Monday Wrap - Dubai Edition

A double-wrapped week, with the U.S. finishing on Saturday and the Euros on Monday.  Never have so many cared so much about a silly little event in the Emirates....

From Teegate to Treegate - For years you humble blogger has be remarking upon the fact that, the more important an event is to Rory McIlroy, the worse he seemingly payed.  The citations are all familiar, including Augusta National, St. Andrews and Royal Portrush, among others.  No one will confuse Dubai with those hallowed names in the game of golf, but I'm thinking this was a new Rory:

For the purist, this was two world-class golfers going at it virtually one-on-one down the stretch in the final round of a great tournament, what was the 34th Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

For others given to wider context, the same battle was a contest between the best of the DP World Tour and the upstart LIV Golf League.

And for those of a more cynical bent, tongues only slightly in cheeks, this was the white knight taking on his black-clad counterpart. Hero versus anti-hero, if you will.

Take your pick.

But whatever the final choice might be, it should not detract from what was epic stuff, a truly titanic struggle between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed (who else?) for the spoils of the day, ownership of the giant trophy and the first-place check of $1.53 million. Not forgetting, of course, the satisfaction that would come from beating the other half of a seemingly fractured relationship that has been the on-going narrative/controversy/talking point of an extra long week in the United Arab Emirates.

Patrick hasn't been a world class golfer for a while, but he certainly created the kind of environment in which he typically flourishes, the kind that leaves us relived to not have to endure his presence.

This was the key take from the winner, which will leave some lingering doubts in many of us:

Reed began the day four shots behind McIlroy but got in the mix thanks to five birdies and an

eagle over his first 13 holes. The American made a costly bogey on the par-4 16th but birdied the last to tie McIlroy, who was slow to start, at 18 under. McIlroy made par on his opening eight holes before adding birdies on Nos. 9, 10 and 13. The world No. 1’s lone blemish of the day came on No. 15, but McIlroy rebounded with two clutch birdies on his final two holes to secure the one-shot win at 19 under.

“I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I’ve ever had to play because it would be really easy to let your emotions get in the way and I just had to really concentrate on focusing on myself,” said McIlroy, who praised his mental strength. “Forget who was up there on the leaderboard, and I did that really, really well.”

How about playing better because of who is on the leaderboard?  You see the issue?  It comes through in this post-round comment from Rory as well:

More McIlroy: “I'm going to enjoy this. This is probably sweeter than it should be or needs to be but I feel like I've still got some stuff to work on. It's a great start to the year and a really good foundation to work from.”

It has to be, more than anything, a huge relief, because after rolling over and playing dead for Cam Smith at the Old Course, he needed to step up for the old guard.  Which he did, but just barely.

So, what do we make of Treegate?  Geoff seems a bit more credulous that one might expect in a rare Monday Quad freebie:

For those lamenting the Chiefs-Bengals officiating, a few things to consider:

• The Lakers were hosed in far worse fashion against the Celtics. I know the refs would like to get to Logan alive, but come on it’s not even the same Garden!
  

• Patrick Reed confidently identified his ball in a palm tree using binoculars and what he spotted was confirmed by an on-site referee.

• Reed then took an unplayable lie during round three of the Dubai Desert Classic and ended up finishing second by a stroke to McIlroy.

• Reed’s ball finished in a different tree than the one he was told had gobbled up his Titleist feauting a modified arrow marking.

• He likely received bad intel from marshals. It happens more than you think. Not that we don’t love the volunteers!

That second bullet is a bit of a howler, but for our benefit Patrick conducted a Master Class on how to abuse the rules of golf.  That rules official, alas, did his job, but all he confirmed was that the player said he positively identified his ball...  The good news?  Patrick wouldn't lie to us, would he?

Here's the crux of the matter per Geoff:

Here’s the issue: Reed was “100% sure” he spotted his ball through binoculars that looked somewhat like something Prince Philip employed to watch races at Royal Ascot. In the 1960s. But in identifying his ball, he was able to take an unplayable lie instead of a lost ball and subsequent need to re-tee.

“I would have gone back to the tee if I wasn't 100%,” Reed said after his round. “I got lucky that we were able to look through the binoculars and you have to make sure it's your ball, and how I mark my golf balls is I always put an arrow on the end of my line, because the Pro VI, the arrow on the end stop before it, so you can see the arrow.”

🤔

“And you could definitely see and identify the line with the arrow on the end, and the rules official, luckily, was there to reconfirm and check it to make sure it was mine as well.”

Who ya gonna believe, me or your lyin' eyes?

In a way, you have to respect the tradecraft.  He looks us in the eye and tells us that he was "100%" sure that he had identified his ball, while we're watching those replays that confirm that he was looking in the wrong tree....  Peak Patrick, no?

Maybe I'm more cynical than the average bear, but in listening quasi-live (by that I mean I caught a replay on Golf Channel and was listening to Patrick describe his markings without knowing about the video or the outcome of the ruling) to his description of his markings, and my BS Detector went into the red zone.  Without even knowing they were looking at the wrong tree I knew what Patrick was doing and how it could turn out.

As did Brandel Chamblee, and Geoff has similar thought s to my won there (but also news):

Reviewing the incident on Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee took viewers through a replay of the ball’s flight. I know what your thinking: isn’t Reed still trying to sue Chamblee and others for calling him a cheater? (The $820 million case was thrown out in late November but Reed’s attorney promised on December 17th, 2022 to file an amendment. He has not done so as this Quad goes to press.)

Either way, it’s somewhat surprising that NBC/Golf Channel allowed Chamblee to review the tape given the litigious ways of Reed and his attorney, who subpoenaed Rory McIlroy on Christmas Eve. But these are different times, so Chamblee gently laid out the devastating case for Reed having identified a ball that was in a different tree than the one his tee shot found:

An amendment?  As I recall, the original suit was filed in the Northern District of California, and was to be re-filed in Florida, a personally curated jurisdiction where Reed's attorney is not technically disbarred.  But I wasn't aware that it hasn't been refiled, so that's somewhat interesting....

We've been a little off-cycle with our usual Tour Confidential panel, but they take on both teegate and treegate, so let's keep the flow and lede with the latter:

3. Speaking of Reed, he found himself at the center of a controversy a few days after his incident with McIlroy, when he took an unplayable on the 17th hole of the Dubai tournament when his ball was stuck in a tree. Reed identified his ball by specific markings in the tree, so he wasn’t forced to re-tee. The shot circulated on social media, and some thought his ball appeared to get stuck in a different tree than the one he dropped near. According to the Guardian, “a further layer of complexity was added by the fact umpteen golf balls sat in the branches of the tree being inspected.” Let’s clear this up: any controversy here, or nothing to see?

Sens: There were rules officials on hand. Let’s trust their judgment over jury-by-social media. The problem for Reed is the boy-who-cried-wolf thing. Past conduct matters, and Reed has a muddy enough track record that almost any ruling he’s involved in is going to raise some suspicions. In this case, I think we can be comfortable that things were played fair and square.

Colgan: Reed’s argument was backed up by a crew of two rules officials and “several marshals.” Unless new information comes to light, I think we should take that crew at their word.

Melton: Social media loves to get out the pitchforks for Reed, but this seems to be a nonstory. Those on the ground had a better look than any of us, and if they think it’s kosher, then I’m inclined to believe them.

Piastowski: Was it handled by the book? Yes. Could TV replay have helped point everyone involved in the right direction, no pun intended? Also yes. (And Golf Digest has reported that’s coming to the PGA Tour for rules situations.) I’ll leave it at that.

Wow, talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations!  A player identifies as his own a ball that almost certainly wasn't his ball, and these guys think that the rules official makes it all peachy keen.

We certainly know who Patrick is, so why the pulled punches?

On teegate:

2. We had drama in Dubai, as Rory McIlroy ignored Patrick Reed’s attempt to say hello on the driving range, leading to Reed playfully tossing a tee in McIlroy’s direction. We learned afterward that Reed’s lawyer had subpoenaed McIlroy on Christmas Eve. “I’m living in reality; I don’t know where he’s living,” McIlroy said. “If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t expect a hello or a handshake.” Reed told the Daily Mail that McIlroy acted like an “immature little child.” What’s your take on Teegate?

Sens: Junior high school at the driving range – a clueless dude and a cold shoulder. McIlroy is not wrong, though. Reed obviously can’t read a room. And he’s calling Rory a child?

Colgan: Other than the abject hilariousness of it all, I thought it was interesting that Reed pumped oxygen into a story that was almost dead with that “immature little child” comment. Maybe these LIVers have a little bit more of a chip on their shoulder than they’re letting on publicly!

Melton: Reed projecting the “child” behavior onto McIlroy would be funny if it weren’t so sad. The lack of self awareness from Reed never ceases to amaze me.

Piastowski: (Incredulous facial expression.)

To me, it's not so much a chip, more the reek of entitlement.  The LIVsters seems to think they can grab those large checks while impairing the organizations and ecosystem that made them fabulously wealthy, and everyone will just continue to cheer them on.   Good luck with that, guys!

I Saw It On TV - In that Quad post, Geoff has a shockingly favorable review of CBS's broadcast:

Despite the Farmers not carrying “designated” status where telecast upgrades have been teased,

CBS offered a far more robust production compared to NBC/Golf Channel’s first three efforts. A tight leaderboard and fantastic fan energy on Saturday certainly helped. But producer Sellers Shy took full advantage of a robust production to rarely linger too long on one camera shot unless the announce team was setting up a shot. He ordered up quick cuts between ground views, close-ups and aerials to give the proceedings a sense of urgency so rarely present in a golf broadcast. While the commercial load was heavy until the final hour (when they took just two big breaks), the combination of sound, aerials and information-heavy graphics made the Farmers feel big.

Again breaking news, I didn't realize that the elevated events were to also receive a more robust TV production, which one might suppose would piss off all those other sponsors.  

Geoff has more of those bullet points for us:

• Thanks to an increase in the number of Sony depth-of-field cameras helmed by aggressive operators, viewers enjoyed some fantastic close-ups and sound to give us a genuine inside-
  
  the-ropes sensibility. CBS was also not afraid to use the “Venice” camera for showing shots. While we lost the tracer effect, the depth of field looks beautiful.

• The graphics style refreshed a couple of years ago continues to look more modern and seems filled with more useful information than we get with the NBC productions.

• A new Shotlink-fueled hole detail popped up from the translucent scoreboard and still needs tweaking or more time to be useful. But solid intent is there and with time, it could become a nice add-on.

• Trevor Immelman’s start as lead analyst got off to a good start despite a tricky setting with Jim Nantz doing play-by-play from Kansas City. Immelman delivers his points cleanly and without any indecipherable filler, though he did go full Faldo by letting us know how he saw Sam Ryder in the gym that morning.

I'll try to pay more attention to those depth-of-field cameras on Sunday from Pebble.  You'll be amused to know that I'm flying home on Saturday, principally to ensure that I won't be tempted to watch the most painful day in televised golf.  Though I do hope you'll enjoy that enhanced depth of field of Ray Romano....

As for Trevor, it's a shame I used that soft bigotry line above, as he gest a pass by virtue of not being his predecessor....

I found this cringe-worthy, though your mileage may vary:

• Amanda Renner interviewed Sam Ryder’s mother Sunday. And while the discussion about seeing his first win turned out to be wrong, credit to CBS for giving us something different and to Kelly for being such a great interview. It’s not easy to walk and talk when you’re nervously watching!

You got his mother to get way ahead of herself on national TV, when we all knew the collar was going to tighten on her son.  Are you proud of yourselves?  Sheesh, leave the poor woman alone.

The TC gang had thoughts on the broadcast as well:

5. The first CBS golf broadcast of 2023 debuted at the Farmers with some noticeable changes. Obviously Trevor Immelman replacing Nick Faldo was the biggest, but we also saw new camera angles, a walk-and-talk with a player, and even an in-round interview with a contender’s mom. What were your thoughts on some of the changes?

Sens: Like the Tour itself, the CBS broadcast has often felt tired and complacent in recent years. These changes are welcome. A mic’d up Homa was especially good. The more these telecasts can showcase personalities while sharing actual insights, the better. If some of it feels gimmicky, so be it. These telecasts are ripe for a shakeup.

Colgan: I was encouraged. The product was faster, smarter, and worked a little bit harder for the viewer. There are still too many commercials, but then again, the Tour’s gotta pay for those new tournament purses somehow!

Melton: It was an encouraging step, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement. The golf broadcast product has been so stale for so long that any innovation is a welcome one — but let’s not get complacent. The TV product has a long ways to go before I’m ready to declare anything “fixed.”

Piastowski: It was a change for the better. Take that for what you will. But I’m going to flip the question around, to the readers, and ask this: What would make a good broadcast? I’m seriously not being sarcastic or anything here; just really curious. I hear a lot of, ‘Oh, golf TV is so very bad,’ but I rarely hear solutions other than, ‘Less commercials for my network golf’ and ‘More story-telling during a live tournament.’ So I wanna hear it. Email me at nick.piastowski@golf.com or send a Twitter DM @nickpia.

I thought the Homa walk-and-talk was fine, but the reaction seems quite over the top.  A nice change of pace, though the lingering question is whether other players will similarly participate.  They picked a good hole on which to do it, then caught quite the break with that bad shot and the resulting lie, leading to that oh-so-timely Reed slam, which presaged treegate in quite the eerie fashion.

Joggergate - Lots of fun reactions to Phil's fashion commentary, the first of which we had on Sunday.  Fortunately, Geoff has curated additional entries for us:

And as relates to his system of weights and measures:

Fair enough, but is it the men that should be celebrating?

Of course the problem for Phil is that clothing is a subject that Phil should stay away from, because the Tweets in response just write themselves.  Geoff had this one:

Yeah, you didn't need to be Nostradamus to see that one coming.... And Eamon Lynch had a similar thought:

Since he volunteered his opinion on joggers being worn this week on the PGA Tour, I wonder if Phil Mickelson will also speak out on dress codes at the tournament he’s actually playing next week in Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/Oqxdm4h0ce

— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) January 29, 2023

An unforced error at best....

Phil has bene out and about, giving an interview to Sports Illustrated, the gist of which can be found in the header:

Phil Mickelson at peace with never playing in Ryder Cup or on PGA Tour again, thinks he can still win ‘one or two more’ majors

It's curious for sure, as he was never going to play in another Ryder Cup.  It's the captaincy at Bethpage in 2025 that he's given up, and he seems to go out of his way to avoid that subject.

But it is common ground, he's at peace with being in a black hole, and coincidently your humble blogger is similarly at peace with his absence.

Though I can't let this one pass without a rebuttal:

Ever the optimist, Mickelson anticipates in five to ten years we’ll look back at the contentious last year as a minor bump in the road.

“It’s a short-term disruption for a long-term gain,” said Mickelson. “That’s all.”

Yeah, you might have noticed that the gains are all his.... and the bumps are all ours.  Glad that worked out for him....

I shall release you here.  I've got a gaggle of open browser tabs, so we will be blogging up a storm as the week unfolds. 

Weekend Wrap - Conference Championship Edition

If the Tour wraps on Saturday, you'll be expecting my trenchant insights on Sunday, right?

Fortunately, your humble blogger has been preparing for this eventuality since Friday, when I began drafting the non-game story items below.  My friends at Open Snow had me on alert for snow this weekend, and we awoke yesterday to a surprise 10" of freshies, which were dutifully shredded.  This morning remains in doubt, as we await the snow report and assess the state of your humble blogger's quads....

The good news for you, Dear Reader, is that blogging puts almost no stress on said quads....

Synchronicity - When CBS stuck an Air Pod into Max Homa's ear on Friday, he was hanging around the leaderboard, though emitting no vibes that spoke of actually winning this thing.  We do have more on CBS and Homa below but, while the interview is drawing raves for CBS, it didn't seem to actually help Max's play, although we are parsing the smallest of sample sizes:

He was also asked about how to decide whether to go for the green in two or lay up and what would go into his decision.

Homa decided to go for it in two, and he pulled his ball left, saying he hit it off the toe. When he got up by the green, Homa called for a rules official when his ball became embedded and he got a free drop. His second shot landed above the front left bunker by the green.

“I’m sure this is just in a peach of a lie,” Homa joked when walking to the green. And one he got to his ball? “I’m not going to touch it.”

He hit a pretty dreadful shot, which is amusing only because we all know how much he wanted to hit a great one with the eyes of the world on us and that Air Pod in his ear.  That last bit has been deemed a piece of comedy gold, given the embedded ball follies at this very venue by a certain man who shall not be named, at least for now.

On Sunday Max seemed focused completely on business, although CBS deserves credit for more of that synchronicity involved.  One question Trevor Immelmann posed on Saturday was about his attentions span, to which Max admitted that he couldn't focus on golf for 5- 5 1/2 hours straight, though the joke he threw in about coveting Trevor's accent won't win any improv awards, the bit about his young son was more genuine.

So, what was he thinking about Sunday.  The expected and the unexpected, first the latter:

It could be said that the Torrey Pines golf complex now represents something of a life-and-death

circumstance for Max Homa when he's competes in the Farmers Insurance Open. Not literally, of course. But on the same grass, the popular Californian has both absorbed the loss of his childhood idol, NBA star Kobe Bryant, and the joys of cooing at his 2-month-old baby boy, Cam, as the newly crowned tournament champion.

As Homa fiercely battled a handful of major champions and a hopeful journeyman late in the fourth round of a Saturday conclusion on the Torrey Pines South Course, he said his mind did drift to thoughts of Bryant, of Kobe's competitive tenacity, and of his tragic death three years ago this week in a helicopter crash. That day, on Sunday at the Farmers, news of the Los Angeles Lakers great’s passing drifted out to players either during their rounds or when they’d signed their cards.

“This place … I have a weird feeling towards it,” Homa said. “I love it, and it has like a weird sadness to it.”

OK, didn't see that one coming, but Max is a SoCal guy, as you heard ad nauseum during the broadcast.  But this might strike some as over-sharing, although I think it makes him an even more appealing for it:

Homa became a first-time parent on Oct. 30, but it was not without its fretful moments. Lacey

underwent complications during Cam’s birth, Homa has said, requiring multiples surgeries and time in the ICU.

“She had a horrendous birth, it did not go well,” Homa said during his winner’s press conference. “It was the scariest – hard to say because it was an amazing day, get a new son, Cam. It was the worst day ever at the same time.”

Homa credited his wife for being “a rock star” as a mother, allowing him to practice and focus on his play, and he wanted to pay back her for those efforts.

“I feel like I’ve almost worked harder for this because I want to spend as much time as I possibly can helping her and being with Cam and doing all the cool things, catching some smiles here and there and getting screamed at,” he said. “But I also want to be the best golfer on the planet and she knows that and she just does an amazing job letting me do both…I work hard at two things now, so it feels a little bit more difficult but it’s a million times more rewarding.”

There's an inherent decency in Max that folks seem to pick up on, and I think is a big positive for the Tour.  That simple gratitude for the blessings that life have bestowed on him has, have you noticed, been in short supply in our game for the last year.  

As for the golf?  This header is a bit over the top:

Max Homa’s heroics lead to Farmers Insurance Open win

Said "heroics" being limited to that 16th hole birdie, though that is the nature of Torrey's South Course.  Of course Homa deserves all sort of credit for putting himself in position, though the dispositive event was more Sam Ryder's predictable collapse, which is always hard to watch.  

We've covered Max's Friday participation on the broadcast, but am the only one that thought the more important walk-and-talk was the one with Sam's mother, who seemed to be way too far ahead of the facts on the ground.  You've heard of the announcer's curse, well was the outcome a result of his Mother's curse?  

A couple more possibly amusing bits.  I've sampled some of the Twitter trash talk between the revolutionaries and the republican old guard.  This one just struck me as fairly feeble:

🚨 No surprise here: #FarmersInsOpen down 17%. Not a single day reached 300,000 TV views. Zero drama and a no-name leaderboard once again spoils the day for team PGA. Another brutal watch.

Apparently that guy from Twitter won. Does he golf? What does that say about the field?📉

— LIV Golf Insider (@LIVTracking) January 29, 2023

It was a weird final day, for sure, but that no-name leaderboard included Rahm, Finau, Morikawa, Bradley and young talent such as Theegala and Im (not to mention a Rickie sighting, without his trademark orange outfit).  For a non-elevated event, that's pretty good news for Ponte Vedra Beach, methinks.  

But laugh-out-loud funny for them to criticize the viewership numbers because they seemingly appear clueless to the inconvenient fact that no one watches golf.  Rather a significant omission in that McKinsey Report, but not an issue as long as the checks clear.

If you sense a callous indifference to Mr. Ryder's fate, you are spot on.  I have little knowledge of the man's career, although he's apparently demonstrated a startling mediocre consistency.  But life is harsh, and the man deserved to implode for one very simple reason:

You show up with 4" of ankle exposed, your place in golf oblivion is assured....

This opinion uncomfortably aligns me with a man with whom I've not shared much common ground lately, though he fortunately went where he shouldn't have:

The Phil Mickelson backlash will never end pic.twitter.com/CvvS9wvico

— Pro Golf Stuff (@ProGolfStuff) January 28, 2023

Two words: Mizzen + Main!

Dubai Doings - We had teegate to amuse us earlier in the week.  There was a report floating the premise that Rory and Reed were to be paired, though at least this bot admitted that they got it wrong:

I will take my L here folks. I apologize but can admit when wrong. I was incorrect about how the DPWT does pairings and will do better to put out the correct info next time and not speculate. https://t.co/dLpKgOhWte

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) January 28, 2023

Actually relived for Rory to not have Patrick given that kind of platform.  They're not going to finish until Monday, but there is a pairing that's in a certain way even better than Rory-Reed:

Until the dispute between LIV Golf and the DP World Tour is settled in court, tension will riddle the range at most events throughout the season.

Exhibit A: Henrik Stenson, who lost his position as European Ryder Cup captain once he joined the Saudi-backed LIV Series, will be paired with Tyrrell Hatton, a Ryder Cup veteran, and Luke Donald, the man who replaced Stenson as captain, on Sunday for the third round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Deliciously awkward, no?  Whatever will they talk about?  Uniforms?  Captain's picks?

When the day of reckoning comes for the LIVsters, Henrik is unfortunately due quite the harsh penalties.  He's always been one of the more likeable personalities out there, but he did sign that contract committing to not do what an hour-and-a-half later he went and did....  Sorry, Henrik, but you chose badly.

The Squeeze - Deep Throat is no less of a journalistic scandal than Russiagate, though his alleged guidance to "Follow the Money" is never a bad call.  Sean Zak tells us that the PGA Tour has finally heeded this advise and is going after the paymasters:

In a significant legal move, the PGA Tour is pivoting the focus of its countersuit against LIV Golf to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

According to court documents filed Tuesday, the Tour is moving to add Al-Rumayyan and the PIF itself as counter-defendants in the case.

Why? The Tour argues that instead of LIV Golf and Greg Norman having autonomy, it’s Al-Rumayyan and the PIF that have ultimate power over LIV’s business, inclusive of recruiting players, approving contracts, determining payout structures and even promising to indemnify them from financial responsibility in lawsuits. (LIV Golf is a subsidiary of LIV Golf Investments, which is funded entirely by the PIF, which owns 93% of LIV.)

All of these alleged actions, the Tour argues, are tortuous interference of the contracts the defecting players signed with the PGA Tour, as well as the contracts between the Tour and players who stayed (but LIV actively recruited).

Ask yourself a simple question: would you trust Greg Norman with $2 billion?  

The lawsuit at hand is a countersuit waged by the PGA Tour against LIV Golf in response to a separate antitrust suit LIV filed against the Tour for anticompetitive practices. In short, everyone is suing everyone and we’ve reached the point where other industry leaders are being pulled into it. (On Monday, both sides filed a joint statement on whether or not LIV can gain access to communications between PGA Tour policy board directors and dozens of Augusta National members.)

As for this suit, the main point remains: The PGA Tour believes that Norman is simply an acting CEO and must retain approval for all meaningful decisions from Al-Rumayyan and the PIF. “It is Al-Rumayyan who functions as LIV’s chief executive,” the Tour alleges, adding that LIV’s leadership understands Al-Rumayyan to be “de facto CEO,” and that Al-Rumayyan micromanages “LIV’s day-to-day operations both while in the United State and abroad.”

“And even once contracts are signed and debts accrued,” the Tour alleges, “PIF holds the purse strings: none of LIV’s partners or golfers gets paid until PIF and Mr. Al-Rumayyan agree to distribute the money.”

The only curious bit is that the Tour seems to have gotten to this rather obvious legal strategy on the late side.  It obviously makes no sense that the insular Saudis would use a Westerner as anything more than a beard, keeping important decisions within the family.

But this is also a way to impose a non-financial cost on the Saudis, as they're not great on the wirness stand...

The Tour has recently worked hard to subpoena Al-Rumayyan and the PIF for various documents about its actions toward players and agents in its efforts to get a golf league off the ground. Al-Rumayyan’s text messages and emails — with the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and sports agent Casey Wasserman, among others — were included in the Tour’s presentation during a discovery hearing on Jan. 13. Presumably, those documents were acquired via discovery with players and agents, not Al-Rumayyan himself, who has evaded the discovery process to this point. Also presented during the three-hour hearing was a key document referred to as the Shareholders’ Agreement.

The agreement, as it has been shared with the Tour, was signed by Al-Rumayyan. In it, the Tour states, the PIF is “required to approve” the reported nine-figure contracts signed by the likes of DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson. During the Jan. 13 hearing LIV argued that the Tour was misinterpreting the agreement, but what’s clear is the Tour has quickly doubled down on what it believes to be the truth.

Isn't this the document that Phil boasted was drafted under his supervision?  This cheerleader, who teaches sports law at Brooklyn Law, presumably knows what of she speaks, though with an asterisk:

About time: By adding Saudi PIF and Al-Rumayyan as defendants in tortious interference counterclaim, PGA Tour strengthens argument for discovery against those parties, something they and LIV Golf are so anxious to avoid, it may change (end?) the course of the lawsuit. https://t.co/gEHnPY16c7

— Jodi Balsam (@JodiBalsam) January 25, 2023

 Zak only hints at that asterisk:

Though wrangling Al-Rumayyan and the PIF into a U.S. court room has proven difficult for PGA Tour lawyers, if Balsam is correct, we could see swift changes in the trajectory of the lawsuits, pending an order on the amended counterclaim by Judge Beth Labson Freeman.

This will get very interesting, methinks.  It's exceedingly difficult for a U.S. Court to assert jurisdiction over foreign nationals, although in this case said foreign nationals are attempting to claim relief under U.S. law in U.S. courts, so you'd think it would be hard to hide behind sovereign immunity.  

The place to watch might well be the Biden administration.  The origin of that DOJ antitrust investigation remains obscure, as is the extent to which the Biden administration wishes to curry favor with the bonecutters.  Calling them a pariah state didn't help when they needed them to pump more oil, but I can't help but scanning back up to that photo above.  If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, what are bone saws and mass beheadings compared to that bad Orange Man?  

Slightly unrelated, but Sean adds this juicy nugget:

All of this comes following various structural changes to LIV Golf’s corporate hierarchy in recent months. COO Atul Khosla resigned from his post in the fall after LIV’s first season. According to reporting in The Telegraph, which was cited in Tuesday night’s filing, Khosla’s resignation came after a “confrontation” with Al-Rumayyan. Khosla’s role has been filled by a trio of directors from golf marketing company Performance54 — all of whom have all been tied to the idea of a rival tour for years. Then this week, Sports Illustrated reported that Majed Al-Sorour, who was a managing director for LIV, would no longer be in that position, and that Norman would now have more direct contact with Al-Rumayyan.

Maybe not so unrelated, because one assumes that deposition notices have already been served on Khosla, hopefully on Christmas Eve.  Or are they holding them for Ramadan?

The Nature of Rats - On a related note, apparently the origin if this fable is Russian, which is curious in the current moment, though not where I'm headed:

A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's in my nature."

Shockingly, my intention is not to apply this to Patrick Reed, however apt it may feel.

Rory had this reaction to the executive shake-up at LIV:

Earlier this week the upstart circuit backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund confirmed

a Sports Illustrated report that Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Golf Saudi Federation and a pivotal player in getting LIV off the ground, would leave his position as LIV Golf’s managing director but remain as one of seven LIV Golf board members. The move points to Norman having an elevated role with LIV, which has lost both its chief operating officer and director of franchises over the last few weeks.

“I mean, if the Chief Executive doesn’t have an executive team, I don’t know how strong that is,” said McIlroy of LIV’s current situation ahead of this week’s DP World Tour event, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. “I mean, he can’t do it himself.”

C'mon, Rors, the Sharkie-pooh is a can-do kind of guys.  I understand that he's watched instructional videos on YouTube and can now operate the bonesaws himself.

Amusingly, though, that was before this additional defection:

The changes keep coming for LIV Golf’s leadership.

Golfweek confirmed Thursday that Jonathan Grella is no longer serving as the upstart circuit’s chief communications officer. Golf Digest was first to report.

Grella is the fourth member of a senior leadership position to leave his role in the three months since LIV concluded its inaugural season in October, joining Majed Al Sorour (who will remain a board member), Atul Khosla (chief operating officer) and Matt Goodman (president of franchises).

Do take a moment to appreciate the art in that opening sentence.   Those changes would seem to all be going in the same direction, no?  Though I will concede that this an especially good example of PR flackery:

“As LIV begins our second year, we are grateful to the team that helped get us off the ground and launch such a successful start-up,” said LIV Golf via a statement. “We have a group of hard-working, dedicated staffers and we understand from time to time personnel will move on or decide to pursue other endeavors. In all cases, we are appreciative and will continue to assemble a world-class team to guide us through our second year.”

Continue?  When do you start?

But just remember that those deserting are only doing what's in their nature.

Update: This not technically an update, because I hadn't published the post yet.  But the above was written on Friday, and we now find that we've understated the executive outflow:

News of the latest departures come courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, which reported on Friday evening that chief marketing officer Kerry Taylor and chief communications officer Jonathan Grella had been removed from their posts this week. Per the report, the news comes as part of an effort for the league to make changes before its second season.

Removed by whom?  Kind of important, no?

That item linked is a James Colgan item that comes with some howlers:

The news marks just the latest organizational shift for the upstart golf league before a critical second season; one that could go a long way in determining its eventual fate in the golf space. Last week, LIV announced a crucial victory — a multi-year media rights deal with the CW — ensuring a broadcast partner and some form of media revenue (likely through shared advertising revenue) for the foreseeable future.

Got that, a crucial victory.... They're not being paid for their product, but apparently Golf.com is just copying and-pasting LIV press releases.  But it gets even better:

Now comes the harder part: convincing controversy-wary advertisers to commit huge sums to LIV’s product in a lukewarm economic environment. While the departures of the latest swathe of LIV executives (along with Norman’s promotion) could represent typical startup turnover, it could also represent some of the challenges faced by the league to that end.

A lukewarm economic environment?  Yeah, that's the issue.... But there's one more:

While LIV has seen struggles generating interest from the golf industry, it has had no problem attracting talent from the professional ranks, which could be the next piece of LIV staffing news we receive. The league has committed hundreds of millions to attract pro players to its circuit, and it is expected that another wave of defections could be upon us as soon as next week’s Saudi International. To date, the Tour has granted releases to four players to compete in the event, which is funded and staged by the same investors behind LIV Golf, the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

No problem attracting talent?  Sure, they've done great throwing eight-figure sums at players whose best years are long behind them, but there isn't much talent there right now.

To your humble blogger, one surprise in the current moment is that Norman and LIV have been noticeably quiet about future player defections.  As I've been warning, the critical moment on that score is ahead of us, as Colgan notes (though I'm unclear what those Saudi waivers mean).  But James thinks there's another wave of defections ahead of us, though I've heard no one else making that prediction.  But that is rather the critical issue, because unless they can move some alpha dogs into their orbit, it's going to be difficult to push folks to the CW to watch Pat Perez and Harold Varner.

I Saw It On TV - While Eamon Lynch's accent clearly indicates that he does not hail from Missouri, but this header seems uncharacteristically credulous:

Lynch: Better PGA Tour broadcasts are here, but it shouldn't have had to be at gunpoint

Hmmm..., this is the time stamp on Eamon's piece:

January 27, 2023 6:32 pm ET

The CBS broadcast window for that day was 5:00-8;00 p.m., so he quite clearly wrote his piece without the benefit of having seen a single broadcast, which seems that which a statistician would call a small sample size.  And by small, we of course mean none.

Eamon presumably wrote this without the benefit of seeing how it came off:

One of the Tour’s fledgling efforts to start small and act now was seen during Friday’s third

round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, when Max Homa wore a microphone for a ‘walk and talk’ with CBS Sports. The only players that viewers are accustomed to hearing during tournament action are those who washed-up in the booth or hobbled into a headset, so the shock of access to someone actually competing – heck, contending – might have been enough to topple every groaning barcalounger in The Villages.

Engaging, honest and wry, Homa is a perfect guinea pig for this experiment. Regardless of how compelling the content was in the moment, it’s mere occurrence stands as evidence of two things: how little it really takes to elevate the golf viewing experience, and how long that enhancement was forestalled by the Tour’s corporate killjoy attitude.

He's making a fair point, because until very recently the Tour players were unwilling to do such a "walk and talk" because of, checking notes, reasons.  But what really makes me laugh is the absurd amount of pressure we put Max under to say something interesting or funny.  I'm not sure he actually met that test, but you should watch the video and make your own call.

But this is Eamon's killer point, and rings true, no?

This moment with Max didn’t happen now because those in charge of broadcasting golf have never considered how to better do their jobs, or couldn’t be bothered pitching fresh approaches to Ponte Vedra. Every executive involved in televising the Tour has a tale about how their effort to enliven telecasts was stonewalled. Chalk it up to a combination of factors —corporate complacency, a culture of arrogance, a milquetoast reluctance to inconvenience the very players they’re rewarding with millions of dollars annually.

I'll go with all of the above....

But I'm not sure that Eamon though this bit through fully:

Monahan has lately taken to framing the battle with LIV Golf as one of product versus product, a stance he can only adopt with confidence after the Tour belatedly grasped the extent to which it was shortchanging fans, never mind players. Even the commissioner’s loyalists know that it took a rival product – fortuitously for them, a lousy and amoral one – to force an upgrade of the Tour’s offering, both to members and consumers. Because change came at gunpoint – or, more accurately, at the point of a shamshir – it’s unsurprising that many golf fans greet progress with begrudgery and remain wholly unsympathetic to the business predicament in which the Tour finds itself.

Yes, they have a lousy product, one that actual golf fans should be revolted by.  But the measures taken by the Tout to fend off LIV have made them more, not less, like that "lousy" LIV product.  To the extent that the Tour's product has been improved for members, it's only a highly select group of such members, the implications of which we'll be absorbing long after LIV curls up in a fetal position and dies.

But Eamon, I wouldn't be holding my breath:

A time is nearing when even the biggest Tour stars will need to pump the brakes on what they think they’re entitled to and decide to be a little more like Max, giving a paltry something back to the fans who generate that revenue.

And why would they pump said brakes?  The more they whine, the more money has been thrown their way....  Nice incentive system we've created, at least if you're PIP-worthy.

Update:  The above was written before Friday's broadcast.  Having watched most of Friday's and all of Saturday's broadcast, it was the same old same old.  This piece I found unintentionally hilarious:

6 intriguing changes coming to CBS Golf in 2023

Spoiler alert:  This is another James Colgan piece and you'll be shocked to learn that he's more easily intrigued than your humble blogger.  For instance, this is intriguing why?

3. A bigger schedule

The biggest ever from a programming perspective.

In 2023, CBS will carry the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time, covering the three final events of the PGA Tour season. The network will also handle “designated event” coverage from the WM Phoenix Open, Genesis, Memorial, RBC Heritage and more.

In addition to the Tour schedule, CBS will continue its coverage of the Masters, PGA Championship and Scottish Open. In total, the network will cover 23 events, including two majors and four countries, in the new year.

“We have 23 events in ’23, and that’s a big deal for us,” Shy, CBS’ producer says.

 And for us?  Yeah, not so much....

You'll notice that on the subject we might actually care about there's little there there:

4. Tech enhancements

Drones and a “constant leaderboard” were two of CBS producer Sellers Shy’s most well-received changes among the golf-viewing audience. Expect to see enhancements to both properties, as well as an increased frequency of “Fly Cam,” “Boat Cam,” and Atlas super high-definition camera shots utilized throughout the course of the broadcast.

CBS will be far more watchable without the incoherent babbling of Sir Mumbles, who shall not be missed by your humble blogger.  Other than that, they do what they do.

Perhaps the broadcasts this weekend were a little tighter?  There's a bit in that article about lightening the commercial load, but I watched on tape so I've no sense of whether there was any improvement there.  But Nance seems as treacly as ever so, as the wise man once said, it is what it is.

That will be it for now.  I won't be able to blog Monday morning, hence the Sunday wrappage.  But I'd expect to be back with you on Tuesday, so lets look forward to that.  And enjoy the football.

Thursday Themes

Just when you think the LIV stuff couldn't get any wackier....

Teegate - By now you've heard the news from the Middle East:

Various (and vague) reports had emerged suggesting McIlroy had snubbed Reed’s attempted handshake, a move that had provoked the American reportedly into throwing a tee in the Irishman’s

direction. Or merely to the ground in frustration at McIlroy’s reluctance to engage, depending on what (if anything) you believe in this mini-saga.

“I didn't see it,” was McIlroy’s initial response. “Patrick came up to say hello and I didn't really want him to. That was it. I didn't see a tee. I didn't feel a tee. Obviously someone else saw that. I can't believe it's actually turned into a story. It's nothing.

“I was down by my bag, and he came up to me,” McIlroy attempted to explain. “I was busy working and sort of doing my practice. I didn't really feel like … I didn't feel the need to acknowledge him. And if roles were reversed and I'd thrown that tee at him, I'd be expecting a lawsuit. So no, I didn't see, it. My back was turned to him.”

Well, the Tour had figuratively turned its back on so many of Reed's antics, that who can blame the Ulsterman?  This, as no doubt you've heard, was the issue for Rors:

“I got a subpoena on Christmas Eve,” said McIlroy, receiving it from an attorney who is representing Reed in a handful of anti-defamation cases against members of the golf media. The subpoena given to McIlroy, however, is believed to be part of a separate case not involving Reed that alleges that McIlroy, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods are co-conspirators in the PGA Tour’s antitrust scheme to destroy the LIV Golf League.

“I was trying to have a nice time with my family. If someone shows up on your doorstep and delivers that, you're not going to take that well. I'm living in reality. I don't know where he [Reed] is living. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't expect a hello or a handshake. I don't see how you can pretend like nothing's happening.”

Patrick explains: 

When Reed was found on Wednesday and asked to tell his side of the story, he noted that he hadn’t seen McIlroy or his caddie Harry Diamond yet this year so he wanted to say hello. “Because of the relationship I've had with Rory … let's be honest, we've had some great battles at Augusta and other tournaments and our friendships been pretty good up until obviously joining LIV," Reed told the Daily Mail.

Reed continued by saying Harry shook his hand but Rory just looked down there and was messing with his Trackman (device) and kind of decided to ignore us. We all know where it came from—being part of LIV. Since my tees are Team Aces LIV tees I flicked him one. It was kind of a funny shot back. Funny how a small little flick has turned into basically me stabbing him and throwing a tee at him.

"He saw me and he decided not to not to react," Reed told the Daily Mail. "It's unfortunate because we've always had a good relationship … But it is one of those things—if you're going to act like an immature little child then you might as well be treated like one.”

Well, on the subject of immature little children, we do need to acknowledge Patrick's lifetime achievement award, but still.... What had Rory pissed is not at all tied to LIV, but rather a score-settling effort from PReed that has no chance of success, but will inconvenience his peers.

While the name-calling will justifiably draw the pixels, this is the Reed comment that drew my eye, it being his signature move:

Reed claimed the subpoena had nothing to do with him.

Nothing ever does have anything to do with him, unless it's a personal slight he can whine about.  Yanno, like being paired with Tiger at the Ryder Cup..... 

Now, there does seem to be confusions about the actual underlying lawsuit.  Amusingly, Dylan Dethier feels compelled to do a forensic analysis of this issue and, while it's not Patrick's defamation lawsuit against Brandel, et.al., Patrick is in no way off the hook:

Wait. Reed’s suing Rory?!

No, but I see how you would have gotten there — especially given it feels like Reed’s suing everybody these days — but the devil’s in the details here. McIlroy was served on behalf of Reed’s lawyer, Larry Klayman, but not for one of Reed’s personal suits. This was Klayman vs. the PGA Tour. Still, it’s clear that McIlroy isn’t a huge Klayman fan. As a result, I don’t think he and Reed will be splitting a summer house anytime soon.

He really got served on Christmas Eve?

Sure did! At his house at 3:50 p.m. on 12/24, according to this affidavit — which was originally posted by Klayman himself.

Are you confused?  Yeah, so am I, but apparently Mr. Klayman has taken time from his core business of filing frivolous defamation lawsuits against Golf Channel contributors for their temerity in offering opinions, to file this on behalf of an oppressed class:

A consumer class-action lawsuit has been filed against America's main professional golf organizer, PGA Tour, for allegedly colluding with DP World Tour and other entities to restrain competition from newcomer rival LIV Golf Tour.

Chairman and general counsel of Freedom Watch, Inc., Larry Klayman, filed the lawsuit as "Klayman v. PGA Tour et. al" in the 15th Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County, Fla.

The PGA Tour and its partners are accused by the lawsuit of "monopolization, market division, refusal to deal (aka group boycott) and civil conspiracy," according to a press release. The lawsuit also targets PGA Tour commissioners Jay Monahan and Keith Pelley as co-conspirators.

Care for a taste?

Using the phony pretext of Saudi financing of the LIV Golf Tour (as the PGA Tour and DP World Tour also significantly benefit from a huge amount of Saudi and Middle Eastern money) these defendants have, through their anti-competitive actions, harmed Florida consumers who would attend PGA Tour and it’s admitted partner DP World Tour golfing tournaments and events, by suspending and fining professional golfers who were formerly on these golf tours, simply because they signed up to play in LIV Golf Tour tournaments and events." Klayman says in his press release regarding the lawsuit.

And who brought Klayman into this mess?  That would be one PReed..... 

I was at dinner with a golf buddy last week, during which we both agreed that we'd love to be a fly on the wall at The Masters Champions Dinner, and that was before this flare-up.  I just can't even imagine the interpersonal dynamics that will be on display there, although Patrick would remind us that Rory will be dining elsewhere that Tuesday evening.

Geoff, in his Thursday Quad freebie, had these thoughts:

Reed has been invited to the 2023 Masters but it’s unclear if this guarantees a seat at the Champions Dinner table. There appears to be no precedent for asking a former champion to stay home, but then again, Herman Keiser also never hired a lawyer who was also in the process of harrassing Jimmy Demaret on Christmas eve or any other day of the week.

The least Chairman Fred Ridley can do is ask Reed to stay away from the dignified evening. That would allow Woods and other former champions to enjoy a well-deserved annual celebration where the only question about getting served will be answered when they see what’s on defending champion Scottie Scheffler’s menu.

I don't think there's any appetite for that, although Reed's defamation lawsuit would, I think, provide a logical cause.  It's truly so beyond the pale, attacking commentators and compelling the involvement of other valued Augusta participants, that I think that casus belli is there, and can clearly be separated from the issue of LIV v. the PGA Tour.  Again, I don't think Fred wants anything to do with this, but hold this thought because we have more below.

So, while Rory won't be there Tuesday night, this other guys will.  And Geoff has a funny bit about Larry Klayman trying to serve Tiger:

Reed’s attorney has been less “successful” serving five-time Masters Champion Tiger Woods. We know this because Klayman issued a press release saying so, with the process server’s notes explaining how Woods has eluded her:

Tiger's disinclination to be served will just remain one of life's enduring mysteries, along with that of why Jordan doesn't want to be Ryder Cup partners with Patrick....Of course, any concern about Patrick qualifying for a Ryder Cup has resolved itself, due both to his dreadful play and that LIV thing...

But, wait, I had already emotionally moved on, then remembered I hadn't checked to see if there was anything interesting in this Golf Digest item:

23 questions about the Rory McIlroy-Patrick Reed feud, with 23 one-sentence answers

It so happens there was this one curious bit about that subpoena served on Rory:

Please tell me that’s all there is to the subpoena story?

Of course not; the name of the process server was “Shark Process,” which really is just the chef’s kiss on this mess.

Kids, you can't make this s**t up....  I myself was not familiar with that expression, but apparently it's a thing:

A gesture in which the fingers and thumb of one hand are pinched together, kissed, and then blown away, signifying that something is delicious or exquisite.

Now we know. 

LIV v. Augusta National - One interesting sidebar of the ongoing antitrust litigation is the extent to which LIV seems to be targeting Augusta National:

According to court documents released Monday, LIV Golf’s lawyers have served subpoenas to

six current or former PGA Tour policy board directors as well as former commissioner Tim Finchem. Buried in a joint statement between LIV and those figureheads were allegations lobbed by LIV against various members of Augusta National, which seems to be one of LIV’s new focuses. One of the initial requests included in each subpoena to those members was an overarching demand:

Please produce “All Communications between You and any member of Augusta National relating to a New Tour, including but not limited to LIV Golf.”

For some reason, this reminds me of this famous exchange from Casablanca:

• Major Strasser : Are you one of those people who cannot imagine the Germans in their beloved Paris?

  Rick : It's not particularly my beloved Paris.

  Heinz : Can you imagine us in London?

  Rick : When you get there, ask me!

  Captain Renault : Hmmh! Diplomatist!

  Major Strasser : How about New York?

  Rick : Well there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you to try to invade.

It's a funny position the LIVsters find themselves in.  I'm sure they initially fooled themselves into thinking that playing on LIV vs. the PGA Tour was just like deciding whether to play the Waste Management vs. playing at Pebble, and that they'd continue to be welcome as conquering heroes.  Obviously a very naïve take, but then you turn around and suddenly a war with Augusta National is being waged in your name.  Saying you have nothing to do with it just won't cut it....

This seems to be the flash point with LIV v. ANGC:

Much of the allegations in the statement remain confidential, but ANGC members Condoleezza Rice — the former Secretary of State — and Warren Stephens were listed by LIV as having “apparently attempted to influence the DOJ (Department of Justice) to not investigate the [PGA] Tour.” Whether or not that is true — the complaints flying back and forth are highly contested by each side — the DOJ has launched an investigation into the PGA Tour for potential anti-competitive practices, as it has also done with both the USGA and Augusta National.

To this observer, the initiation of that DOJ antitrust investigation remains one of the most curious and unexplained threads in this story.  The timing seemingly was tied to Biden begging the Saudis to pump more oil, but we all know that the "pariah state" told him to pound sand.  But, given LIV's ties to Trump, why would Biden's DOJ seek to help LIV, other than the need for more of their evil carbon-based energy?

But the charge that Condi attempted to influence the DOJ seems to this observer crazy, if only because I can't imagine that Condi would have any juice with the DOJ.  

You can sort through all of the ANGC members whose communications are being sought, though this seems rather relevant:

The lawsuit is an antitrust case wherein LIV has accused the PGA Tour of organizing a “group boycott” with other governing bodies like Augusta National, the DP World Tour, the PGA of America, the USGA and the R&A. Within its initial complaint, LIV alleged that representatives from Augusta National launched an anti-LIV campaign, threatening to disinvite LIV players from future Masters tournaments if they joined the upstart league.

The PGA Tour policy board directors made their case as well in the joint statement, led by Mary Meeker, a venture capitalist and partner at Bond Capital. LIV’s theory that the Tour “seeded doubt” among top golfers that they’d be banned “is entirely baseless as demonstrated by the fact that the Masters has allowed LIV golfers to compete in the 2023 Masters,” Meeker’s statement read. It was just one month ago that Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley announced that any players already qualified for the 2023 tournament would be invited to play.

I wonder where LIV is going with all this.... Yeah, there might be some useful nuggets in these e-mails, but the larger issue is the timeline.  These discovery battles all take time, and time is the one thing LIV is short on (OK, not only thing, as they're quite obviously short on golfing talent as well).  

And then there's this remind from Geoff about that executive reorganization at LIV:

We also learned from Harig’s report that Greg Norman is assuming an even greater role in LIV operations after Golf Saudi’s Majed Al-Sorour was demoted to a board seat.

These guys say a lot os stupid things, not least this from Al-Sorour:

The “time” became right following Al-Sorour’s infamous remarks to The New Yorker’s Zach Helfand. That’s where he said he would “create my own majors for my players” if the championships banned LIV players.

Hard to see why the folks at Augusta National wouldn't cotton to these folks.  As is usually attributed to Machiavelli, If you're gonna take a shot at the King, you better kill him.

But by far the most amusing part of this is that those taking the shot at the King, expect to be warmly embraced for their efforts.  The will more likely find themselves pariahs, which seems to come as quite the shock.

I've got more of everything except time.... I will probably not blog tomorrow, as I have a call scheduled, but there could even be some weekend blogging depending upon snow and my skiing schedule.  Always good to check back early and often.