:

Surely you jest.

Is there any chance that Jay has an actual sense of humor and responded like this:

Dear Mullah Norman:

I never jest and please stop calling me "Shirley."

In a ranking of Unplayable Lies Piñatas, Greg Norman might well top the retired player category, and he's got some whoppers:

“For decades, I have fought for the rights of players to enjoy a career in which they are rewarded fully and properly for their efforts,” Norman wrote. “They are one-in-a-million athletes. Yet for decades, the Tour has put its own financial ambitions ahead of the players, and every player on the tour knows it. The Tour is the Players Tour not your administration’s Tour. Why do you call the crown jewel in all tournaments outside the Majors ‘The Players Championship’ and not ‘The Administration’s Championship?’”

Clever bit, Greg.  Though you might have noticed that those players had some thoughts last week in L.A.

Norman follows those three opening words with this:

“And surely, your lawyers at the PGA Tour must be holding their breath.”

And he gets on a roll here:

“But when you try to bluff and intimidate players by bulling and threatening them, you are guilty of going too far, being unfair, and you likely are in violation of the law,” Norman wrote. “Simply put, you can’t ban players from playing golf. Players have the right and the freedom to play where we like.”

You sure you want to go with intimidation?  Because....well, damn it, how am I going to top this from Eamon Lynch:

Pro tip Greg, never piss off Eamon Lynch.

I'm actually having trouble finding a text of the letter from which I can excerpt, but the last full 'graph is especially hysterical, in that he accuses Jay of trying to 

Can Jay ban players from the PGA Tour?  He cites this piece in his letter:

Let’s be clear: A lifetime ban is never going to happen. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is
no doubt being advised by high-priced lawyers who—if they are worth even a fraction of their lofty rates—have surely advised him of the legal consequences that will blow up in the PGA Tour’s face if it imposes lifetime bans on independent contractors who choose to associate with a competitor.

Most notably, imposing a lifetime ban on players would trigger a slam-dunk antitrust lawsuit by Norman’s upstart league, the players, or even federal antitrust enforcers who have made it a priority to protect workers’ ability to ply their trade for whomever they please without interference from corporate giants.

The U.S. Supreme Court made clear in Lorain Journal Co. v. United States in 1951 that it is an antitrust violation for a monopolist to attack competition by coercing third parties—such as independent contractors—not to deal with a rival. Other dominant sports leagues employed similar blacklisting tactics in the past but abandoned them decades ago under antitrust pressure. For example, in the 1940s and 1950s, the NFL blacklisted players for playing with rival leagues. One of those players, William Radovich, asserted an antitrust claim against the NFL and its commissioner based on his ban. The NFL claimed it was immune from the antitrust laws under baseball’s antitrust exemption, but when the Supreme Court rejected that defense, the NFL quickly settled Radovich’s claim.

Can't move on without excerpting this bit, which seems quite the stretch:

Monahan’s lawyers have also likely informed him that he might potentially be personally liable for antitrust damages if he is found to have overstepped his role—as Commissioner of a non-profit organization whose Articles of Incorporation state that its purpose is “[t]o promote the common interests of professional tournament golfers”—by imposing lifetime bans on professional golfers for the offense of playing in professional golf tournaments that compete with the tour that pays Monahan’s multimillion-dollar salary. A sobering proposition, no doubt.

Color me skeptical....  But is this a source we should trust?  Geoff has some background on Alden Abbott, former Chairman of the FTC, who had some even shriller comments in an earlier piece:

The threat over the putt is precisely what the PGA Tour is applying to players considering playing in any new golf leagues, especially the rumored new league Norman is linked with. The Tour is trying to maintain its monopoly by telling players it will destroy their livelihoods, ban them from tournaments, and restrict their media rights. That’s not competition on the merits.

So, Jay sounds like quite the bad guy....  Apparently Jay is going to deprive Bryson of his "livelihood" after he decides to play on another tour and cashes a check for $135 million.  Good luck with that argument.

I've had this tab open on my home computer for some time, which seems a more sober analysis of this issue:

Can players be banned legally from the PGA Tour for joining the Super Golf League?

For starters, the PGA Tour, like any other employer or organization, has the discretion to enact rules of conduct of its members, employees and independent contractors. One of the provisions in the PGA Tour Player Handbook and Tournament Regulations is that each PGA Tour member acknowledges the commissioner, the tour’s policy board and the appeals committee have the authority to permanently ban a member from playing in a tour co-sponsored, approved or coordinated tournaments if the member violates its regulations. The handbook also provides that a player ceases to be a member of the PGA Tour if, in the judgment of the policy board, the member commits a serious breach of the Tournament Regulations, the PGA Tour’s Code of Ethics, or otherwise conducts himself in a manner unbecoming of a professional golfer.

That sounds logical...

One such regulation generally prohibits tour players from playing in events when there is aPGA Tour-approved or sponsored event taking place at the same time. Per the handbook, players who reach the 15-event minimum (which a member must meet as a condition of their membership voting rights) are eligible for three conflicting-event releases per season, which is why so many tour players were allowed to play in this week’s Saudi Invitational. However, the regulations also state such requests can be denied. In short, the PGA Tour likely has the discretion to decide that joining a competing tour is a serious breach of its regulations.

Now, one of the long-standing truths is that players are not tour employees but independent contractors. This seemingly bestows more freedom to when and where an individual can play and thus raises the question if the tour has the power to limit that. But according to Darren Heitner, who teaches at the University of Florida and has written several books on sports legislation, that contractor status is not as big of a factor in a potential league fight as some may believe.

“This response [of a suspension or ban] by the PGA Tour has the feel of a ‘non-compete,’ intending to prevent players from performing for leagues that do seem to be competitive to the PGA Tour,” Heitner says. “Players have the choice of complying or not.”

Now we understand why there's no off-season.  The psychological term "Projection" comes into your humble blogger's mind when I hear Mullah Norman accuse Jay of bluffing:

“To make such a case, that would require a player to show, No. 1, that the tour has monopoly power in a market and, No. 2, that the PGA Tour is trying to maintain that power through means other than having a superior product or business savvy,” Allen says.

Allen notes this is not new ground for the PGA Tour. In 2015, a class-action lawsuit was brought by caddies against the tour using antitrust and intellectual property claims, an effort that proved unsuccessful. “Prevailing in an antitrust lawsuit is much more complicated because the plaintiff would have to establish many things, but most importantly, a threshold requirement: defining the market,” Allen says. “That’s where the caddies lost.”

I actually thought at the time that the caddies had a decent shot, given that they weren't even in an independent contractor relationship with the Tour, but that lawsuit got bounced very quickly.

If nothing else, Normans antitrust allegations would require years of litigation, which might seem odd given that every meaningful player has expressed their voluntary "fealty" to the PGA Tour.

So, lets' trash Phil for a bit, shall we?  I've got a couple of threads, the first triggered by a Michael Bamberger piece.  He had opined on the possible rehabilitation of Phil, which unfortunately hit simultaneously to the fauxpology.  Mike first tackles this issue of Phil taking some time, asking the obvious question but then botching his reaction:

I can tell you what people who know the inner workings of the PGA Tour are saying with the cones of silence descending. Need some time away is a preemptive statement from Mickelson,
because a suspension from the PGA Tour commissioner is coming, unless Mickelson has suspended himself first. This is a work-in-progress and will be for months, if not years.

On the issue of ban versus suspension, the difference is semantical. A Tour commissioner and a star player have been down this road before, most notably Tim Finchem and Dustin Johnson in 2014. Starting in August of that year, Johnson did not play the Tour for a six-month period, during which he missed a PGA Championship and the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland. The Tour claimed it was a voluntary leave. But when the choice is leave or we suspend you, is that much of a choice?

This touches on one of my biggest gripes about the Tour, its refusal to announce disciplinary actions.

What happened was that Dustin failed a drug test, not his first, and would have been subject to a suspension.  The Tour allowed DJ to announce that he was voluntarily taking time off, and I'm reasonably OK with that as far as it goes.  I don't know why they even test for recreational drugs, but as long as it's not related to the actual golf, and I think performance-enhancing drugs would be, I think the public knows what such an announcement means.

But the Tour protected DJ by allowing him to announce a fictitious Jet-ski accident to explain his absence, and is thereby abetting a fraud on the public.  There's much that is wrong with this Tour, and this isn't a bad place to start.  To the best of my knowledge, every other professional sport discloses disciplinary action, and I'd like to see some reporters ask Jay that very question.

give Mike's piece a read, as it's all over the place but touches on interesting aspects to the story.  My sense is that, after seeing the bizarre apology, Mike is far less certain of Phil's ability to recover hos revered senior statesman role.

Joel Beall is an optimist, but the ration of howler per pixel might be a new land speed record:

Phil Mickelson can survive his latest controversy, crisis management experts say. Here's how

 Do tell.

Does Joel read what he's typing?  Because this is his second 'graph:

Mickelson has made a career of escaping the inescapable, and we’re not referring to punch shots
through Augusta National’s pines. Be it an insider trading scandal or purposefully hitting a moving ball or gambling ties to a mobster, Mickelson has managed to endure as one of golf’s most popular figures—a status seemingly permanently ensconced last May with his PGA Championship triumph at Kiawah Island. But that status, thanks to incendiary comments and a reported insurgency against the PGA Tour, feels very much in doubt.

And this is his third:

Conversely, he is far from the first high-profile athlete to find himself in trouble and those believing this is the end of Mickelson are in need of a history lesson. Rare is the transgression in sports that doesn’t beget forgiveness or a second chance. The question isn’t will Phil be able to bounce back from this, but how?

Given your incomplete list in the preceding paragraph, in what sense might this be a second chance?   I've used up all the fingers on my right hand and am heading towards the left, so by all means let's discuss whether Phil is worthy of, to round down, a sixth chance?

 Want some more cognitive dissonance in successive 'graphs?

Speaking Wednesday about Mickelson’s effort to explain himself, White said, “For the most part it's a good statement. He needed to apologize and take accountability, although he tries to explain too much and his accountability is a little lackluster. But he gets his point across. He contradicts himself a couple of times, but I'm not gonna hold that against him. If I had been counseling him I would've made that statement much shorter, to the point, take accountability a bit more and apologize.

“You can tell he's backtracking because all the people that he's been in business with with this Saudi league are probably furious. In one interview he killed a multi-million-dollar deal for not just himself but for a lot of other people, so I'm sure there are many unhappy people. He has a lot of clean up to do, and it's not just his image.”

For the most part it's a good statement, except for the long list of everything that's wrong with it.  Noted.

“There are so, so few cases of an instance so bad that an athlete can’t return to the public. O.J. Simpson is not able to come back, that’s really about it,” Reisinger says. “Anything Phil has done is not a death knell. You lay low. You make your voice heard. He would be best to disappear for a bit. As long as he doesn’t repeat what he said, I don’t think what he’s done has permanently damaged [him].”

Making his voice heard hasn't exactly worked out thus far, eh?

Given the annoying ubiquity of Points Bet odds, can we perhaps get their odds on this?

Ideally, this time would be one of reflection for Mickelson, and not just for PR’s sake. When athletes find themselves in trouble, there’s a tendency for the figure in question to be defensive. To some level they acknowledge they made a mistake, yet there’s also a belief they are being treated unfairly or the situation is being blown out of proportion. This can be destructive as it lays the brick to go down a similar path in the future.

For Mickelson, there needs to be an admission and education of what he did, what he said and how he said it was wrong, White asserts. And when he returns he needs to make that education known.

I'm all ears, but this is Phil we're talking about....

Phil's apology included the typical "I'm sorry if you're offended" bit, making this a tad curious:

Reisinger says this is a period of accountability, where toughness is paramount. “You’re going to have to take this on the chin,” he says. “People are going to want to see that you’re hurt for what you said, that you can take it. That’s easier said than done.” And part of this exodus is, well, to prevent further damage. “Even if he believes what he said to be true, part of his failing was that he was incomprehensible,” Reisinger says. “There are better ways to say what he was trying to say, better avenues to do what he’s trying to do. He needs to clean himself up.”

But isn't Phil's problem more that he was completely comprehensible?  That he was willing to hop into bed with those that kill gays?  I mean, is there some nuance that I'm missing?

Yanno how people are always using the "When did you stop beating your wife" query?  Apparently this guy isn't aware that it's not taken literally:

“There’s crisis management cases where it's domestic violence, and that’s rough because that resonates with people because the public can’t conceive of laying hands on another person,” White says. “This wasn’t that. Phil didn’t get arrested. There was no drunk driving. He didn’t hurt an animal or child. There are levels of crisis management and this isn’t at the top.” White says look no further than Aaron Rodgers, who was a pariah early in the NFL season for lying about his vaccination status only to win MVP at the end of the season.

So, in his next presser he should lede with, Look guys, it's not like I whacked Amy?

I've got some amusing memes, then we'll get on with our days:

 The best present ever, thank you @MattMollica

Is there anyone left to block?  Amusingly, yes:

Phil Mickelson’s social media blocking spree apparently includes golf influencer Paige Spiranac.

On Tuesday, the social media star claimed in a tweet that Mickelson blocked her on Twitter. It is unclear when he blocked Spiranac, though she is certainly not alone as Mickelson is on a social media cleanse after making controversial comments about the PGA Tour and a potential Saudi-backed golf league.

The popular “No Laying Up” podcast, golf writer Geoff Shackelford and Ladies European Tour pro Meghan MacLaren also have been blocked by Mickelson on Twitter, according to screen grabs.

OK, blocking Paige Spirinac is too far beyond the pale for him ever to be allowed back into polite society.


Makes sense, especially since the ladies hold an event in Saudi Arabia.

Lastly, Mr. Norman might just possible, I'm just spitballin' here, have an opinion of himself that's inconsistent with facts on the ground:

If I were creating memes or writing for the Babylon Bee, I'd post an article revealing that Greg Norman had been fired by the Saudis and replaced with.....wait for it, Hunter Biden.  Hey the kids love the "ripped from the headlines" bits.   He's perfect and has time on his hands, as his Ukrainian interests are undergoing a valuation reset.

Have a great weekend, but it appears the usual Monday Wrappage will have to wait a couple of days.  Tomorrow I'm headed to Sun Velley to visit my brother and family and I don't see me lugging the laptop.  I'll be back with you next week, just not sure exactly when.  

at No comments:

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Midweek Musings - I Vant To Be Alone Edition UPDATED

What shall we kick around this morning?  I know, silly question, but I really do have other stuff that deserves some airtime, but kicking Phil while he's down, as Rory so aptly put it, is why this blog exists in the first place.
 
And, if I tell you that the man that saved golf, Alan Shipnuck has an all-Phil edition of his mailbag?  Yeah, go ahead, put another pot of coffee on.

It's all over, Phil has apologized, admitted the errors of his way, congratulated Alan Shipnuck on his journalistic efforts and sent Jay Monahan a tardy Valentine.   Though shockingly Shack didn't exactly see it quite like that:

Mickelson Apologizes And Manages To Make Things Worse

Yeah, this seems to call out for a righteous Fisking, so let's have at it:

“Although it doesn't look this way now given my recent comments, my actions throughout this process have always been with the best interest of golf, my peers, sponsors, and fans. There is the problem of off record comments being shared out of context and without my consent, but the bigger issue is that I used words I sincerely regret that do not reflect my true feelings or intentions. It was reckless, I offended people, and I am deeply sorry for my choice of words. I’m beyond disappointed and will make every effort to self-reflect and learn from this.

 As  sophisticated consumers of content, you're no doubt familiar with the concept of the "Non-apologyapology", which is described thusly on Wikipedia:

A non-apology apology, sometimes called a backhanded apology, nonpology, or fauxpology,[1][2] is a statement in the form of an apology that does not express remorse, or assigns fault to those ostensibly receiving the apology. It is common in politics and public relations.

What we have before us is something of a hybrid, as in that last bit he does take some measure of accountability, though note that said accountability is limited to...well, words.  Which comes just a we bit short in my book...  It certainly may be that folks have latched onto the words, for instance I think Dylan Dethier nails this bit in his Monday Finish feature:

But being an occasional contender and full-time provocateur can be a turbulent position. In just the last three weeks Mickelson has uttered two two-word phrases that will stick with him the rest of his career (or at least until he replaces them with the next salvo). The first phrase, “obnoxious greed,” was used in reference to the folks at the PGA Tour, which has been Mickelson’s home the last three decades. The second phrase, “scary m—–f—–,” was used in reference to Mickelson’s potential new bosses in a breakaway Saudi league that Mickelson has now admitted that he helped create. Now that he has turned biting the hands that feed him into a full-time sport, Mickelson’s next move will prove a tricky escape even for the master of the 64-degree wedge.

Phil has the gift for gab, though most folks have a filter installed as original equipment at the factory.

But I'm fascinated that he thought it shrewd to accuse Shipnuck of using off-the-record conversations, while admitting to the accuracy of the quotes.  Even if true, what does it get him?  And, the problem is that it's Phil, so is it true?  Well, there's a track record here and it ain't pretty.

But Phil actually has me nodding my head at Brandel Chamblee, so I guess he truly is a uniter:

“The statement was six paragraphs,” Chamblee said in a Golf Channel interview. The first paragraph was about him pretending to be a victim.

But did I tell you that the perp, that Shipnuck guy, has a ripped-from-the-headlines mailbag feature up?  Phil has been accusing folks of all sorts of questionable behavior, here the accusation is of journalistic malfeasance.  Anyone old enough to remember this old saw?

Never argue with someone who buys ink by the barrel

Phil may well be the stupidest smart guy I've ever seen, as the allegation invites a rebuttal, and the rebuttal predictably undermines the credibility of everything Phil says.

Have you heard from Phil? @GeoffShac

He sent me a text on the morning the excerpt dropped. He was less than thrilled. Just as in the
statement he released on Tuesday afternoon, Mickelson made a half-hearted attempt at revisionist history, trying to say our talk had been a private conversation, but I shut that down real quick. He knew I was working on a book about him and asked to speak, saying he wanted to discuss media rights and his grievances with the PGA Tour, both of which inevitably lead back to Saudi Arabia. If the subject of a biography phones the author, the content of that conversation is always going to inform the book, unless it is expressly agreed otherwise. Not once in our texts or when we got on the phone did Mickelson request to go off-the-record and I never consented to it; if he had asked, I would have pushed back hard, as this was obviously material I wanted for the book. Mickelson simply called me up and opened a vein. To claim now that the comments were off-the-record is false and duplicitous.

Phil tries to play the victim, but in so doing he opens the door to Alan to further describe the circumstances, thereby shredding whatever trace levels of credibility remained intact.

By the way, you did notice who the question came from above?  Geoff reminds us of a small detail in his Quad post:

This thoughts were delivered midday Tuesday to the people he’s yet to block on Twitter.

 Heh!  Nothing says truth teller quite like like blocking folks on Twitter....

Back to that apology:

“Golf desperately needs change, and real change is always preceded by disruption. I have always known that criticism would come with exploring anything new. I still chose to put myself at the forefront of this to inspire change, taking the hits publicly to do the work behind the scenes.

Brandel's been uncharacteristically cryptic, though it kinda works:

The second paragraph was about him pretending to be an activist.

I might have gone with visionary, but sure....

I certainly agree with Phil that golf could benefit from some change, although that "desperately" is quite the adjective, no?  

Geoff:

Oh you took the hits publicly.

Mickelson believes golf is the professional game and wealth gained from playing. His “work behind the scenes” was focused on unearthing more money for professional golfers, not lowering the cost to entry or saving courses under threat of extinction. Some players employ grow the game as a shallow go-to shield. Others use it as an inside joke. Phil really believes if he’s richer the game is better off.

As far as I can tell, there's no truth to the charge that he focused-grouped the following :

„We are the change we have been waiting for.“

“this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal ..."

But it's about all that's missing here.  

I don't actually agree with Geoff's take, not that he doesn't nail the disconnect between the professional game and larger game.  It's just that I don't begrudge him living in his fishbowl and obsessing over money, it's something we all do to some extent.  

Isn't the bigger issue that he's been the leader of this behind the scenes, been obsessing over media rights and other issues, and who has he convinced?  He wants to be the salesman for this, but he doesn't seem to have sold anything or anyone....  And even among professionals, he seemed to working for only a handful of those guys, the A-list.  Forget Brandel and Geoff, gotta go to Dylan on this one:

I started out on burgundy
But soon hit the harder stuff
Everybody said they’d stand behind me
When the game got rough
But the joke was on me
There was nobody even there to call my bluff
I’m going back to New York City
I do believe I’ve had enough -

 Bob Dylan, Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

But what do you make of this?

“My experience with LIV Golf Investments has been very positive. I apologize for anything I said that was taken out of context. The specific people I have worked with are visionaries and have only been supportive. More importantly they passionately love golf and share my drive to make the game better. They have a clear plan to create an updated and positive experience for everyone including players, sponsors, networks, and fans.

Just to be clear, these are the guys that you called, checking notes, scary mofos?

Funny you should mention sponsors....   But hold that thought, is he actually worried about his safety?  I mean, who coulda seen that coming?  I for one would expect them to be completely happy to be used by Phil for negotiating leverage with the PGA Tour.

Geoff had this amusing, if scary bit:

That Mickelson’s still buttering up to the Saudis suggests he’s not listening to anyone and even in danger of becoming their next target. (If they have Phil’s cell phone number, they already may have compromising information.)

They don't need his cellphone when he says all the quiet stuff out loud. 

Or, and it's hard to discern which is worse, is he just trying to keep his options open?  Because, yanno, visionaries.

Back to Alan:

I completely understand that Phil needs to be perceived as the smartest guy in the room; just look at his long-time tour nickname FIGJAM. (Editor’s note: F*ck I’m Good Just Ask Me.) How could he ever think that saying such things about the Saudis (all true) when he’s in business with them wouldn’t come back to bite him? @rhallisey

Even knowing he came armed with an agenda, I was amazed by Mickelson’s bluntness when we spoke. My take is that he wanted his true feelings on record but, as always, was working both sides of the street. If he wound up signing with the SGL, at least the quotes would serve as a signal to golf fans that he knows the Saudis are bad actors and it’s strictly a business decision. If he remained in the fold with the PGA Tour, he would have made it clear he did so only after extracting many of the concessions he wanted, thus fulfilling the need, as you note, to feel like he had outsmarted everyone else. Mickelson loved The Queen’s Gambit—“It fits his obsessive personality,” his wife, Amy, told me—but it turns out he is not quite the master strategist that he fancies himself.

And, as per his fawning over the bonecutters, he's still playing all sides of the street...  But that odor you just got a whiff of?  That's the smell of bridges burning:

“I have incredible partners, and these relationships mean so much more to me than a contract. Many have been my most influential mentors and I consider all to be lifelong friends. The last thing I would ever want to do is compromise them or their business in any way, and I have given all of them the option to pause or end the relationship as I understand it might be necessary given the current circumstances. I believe in these people and companies and will always be here for them with or without a contract.

Yeah, I'm sure they trust you on that as you on that.  But there's news on that front:

And not coincidentally it all arrived about an hour before sponsor KPMG dropped Mickelson and scrapped him from their website. Over the weekend I had learned his deals were in trouble there and at Workday. So I reached out to both companies for comment but they, along with Callaway where Mickelson’s under a lifetime contract extension, did not reply to multiple requests. 

The loss of his prominent partnerships will deliver more stress for someone who views himself as the ultimate pitchman. And he’s a good one. But now? Who will believe him or find his dancing karate kicks cute? Maybe on TikTok but that won’t put millions into accounts.

We wrap up with Phil tugging at our heartstrings:

I have made a lot of mistakes in my life and many have been shared with the public. My intent was never to hurt anyone and I’m so sorry to the people I have negatively impacted. This has always been about supporting the players and the game and I appreciate all the people who have given me the benefit of the doubt.

Despite my belief that some changes have already been made within the overall discourse, I know I need to be accountable. For the past 31 years I have lived a very public life and I have strived to live up to my own expectations, be the role model the fans deserve, and be someone that inspires others. I’ve worked to compete at the highest level, be available to media, represent my sponsors with integrity, engage with volunteers and sign every autograph for my incredible fans. I have experienced many successful and rewarding moments that I will always cherish, but I have often failed myself and others too. The past 10 years I have felt the pressure and stress slowly affecting me at a deeper level. I know I have not been my best and desperately need some time away to prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.

 We can certainly agree with you on that first bit.

I actually have a surprising amount of sympathy for the man on the stress front, because it's very real.  I just lump it with his griping about California taxes, in that it's very real and I don't begrudge him doing what he needs to do.  The problem is when you lose any sense of self-awareness, and fail to recognize how clueless you sound complaining about money and respect.  but can we come to any other conclusion but that Phil still wants to get paid?

From here we're probably going to bounce around a bit, starting with a couple of bits from Alan about the timing:

Alan, a question on the truth and background of your piece: You had this for 3 months, you love the Tour … did you push it out for love? Was it orchestrated (or did you discuss) with Jay Monahan? The repercussions are amazing, the background must be fascinating as well. @RealTurtleBR

My relationship with the Tour is complicated, and love does not accurately capture it. I would never let them dictate terms to me about anything, least of all a book I am writing. Commissioner Monahan was as surprised as everyone else when this story posted. I have gone on record plenty of times with my disdain for the Saudis’ sportswashing, but that doesn’t mean I’m here to do the Tour’s bidding. My fealty (to use a new favorite word) is to the readers, and to the truth. Mickelson is at the center of an important development in the golf world, and I had the opportunity to advance the story with real reporting. The chips will fall where they may, but that is not my concern.

Respectfully, why did you hold Phil’s explosive comments until now? @JedDeMuesy

Everything pertaining to the Saudi Golf League has been hazy and uncertain and I wanted to see how it was going to play out. Five days ago, a top player agent told me the Saudis had been waiting to make an official announcement until they had signed their 20th player…and that they had just reached 20 and a splashy kickoff event was going to be held the week of the Players Championship in mid-March. (I respect the pettiness.) With things at a boil, it felt like it was the right time to make known Mickelson’s true feelings. It took some convincing with Simon & Schuster, as publishers prefer for excerpts to come out around the time a book is released, not three months in advance. But what Phil told me was simply too important to sit on.

I'm a little surprised that S&S hasn't pushed up the publication date, though of course I have no clue what's involved.

More on how it all looks from Alan's perspective:

What does it feel like to hit send on a tweet that changes the history of the game of golf? @td445544

That seems rather grandiose. I did know this was going to explode, and I would say the moment you describe felt… fraught. A lot of people were going to be affected, including some scary mofos. I definitely skipped breakfast that morning. I have empathy for Mickelson, and there is a lot to unpack in his statement where he discusses the stress of having led a big, controversial life for so long. In the wake of the excerpt, folks have asked if my book is a “hit piece” or if I’m out to “bury” Phil. No to both of those. It’s a fair, balanced look at his life and career. I would say it is written with affection, because I have always enjoyed covering Phil, despite our occasional dust-ups. There are tons of outrageous tales and laugh-out-loud moments. But he has been involved in a lot of messiness, and that’s all in the book too.

Did you see this blowing up as big as it did, and do you wish you had released more, less, or something different of what Phil said on the topic? @MichaelSmyth

I think it was the right amount. I must say I am a little surprised at the intensity of the backlash. Wasn’t it obvious all along that Mickelson was playing the Saudis against the PGA Tour? I guess it hits differently when you say the quiet parts out loud. It’s a reminder that Mickelson has always been polarizing and remains so. And that anything involving Saudi Arabia—which supplied 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers—remains highly emotional.

Obviously, the scary mofos comment hit home, as well as the realization that this is all about the money.

My own personal opinion is that this side of Phil, that which I call "Bad Phil", has been underreported and underappreciated.  For instance, I simply believe that the depravity of his 2014 defenestration of Tom Watson needs to be revisited in light of this, that it really was that bad.

But the vehemence of his peers' reactions at The Genesis, coupled with the release of "scary mofos", just laid bare who Phil is at heart (or at least the one side of him).

So, in the parlance of Unplayable Lies, wither Phil?

Mike Bamberger took an interesting look at this, written after the blow-up but before the apology misfire:

Or Mickelson could drop his link to Greg Norman’s LIV Golf Investments and its Saudi backers and the world golf tour it envisions, and try to resume his big life on the PGA Tour, the Champions tour (where it’s hard to have a big life) and as a living legend of the game. It was only nine months ago that Mickelson became the oldest golfer to win a major championship!

But retreating is not Mickelson’s style, his legal entanglements with LIV Golf are possibly far more involved than we could know, and he has already scorched the earth — the majors, the PGA Tour, corporate America — where he plied his trade for so long, and so effectively.

His mouth and his ambition, to say nothing of his talent and his work ethic, got him to where he was in May, when he won the PGA at Kiawah, in coastal South Carolina, and was swarmed by fans as he marched to the 18th green.

His mouth and his ambition got him to where he is right now. Mickelson, who can be loaded with charm, who has all the best words, who has been engaging with fans and reporters and golf’s corporate sponsors for decades, is a restless personality. In the history of golf, you can’t think of another person like him. It’s not really that surprising to see him in the spot he is in.

We should have known all this about Phil at least since 2014.

Though this seems a stretch:

Will Mickelson ever become what he deserves to be, a revered elder statesman in the game? It’s really up to him.

Does he deserve to be revered?   On his playing record alone, that's a gimme.  But there's a private plane full of acquired baggage at this point, and no shortage of folks no longer inclined to give Phil the benefit of the doubt....

Alan is more of an optimist:

Given that most casual golf fans don’t spend time with golf Twitter, many are probably unaware of the events of this week. Given this, what sort of reception do you expect Mickelson to receive the next time he tees it up? @FisherM24

This is a key point: Golf Twitter is not real life. Most fans are barely paying attention to the Saudi intrigue, although that may change with Mickelson having released his statement. Phil will survive this controversy just as he has survived all of the other preceding controversies. Those who love him will still love him, because the Saudi dalliance is on-brand for a self-styled maverick. Those who don’t will just have another reason to justify their feelings. Phil has survived Billy Walters, playing tennis on the 13th green at Shinnecock Hills during the national championship and throwing Tom Watson under a Greyhound. He is nothing if not a survivor.

OK, but this has exploded way beyond Golf Twitter, and Phil has squandered most of his platforms.

I don't think Phil is going anywhere and I certainly agree that there will be some Phil dead-enders, but I think the survival will be in diminished form.  I think an underexplored angle in all this is his trashing of his bromance with Tiger, whose comments on media rights were an early flare that went up.

Now, Alan's got some other interesting bits, such as this use of the F-word:

I mentioned the Larry David fatwa episode to you a few days ago, but I fear it might turn real because you saved the PGA Tour and sunk the SGL with the timing of the Phil excerpt. Is a lifetime achievement award from the PGA Tour really worth looking over your shoulder forever? @Elpulpo8888

I welcome the fatwa jokes… as long as they are jokes!

This point mirrors one of my own in which I called Jay the luckiest guy on the planet:

Would the Saudi League have succeeded if it hadn’t been associated with the Saudis? Let’s say someone like Softbank had bankrolled a league with the same format and same stars but without the moral outrage of the Saudi component. Would that league have made it? @luke_peacock

What you are describing is the Premiere Golf League; the folks behind that are mostly European interests. They didn’t have the money to steal the top stars from the PGA Tour, so they approached the Saudis to help fund it; the Saudis simply stole their idea and made a go of it alone. The PGL had a cool schedule lined up all around the world. I think it would have been a great product, and if it could have been free of the taint of Saudi money, it would have well-received as a fresh take on professional golf.

True enough, though I think we'd all benefit from a deeper dive into how poorly that vision for golf aligns with our game, though I'll mercifully leave that for another day.

But here's the thing, the money on offer was so many orders of magnitude above the economic value of the events (have you seen the ratings?), that it's less about the Brits having the money than it is about economic rationality prevailing...

I'm sure as soon as I publish I'll remember bits I missed, but I'm going to close with this from Geoff:

Who knows what’s driven Mickelson to the edge? Good people get sucked into sinister stuff and say silly things to fulfill weird desires to feel power, live on the edge, or get out of debt. But Phil's gone down this road too many times for anyone to feel sorry for him. The entire saga is sad for his wonderful family and the sport.

As much as golf traffics in blatant ageism to overcompensate for its older demographic, even the ageists generally respects the sport’s elders. Maybe because it’s easier to grow old in golf. Past major champions are welcomed back and worshipped every year. Their talent usually sticks around and we marvel that they’ve still got it. Those old stories are cherished and their opinions are genuinely valued—except when they dare to suggest the ball fly shorter. Then they get trashed.

Mickelson may still get the chance to age gracefully and kick off The Masters some day when his hair has transitioned to grey and he’s shed his propensity to say stupid things. But given the spinning and rationalizing in what was supposed to be an attempt at earnestness, may just mean he’s a point-misser emeritus. So perhaps it’s a best for everyone if he waits a while to resurface.

Who would have guessed Tiger Woods might play a 2022 major before Phil Mickelson?

Lots of good points, but Phil did his best to deny Tom Watson his right to age graciously, so goose, gander.

So, shall we start a pool to guess when we next see Phil?  So, that May 17th publication date is interesting, because it's, wait for it, PGA Championship week.  Anyone remember who the defender is?  At the risk of repeating myself, I think Alan's book could well have quite the effect on Phil's legacy.  

Tomorrow is a travel day, so I'll likely see you next on Friday morning.  Of course, I won't have all my open browser tabs, but we'll figure something out.

UPDATE:  Eamon Lynch is in the house and....well, Eamon doesn't take prisoners.

But before I get to the latest, do you remember Eamon's previous item?  Because this guy really liked the lede:

Hold Eamon's beer, Brian, cause this one doesn't suck either:

Legend has it that Marcus Licinius Crassus of Rome was killed by the mutineering men he’d led into a failed battle, who poured molten gold down their leader’s throat in mockery of his thirst for wealth. Philip Alfred Mickelson of Rancho Santa Fe, on the other hand, was merely deserted by his bootless troops as the cause in which he had conscripted them slipped away. As for the symbolic choking on needless greed, he served and swallowed that ruinous cocktail himself.

I'll see your Sun Tzu and raise you a Marcus Licinius Crassus....

I might just have to excerpt the entire thing, because it seems Eamon was less than enthused by the apology:

Apologies are less about atoning for past mistakes than setting the table for future comity, so it was noteworthy that the most fulsome atonement in the statement Mickelson released Tuesday
was directed not at those he had insulted but toward those about whom he had told the truth.

There was no mention of the PGA Tour or its commissioner, Jay Monahan, whom he had accused of “coercive, strong-arm” tactics in comments to the writer Alan Shipnuck that were made public six days ago, a conversation in which Mickelson admitted to overlooking Saudi atrocities because the regime provided leverage to force concessions from the Tour that would further enrich him. But for LIV Golf Investments, the anodyne brand from which emissaries of the world’s foremost bonesaw enthusiast are attempting to launch a hostile takeover of men’s professional golf, there was buttery praise.

Hailing the Saudis as “visionaries” who “passionately love golf” represented a dizzying pivot given that last week Mickelson was revealed to have called them “scary mother——s,” murderers and human rights abusers. But perhaps he learned from the example of Jamal Khashoggi that lèse-majesté laws are decidedly unforgiving in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s circles.

What he said!  

Falls from grace in sport can be slow and grounded in unethical behavior, like Lance Armstrong’s. Or, like that of Tiger Woods, rapid and owing to private shortcomings. Mickelson’s sets a new standard for precipitous disgrace, brought about by his cozying up to a murderous government because he was denied permission to use media he doesn’t own to create content few would buy.

No doubt he imagines himself a pioneer—a “disrupter,” in the nomenclature of bullshitters—but Mickelson is setting out in search of new gold from a mine that is far from exhausted. What has been depleted is the forbearance of his peers for his preening self-regard, his mercenary selfishness, and his callous indifference to the abuses of his allies in Riyadh.

“Everyone is tired of Phil,” one exasperated player texted. “Just a general consensus.”

Talk about failing to read the room.  

I'll leave it here, but you'll want to read the entire piece (though it's a pretty heavy set of excerpts).

As Alan Shipnuck said, memories are short and maybe he finds his way back to revered senior citizen, but, as Alan said in a prior comment, this incident will be on his tombstone.

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Monday, February 21, 2022

Weekend Wrap - Death In the Family Edition

It feels as if this might be my most challenging day of blogging ever.... There's so many juicy little bits and my schadenfreude meter blew past 11 and I had to turn it off, the constant buzzing became annoying.  But there are actual points to be made, let's just hope I can remember them two paragraphs from now.

I hadn't even heard the Sunday piece of this story when I caught this In Memorium post at Geoff's blog:

R.I.P. The Saudi Golf League

Really, it seemed so vibrant just a few weeks ago in the Kingdom.   Was it cancer?  Well, yes, cancer of a kind, a hybrid variant that goes by the acronym GN-PM.  

The Saudi Golf League, a short-lived effort to reinvent the model of professional golf backed by a murderous dictator via the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, has died. It was barely six months old.

The league passed away after legendary golfer Phil Mickelson gave two interviews revealing an almost incomprehensible level of greed, rage, hypocrisy and avarice aimed at the same PGA Tour that helped him amass millions. Authorities speaking on the condition of anonymity have identified Mickelson as a “person of interest” in the league’s demise. Law enforcement has been unable to locate him at his California or forever-future Florida residences.

I have no shortage of quibbles with Mr. Monahan and the Ponte Vedra Mafia, but one has to give them credit for the week at Riviera, which served as an effective repudiation of the Saudi's effort.  The Tour put on quite a show, even if you ignore those press conferences (which I won't do for long).  It's product is a mess, a problem that Messrs. Norman and Mickelson have likely made more intractable, but we'll get to that in a sec.

But they produced the top eleven players in the world at Riviera, and No. 12 was only absent due to injuries.  And that "a Riviera" to me is as important as the "top eleven", because seeing them playing a storied venue with such a rich trove of history may just be the best argument in their favor.  Add Tiger's participation (hi 50 minutes in the booth eclipsed his prior record by an estimate forty-eight minutes), plus the celebration of Charlie Sifford's 100th birthday even allowed the phrase "Caucasian-only Clause" to be mentioned while celebrating the progress, as opposed to demanding reparations.

But before we go too far I want to add a point that I think is important.  The Sunday leaderboard was, to this observer, an effective condemnation of the Premiere/Super/Bonecutter League business model.  You might have noticed that Joaquin Niemann led wire-to-wire, but is the Chilean under a Saudi NDA?  How about Cameron Young?  Those top eleven actually didn't do much this week (though Rory amusingly posted one of his signature back-door top tens), but isn't that our game?  

So, what happened?  Well, let's rewind the tape to Friday, wherein I repeated my recurring belief that there seemed no way for the Saudis to get their....well, minyan.  From Zephyr Melton's "game" story:

Eight players strolled through the media center for pre-tournament availabilities in Riviera’s
picturesque clubhouse on Tuesday and Wednesday. Nearly all of them rebuked the Saudi golf league and affirmed their allegiances to the PGA Tour.

Collin Morikawa took the stand first, saying he was “all for the PGA Tour.” Chasing records set by Tiger Woods was too much to lure him away from the friendly confines of the Tour. Defending champ Max Homa followed suit. Money is nice, he said, but the thrill of winning against the best was by far his motivating factor.

That guy pictured above deserves some credit as well, as his early criticism of the source of the money can't be over-stated, even though it obviously left an opening for a competitive league whose money wasn't similarly tainted.

At that point the rumor had a list of twenty defectors to be announced the week of the Players Championship.  But while there were a couple of alpha dogs that might conceivably endorse a check, DJ and Bryson most prominently, we seemed in that very condition I had been predicting all along, there just seemed no way to ensure a critical mass of participation.  As many observed, it almost seemed as if they were targeting the Champions' Tour, given that the average age of the defectors was, credit Tom Leher, dead for three years.

Then came Sunday, Bloody Sunday:

Dustin Johnson, who some believed was pro-breakaway tour, released a statement early Sunday morning stating his intentions to remain on the PGA Tour. Not long after, Bryson DeChambeau did the same.

“While there has been a lot of speculation surrounding my support for another tour, I want to make it very clear that as long as the best players in the world are playing the PGA Tour, so will I,” DeChambeau’s statement read. “As of now, I am focused on getting myself healthy and competing again soon. I appreciate all the support.”

Like rats fleeing a sinking ship, the biggest names linked to the Saudi league were suddenly voicing their commitment to the tour.

Of course, I'm eliding what was likely the most significant occurrence of the week, the release of Phil's November comments by Alan Shipnuck:

In an excerpt from his upcoming book, Alan Shipnuck of the Firepit Collective published a conversation he’d had with Phil Mickelson regarding the Saudi league last fall. The contents of the article exposed how Mickelson hoped to leverage the threat of the breakaway tour against those in Ponte Vedra.

“They’re scary motherf—— to get involved with,” Mickelson said of the Saudis. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”

Fellow Tour pros were less than thrilled when news of Mickelson’s attempted sleight of hand reached Riviera.

Gee, Phil got himself in hot water by shooting off his mouth, who coulda seen that one coming?

I share some of my beliefs on this blog and I even recognize that I'm prone to a little preachiness, so I'm favorably predisposed to folks that have an outsized opinion of their own beliefs.  But the depravity of Phil's worldview in that 'graph takes my breath away, that a man that's banked hundreds of millions of dollars thinks it the non plus ultra of The Art of the Deal to use "Scary Mofos" for negotiating leverage.... Wow!.

Rory had this Sunday night:

“Who’s left? Who’s left to go?” Rory McIlroy said on Sunday night. “I mean, there’s no one. It’s dead in the water in my opinion. Yeah, I just can’t see any reason why anyone would go.”

It remains to be seen what will happen next in the Saudi league saga, but one thing is certain — the week that was at Riviera severely hindered its chances at survival.

You want some funnies?  I think you'll agree, these guys are good:

Yanno, Dj always seems off in a world of his own, so I'm guess he saw that Alan Shipnuck piece and hadn't realized those guys were scary mofos....

 As for the other big-time loser, he's always observed the Sabbath in his own inimical manner:

Shall we see what the lads at the Tour Confidential panel have to add?

1. While golf was played at an iconic course with a star-studded field this week, it was what happened away from the play at the Genesis Invitational that made the biggest waves. Player after player were asked their thoughts on a guaranteed-paycheck, upstart golf league funded by Saudi Arabian cash, then came a story from the Fire Pit Collective’s Alan
Shipnuck, who wrote of a phone conversation that he had had with Phil Mickelson in which the six-time major champ described himself as a key architect in the league — and added that he hoped the plan would generate leverage in future negotiations with the PGA Tour. The news wasn’t over. On Sunday, both Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, long rumored to be part of the Saudi league, pledged their loyalty to the Tour. Whew. Lots to unpack here, but we’ll start with this. With the announcements of DeChambeau and DJ, and what seems to be a strong majority of players sticking with the PGA Tour, is the Saudi league over before it even got started?

Josh Berhow: It’s not over, but this week was a haymaker. For how long this league had been discussed and planned and with everything else that went into it behind the scenes, it’s going to take a lot more for it to be truly buried. But, yeah, this was not a good week for the Super Golf League. And years from now, if it’s still not a thing, this week, and perhaps the domino effect caused by Phil Mickelson, will be the reason why. One thing that was evident this week — the players, whether premeditated or not, seemed to be more vocal in their criticism and more adamant in their allegiance to the PGA Tour. There was a shift.

Josh Sens: I think it’s too early to pronounce it dead. There’s too much money and ambition behind it. But to live up to what its promoters have promised, any rival league was always going to need a critical mass of big names onboard, and that momentum seems all but gone for now. That doesn’t mean some kind of alternate league won’t still take shape. The general concept has been like a cicada in recent decades, going dormant for long spells and then springing back to life.

Nick Piastowski: This week was a blow, no doubt, but it’s not over. I see one of two things happening — either the Asian Tour gets a larger investment, or they pause plans on the league. Or both really. They’ve shown the Asian Tour concept works — the field was strong at the Saudi International, and the PGA Tour, though irritated, let it happen — and I could see more big-purse events. As for the other Tour, that has to be slowed. The Mickelson comment, at the moment, is too much to wash away, pun intended. They’ll regroup, up the money offered and try again.

Michael Bamberger: Saudi wealth among its ruling class is almost limitless. It’s not dead. But it’s easy to imagine it in some form, for the 40-and-over crowd, from all over the world.

I think that's right but incomplete.  I think they're missing is the extent to which the Tour had this coming, the inattention to the product and the mind-numbing schedule with no off-season.  But Jay is the luckiest man on the planet for at least a couple of reasons, though in one case he made his own luck.

First and foremost, how fortuitous that this initiative, which started in the UK, ended up with Saudi DNA.  From Rory pointing out the source of the money to Phil's scary mofos, it became quickly became about the Saudis, not about the golf business.  I'm also inclined to think that this playing out with the Genocide Games™ running in the background didn't hurt.

The second huge issue is that this hit as the new media contracts were kicking in, affording Jay tens of millions of new cash with which to placate bribe those influencers.  People asked where the $50 million large came for the PIP program, though the answer seems quite obvious.

I'm going to skip their second question for a moment and deal with the "Wither the Tour" bit before the "Wither the Phil" stuff:

3. Saudi League question three! Or this is more of a PGA Tour question. While no doubt a win for the Tour with the re-commitments of Johnson and DeChambeau, along with a host of others, where does the Tour go from here? Multiple outlets were reporting that there was discussion this week of experimenting with different formats during fall tournaments. Do you see more experimentation like this to appease players?

Berhow: Yes. Many players, including Phil, have been right in the fact that this has forced the Tour to open its eyes and make more changes to appease the players. We’ve already seen some of that happen with the PIP and Players purse increase, for example, but more still needs to happen. More team events, mix in LPGA stars — 72-hole stroke-play events, 48 weeks a year, is numbing.

Sens: Boy, is it tiring to think about what needs to be done to appease some of the most privileged people on earth. But I get it. It’s the marketplace. In my dream of dreams, we’d go back to the old days when golf took a breather. Scrap the wrap-around season. Give it a rest. Do we really need a bunch of contrived formats and watered-down events to get us through an offseason? Shut it down for a bit, and it will be all the more exciting when it starts back up again. The Groucho Marx rule is a good one here — you can love your cigar and still take it out of your mouth now and then.

Piastowski: Yep. While many of the players came out in support of the Tour, there were still a few grumblings of the status quo. This is the perfect opportunity to strike while the iron’s hot and keep the players happy. Shoot, steal ideas from the Saudi and Premier Golf Leagues. If you rest on this, PGA Tour, we’ll be talking about this again very, very soon.

Bamberger: It’s not really a question of appeasing the players. The Tour exists FOR the players. The players ultimately want what the golf-watching public wants, because it is the golf-watching public that pays the bills. We do want more team play, more mixed play, more match play, more transparency. The PGA Tour does amazing things in the name of charity, but it is also a big business. It’s hanging on to its not-for-profit status by a hair. It needs more transparency in every way.

I think most of that is sorely misguided...

My sense is that, having survived this existential challenge, that the Ponte Vedra suits will revert to form and be even more inflexible and insufferable.  But I think the answers above suffer from two major internal inconsistencies:

  1. Appeasing the players, as Josh Berhow puts it, is a misnomer, because Jay has been appeasing mostly a very small sub-set of the players;
  2. I'll temporarily pass on Mike Bamberger's hopelessly naïve concept of an organization created to serve the players actually staying faithful to that mission, as if we haven't seen countless organizations captured by its bureaucracy.  The point to be made here is about formats, and the fact that we all crave the wide range of team and match-play options or, more accurately, we think we do.  But the harsh reality is that most of those options work far more poorly than we realize, because in our minds we tie it to the Ryder Cup.  Have you watched the New Orleans team event?  It's a fine move on the part of a tertiary Tour stop, but it will never be confused with the Ryder Cup (or, quite frankly, the NCAAs).

The Post has learned exclusively, though, that the PGA Tour was presented an alternative league
opportunity in recent months that would squash the threat of the Saudi league and its controversial endless supply of “sports washing’’ money.

But, according to three independent sources with intimate knowledge of the proceedings, the PGA Tour squashed the alternative concept.

“A player-driven opportunity was brought to the PGA Tour that was financially backed with one of most respected people in finance who already has a long-term relationship with the PGA Tour,’’ one of the sources told The Post.

Those writers above who expect greater flexibility (or, yanno, appeasement) should perhaps read this, to see how the Tour responds even with the Saudi threat still exigent:

The sources said “after months of work’’ they’d mapped out all of the details about how the concept would work in conjunction with the existing PGA Tour schedule.

“We made it feasible,’’ one source said. “All of the logistical issues — TV contracts, ownership of events, scheduling, FedEx Cup stuff, points for the tournaments — were worked out. It was going to happen. There was no reason for it not to happen.’’

The hook to the proposal that snagged the PGA Tour like a tuft of Oakmont U.S. Open rough to a 6-iron, was that the league would be half-owned by the players and half-owned by the financial investor.

The PGA Tour would receive some financial benefits, but not have ownership in the eight-event series. Seemingly of most importance, the PGA Tour would rid itself of the migraine headache created by the Saudi threat and keep the team concept closer to being in-house.

After Monahan took in the information at the meeting — “Jay was seemingly on board as we were dealing with all the intricacies of it,’’ according to one of the people involved in the presentation — he brought it to the chairman of the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, Ed Herlihy.

On Oct. 30, according to one of the sources, it was shot down by Herlihy, a powerful corporate attorney, who told the investor: “If it’s not 100 percent owned and controlled by the PGA Tour, it will be viewed as hostile.’’

That single sentence uttered by Herlihy left those involved — a group that includes four of the world’s top players who have been on board with this since it was presented to Monahan — stunned.

Again, that was in October, when Jay was still sweating about releases for the Saudi event.  If you think that, with Greg Norman castrated, Jay is going to be more accommodating, you might want to think again.

Shall we get to the issue of the day, the future of Phil "Bonesaw" Mickelson?  A hero for our time, at least in his own mind...  I'm considering changing the tagline of the blog from the "Random Musings..." bit to "Proudly Trashing Phil Mickelson Since 2014"....  Whatya think?  

I guess we'll lede with the TC gang:

2. Saudi League question two. After everything that Mickelson has said over the Tour over the past two weeks — don’t forget the “obnoxious greed” comment earlier this month — how much will his commentary impact his legacy?

Berhow: Short term, it will be significant. Long term, less so. People have short memories, but it also depends a lot on what Mickelson does with the next decade or so.

Bamberger: I agree with that completely, Josh. Hold it, what are we talking about again?

Sens: Mickelson has always been a polarizing figure. In my random polls of fellow golfers over the years, the votes seemed to fall about 60-40, Phil worshippers over Phil detractors. I suspect if I took another of those surveys tomorrow, the down-on-Phil crowd would win in a landslide. Josh is right about short memories, but the incident will get mentioned in Mickelson’s obit. Not everyone will forget.

Piastowski: Sadly, the comments may be forgotten over time. They shouldn’t be. If you think otherwise, go read that quote again on the Fire Pit Collective website.

Short memories are usually a good bet, but I'm thinking this cuts deeper than than Josh and Mike sense.  I think those comments are everything that Nick does, but I also think they're the least of it.  Phil has seriously burned bridges with both the Tour itself, but also with so many of the top players, whose thoughts and objectives he's dismissed.

Remember Brooksie's tweak after the "obnoxious greed" comment, wherein he noted that Phil shouldn't be calling others greedy?  I always thought that he could have said the same about the word "obnoxious", and now seemingly every other top player has called the man out, using terms like egotistical and such.  At the very least, there are going to be some awkward pairings.

Perhaps more importantly, he's blown up the bromance with Tiger, who I felt showed an iciness on this subject that should have Phil a touch worried.  

Gonna start to wind this down, not that we won't be revisiting it regularly, but I've got a couple more bits.  I beat my chest above over having seen Phil clearly since 2014, but let me excerpt a couple of comments from that famous Alan Shipnuck piece over the weekend.  This one is just because it's funny, at least to me:

ive always thought he was dogpoop on a stick.
nothing i read here changes that.

Dogpoop on a stick?   Who knew, though, that e.e. cummings commented on golf websites?

But this one actually makes an important point, perhaps?

Regarding Phil: Never ever, ever trust the words of a gambler. Not even a reformed gambler. Their views are always distorted by their love of money to fuel their gambling.

Which is quite the optimistic take, given that Jay's vision for our game includes galleries filled with such gamblers because, well, a fellow has to Live Under Par™. 

Eamon Lynch, writing over the weekend, has a typically scathing take on the man:

An old adage—often wrongly attributed to Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”—holds that if you wait by the riverbank long enough, the bodies of your enemies will eventually float by. That’s as good
a metaphor as any for how some golf industry executives must have felt in the wake of recent comments by Phil Mickelson that incinerated his reputation, alienated most every constituency in the game, exposed him to disciplinary action, and otherwise cast him in a light so unflatteringly amoral that even Greg Norman might hesitate to be seen in his company.

In a November interview with writer Alan Shipnuck that was only made public this week, Mickelson betrayed the traits that have frequently led him into choppy waters: a beguiling mix of arrogance and obtuseness. He confirmed what was widely known—that he’s an advocate for the Saudi-backed Super Golf League—and breezily admitted his willingness to overlook the regime’s abuses simply for a chance to force concessions from the PGA Tour that would further enrich him.

Unable to forgo an opportunity to boast of his strategic genius, Mickelson affirmed with callous indifference the approach shared by his fellow travelers in the locker room, most of whom have not yet been flushed from the shadows. But the comment that holed him below the waterline was an admission that he and other as-yet-unnamed players paid for lawyers to draft the breakaway tour’s operating agreement.

 Tell us what you really think, Eamon.

The fact that Mickelson has not disputed the quotes published by Shipnuck suggests he’s either resigned to his fate or eager for a showdown with the Tour. But if he’s assembling an army to go over the top with him, it is starting to resemble more a mangy assortment of moth-eaten veterans than an elite fighting force. His benefactors in Riyadh are facing the prospect of spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy a Venn diagram of the washed-up, the uncompetitive, the cash-poor and the egomaniacal, all overlapping to form a subset of the unconscionable.

 Eamon, the term I think you're looking for is "Basket of deplorables".... But he does circle back and pay off that Sun Tzu reference:

Mickelson’s braggadocio has hastened a reckoning that was overdue. Ultimatums loom in the coming days and weeks that will force this sorry episode toward a conclusion. The charlatan Tour members involved in this scheme—Mickelson and Norman chief among them—have never been more isolated from their peers, never more exposed in their heartless opportunism, and never more lacking in public support. Jay Monahan and his European counterpart Keith Pelley, among others, have waited patiently by the riverbank for several years. They will not have to linger much longer.

Let's finish with Alan Shipnuck, who had this silly bit:

He's kidding, right?

More substantively, I wonder about Alan forthcoming unauthorized biography of the man.  First, is it timely or did he miss his window, with release not until May 17th.  I also wonder whether his book will have an outsized effect on how he's viewed or, as per the writers above, how short our memories are.

Here's what Alan has to say about it:

It sounds as if Alan shares my long-term view of Phil, the one in which the world bifurcates into Good Phil and Bad Phil.  I know, Good Phil seems to have left town without leaving a forwarding address...

I am particularly interested in the Bones break-up, because there's quite obviously more going on there than has been made public. But it seems significant to me that a rehash of the twenty years of Phil's obnoxious greed will hit just as this story might have otherwise receded, which is at the very least interesting.

 Exit question: Is Phil playing at Sawgrass?  

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