Thursday Themes - Pre-Departure Edition

Just a few hits for this morning, before the bride and I head West to see family.  You'll next see me on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending upon the news cycle and your humble blogger's energy level.

LIV Angst - It seems I'm not the only one clueless about what the hell is going on.  I always suggested that, happy talk aside, there seemed little possibility that LIV would not operate in 2024, my logic being that Phil and DJ would need a place to tee it up.  But I certainly didn't have "in perpetuity" on my bingo card:

The acting COO of LIV Golf, Gary Davidson, would not say if the league would resubmit it its application for world ranking points, offering again that the system is flawed if LIV players are not being ranked properly.

And while there are all manner of opinions, nobody can truly say what will happen with the "framework agreement" between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia that has a Dec. 31 deadline.

Not that LIV Golf is viewing it that way. The attitude is “business as usual," with a full schedule to be announced for next year and plans for 2025—as if nothing will change with the PGA Tour. The framework agreement has been viewed as a positive for LIV Golf.

"It’s good for us," Davidson said. "As we’ve said before, we’ve already got long-term commitments for venues, we’ve signed more long-term commitments to certain venues for the next two or three years. So in terms of long-term planning, it’s opened a couple of doors, taken away some headwinds, and we’ve taken that chance to bring on more venue broaden our schedule more internationally. We’re very positive into 2024 and beyond."

So, what have we learned?  That venues, like players, like to cash checks....

But it all seems to make lots of sense, unless you happen to have seen the product.... So, where are they on tackling their deficiencies?  Well, Bryson floated that balloon about them just waving the LIVsters into the Masters.....Sounded reasonable, well, perhaps if you've been into the 'shrooms:

Based on the responses to questions about the status of LIV golfers in major championships put to Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley and R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers on

Thursday in Australia, it does not appear LIV members will be given a special category into the Masters and Open Championship in 2024.

Asked whether the Masters and the Open would create such exemptions for 2024, Slumbers brought up a recent media report suggesting talks were already underway to specifically include LIV golfers, and he rejected that notion.

“There's been some speculation in the media recently on the topic that you're raising,” Slumbers said at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne. “I would say that it is completely off the mark. I would like to make it very clear that exemptions for the Open, we do not discuss them with anyone and nor would we at any point in time. I think it's very important that you don't lose sight of the fact that the Open is intended to be open to everybody; that you earn your place in the field, through exemptions, and that won't change.”

The Open differs from the Masters in that it actively runs qualifying events, both at PGA Tour and DP World Tour events around the world via its Open Qualifying Series, as well as 36-hole final qualifying tournaments. The Masters is an invitational with criteria and special exemptions for entrants.

 Shockingly, these guys don't take orders from nor are they intimidated by the Brysons of the world....

Bob Harig did have this update on major eligibility amongs the LIVoverse:

As it stands, there are 12 LIV players who will be eligible for at least one major championship in 2024. Only five—Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith, DeChambeau and Mickelson—are eligible for all four.

Well, Phil is eligible for the Thursday and Friday portions thereof.... As for the other guys, they apparently considered Greg Norman a reliable source, despite thirty years of evidence to the contrary.

Any other issues for these nice folks?  It just occurred to me that we haven't seen LIV release TV ratings recently, which I'm sure is just an oversight:

LIV Golf’s next big TV test starts now — and the result will reveal much

I'm not at all worried, given how they aced that last such test...

Staeger, LIV’s chief media officer, and his team have faced a host of challenges admirably in the league’s first two years, launching a golf broadcast with a distinct feel and pace practically from

thin air (aided, in part, by limited commercial sponsors). But one area where the upstart league has failed to find its footing quite as gracefully is in the turbulent world of sports television rights, where LIV remains on the hunt for partners heading into year 3.

The league has just one domestic TV rights partner, the CW, a network with which the league has just completed the first season of a two-year agreement. But that deal only covers the league’s weekend broadcasts, not its Friday opening rounds, meaning that approximately 33 percent of LIV’s possible airtime is not being fully monetized.

Are you done laughing at the thought that it's only Friday that hasn't been fully monetized?  There's a reason they no longer announce all six people that tuned in....

I do wish there was some kind of duration measurement in TV ratings, because every single human being that's told me they happened upon a LIV broadcast has added that their viewing window was measured in seconds, not even minutes.

But these guys are relentless about growing our sad little game, so note the bold plan to tackle this issue:

Staeger knows that has to change, which is why, the Hot Mic has learned, he and his team are doubling down on their efforts this week at the Sportel sports media conference in Monaco. Every year, the conference serves as one of the throughlines of the sports-media world — a convention for sports media brands and sports properties from around the globe. Staeger and the media team at LIV are hopeful that their attendance at the event will help expedite preliminary conversations with some of the league’s targets, opening the doors for a new domestic TV and streaming partner(s) to sign on by the beginning of next year.

That's the ticket!  A fancy conference at a warm-weather resort, the aggressive goal being "preliminary conversations", as if the Saudis penchant for writing large checks couldn't open those doors.

But there remain just a few pesky issues:

The big question still facing Staeger is whether LIV can manage to wrangle not only a partner but also a significant one. The major players — CBS, FOX, NBC, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery — have largely stayed out of LIV’s business, but their considerable sports-rights war chest and audience sizes could play a crucial role in solidifying the league’s standing with golf audiences. Interest in golf TV rights remains high among this group, particularly after ESPN signed on to broadcast Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s team golf league, the TGL, beginning in January.

Not exactly.  OK, the Tiger-Rory thing drew interest, but that's Monday night filler that preempts Tin Cup reruns.... LIV's problem is they're peddling a lame product in a niche market where supply already vastly exceeds demand.  Good luck with that, but have a nice time in Casablanca...

And the hits keep on coming, not that this matters in any meaningful sense:

With the 2024 Presidents Cup less than a year away, a recent announcement on the selection

 

criteria make it appear that there is even less wiggle room for LIV players to compete for the American or International teams at Royal Montreal Golf Club next September. For the Americans, six players will qualify off a points lists with six picks going to captain Jim Furyk. For the Internationals, the top six off the Official World Golf Ranking will automatically make the team with Mike Weir picking the remaining six players, up from four captain’s picks in 2022. But in the fine print is the relevant clause impacting LIV players.

That was the same caveat that impacted the two sides during the 2022 competition at Quail Hollow. International captain Trevor Immelman saw the likes of Cameron Smith, Joaquinn Niemann, Abraham Ancer, Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen removed from consideration after they joined LIV during the summer. And American captain Davis Love III was without Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.

Unless there's actually peace in our time..... though that seems increasingly unlikely anytime soon.

Oh, and next year is a leap year, so there's also this:

Column: Getting to the majors is tough for LIV Golf players. Making the Olympics is even harder

No word on whether Stefan will have any thoughts about Olympic golf or allow the defending champion to play.  Also no word on the range of hat sizes available....

This week's Tour Confidential dipped their toe into these waters with this Q&A:

2. In a press conference during LIV Golf’s Team Championship, Phil Mickelson was confident that more PGA Tour and DP World Tour players would join LIV. “Do I think that? No,” he said. “I know that’s going to happen.” How much truth do you think there is in Mickelson’s statement? Given the state of the current golf world and the fact that LIV was just denied World Ranking points, how intrigued do you think pros are to join LIV right now?

Sens: Mickelson is both a LIV player and a LIV PR agent, so everything he says has to be taken in that context. In this case, though, I think he speaks the truth. Seems inevitable that some additional guys will jump; most people have a price, after all. If there’s enough money involved, someone will be intrigued. Whether those will be big names or players of slim relevance is another matter. With so much up in the air with the merger, it’s hard to make the calculus. Or make predictions. While the OWGR’s decision to deny ranking points wasn’t good news for LIV, it could become moot depending on the terms of the deal. We may soon see a world where players can move fluidly between LIV and the other tours. Only time will tell. I doubt even Jimmy Dunne and Yassir know exactly what’s going to happen at this point.

Barath: Similar to what Josh said, I think Phil is throwing whatever predictions he can into the void, so he can claim any that come true as him being right. As for top players, I bet there could be a few who have existing major exemptions who are willing to sign a deal with LIV if the number is high enough. Look, we can be as romantic as we want about the game of golf, but at the professional level, there are a lot of players who are simply there to use their skills to make as much money as possible — and if LIV still has a wide-open checkbook, why not take the money?

Hirsh: Barath took the words straight outta my mouth, err, off my keyboard? Anyway, I totally agree: Mickelson is just throwing you-know-what at the wall and seeing what sticks. I’m not sure he’s as keyed in with discussions as he lets on. I doubt many more PGA Tour players will jump over given how LIV’s future has never been more clouded, given the impending deal with the PGA and DP World Tours. If I’m a pro, there’s no way I’m leaving the PGA Tour for a tour that may not exist in 2025.

Phil, throwing s**t against the wall?  I'm so disillusioned..... 

But mostly that provides one of my signature effortless segues into this Eamon Lynch offering:

Lynch: No one in golf is certain about anything. Except LIV Golf's Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson, of course

Yeah, ain't that the truth....

Uncertainty is the sole currency circulating in the golf world right now. About whether the PGA Tour’s Framework Agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund will be

consummated. About how radical the realignment of the game’s ecosystem will be. About the timeframe for obtaining clarity. About how private investment fits into the schematic. About the degree of dilution the Saudis will accept before losing face. About what the players on the Tour’s board will support. Ask any informed person about these issues and the one response you won’t get is confident assurances. They simply don’t know. The only precinct where bombastic certitude is the coin of the realm is LIV, as evidenced by comments from Norman and Mickelson this week at Trump Doral.

Since the announcement of the Framework Agreement almost five months ago, Norman has been so uncharacteristically muted that his ultimate employer may have enjoined him to silence, though not as permanently as he did Jamal Khashoggi. Clearly, the flaxen-haired finger puppet hasn’t spent those months in quiet contemplation of troubling facts. “All indications show you that the position of LIV has never been stronger and the position and success of our players and our brand has never been in a better place,” he said in Miami.

Even by Eamon's elevated standards, flaxen-haired finger puppet is pretty good....

Eamon's on a roll, so my job is to not get in the way:

What those indicators are, he didn’t share. In reality, his product still has no audience of scale, has attracted no announced buyers for team franchises, despite Bubba Watson insisting he’s besieged by interested parties, and presents a risible broadcast that makes North Korean state television seem comparatively nonpartisan, and for which it no longer publishes viewership figures. The only thing LIV can boast, in abundance, is something that seldom galvanizes genuine fans in any sport: cash.

“The business model works,” Norman added, displaying the kind of bulletproof confidence he could have used on many a second Sunday in April. Perhaps LIV has “never been stronger,” but that owes less to Norman’s management or product quality than to the fact that its sole benefactor views it as a useful (for now) vehicle to legitimacy in the sport.

What might it look like if it didn't work?  

Mickelson, for his part, deserves a Rosie the Riveter-style poster in his likeness, so dependable is he in shilling for the cause. “I’m excited about who’s coming for next year,” he said last week. “Over time, we’ll just keep getting better and better, and getting better players.”

That’s as proximate to a truthful statement as Mickelson has been for some time. There will be new players because LIV announced that at least four members of the current roster will be relegated. It’s also accurate to claim that the quality of players will improve since any new recruits presumably won’t stink as much as those being benched. Asked on Wednesday if he thinks there will be a new movement of players to LIV, Mickelson replied: “Do I think that? No, I know that’s going to happen. When players look at LIV, they want to be a part of it.”

The issue is, of course, the caliber of any new recruits. Is there a single needle-mover willing to make the leap?

Patrick and Xander?   I don't actually think they have the cujones to jump, but they've attended Phil's master class in leverage....

He gets in a Waiting for Godot reference, a rarity in the golf press, but here's his rousing coda:

It’s feasible that an elite star is out there and ready to sign with LIV. The Framework Agreement had a clause halting LIV’s poaching of players, but that stipulation was dropped after Department of Justice scrutiny. Yet what are the odds a top player will jump now amid such ambiguity on the future relationship between the tours? And how likely are the Saudis to imperil negotiations by making such a play? Whoever joins LIV over the winter probably won’t be anyone who sells tickets or draws eyes. The only league signing stars is TGL, the tech-centric outfit backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and partnered with the PGA Tour. Almost every player on Norman’s wish list has committed, which suggests that any team component in a future ecosystem will be seeded from TGL, not LIV. The cocksure bluster of Norman and Mickelson on LIV’s prospects is less a credible promise than mere posturing to comfort the players they have stranded in competitive irrelevance.

The future of professional golf has never been more uncertain or more volatile, a reality that impacts every tour and its members. And just about the only thing all of those players can be sure about is that anyone who “knows,” who claims to see many chess moves ahead, is simply manufacturing a self-serving fantasy.

We're for sure in this weird interregnum, in which the Saudis may well hold back to the extent that they see that Framework Agreement leading to a acceptable deal with the PGA Tour.  Of course, my mind starts wandering towards the scenario under which negotiations break down and all hell breaks loose....

But Eamon is spot-on that anyone who purports to know what's going to happen is blowing smoke.  Which inures to LIV's benefit, because that's Phil's and Sharkie's default position.

Legends Lost - I'm not great at keeping up with these but, we lost two iconic figure recently.  First, the voice of the Open Championship:

Ivor Robson, 1940-2023

The art of announcing golfers has lost its Rembrandt.

The not-so-simple task of alerting spectators to who is on the tee can be more complicated than it

looks. Too often the announcer draws attention to themselves by bungling names and hometowns, upsetting the calming presence golfers appreciate before getting a big round off the ground. Ivor Robson found a way to bring that coolness with just enough sense of the warm and theatrical to infuse 41 years of Open introductions with the perfect dollop of personality.

While there have been imitators (including players respectfully impersonating). But there will only be one Robson to grace a first tee all day and set competitors on their way. He worked his final Open was at St Andrews in 2015 and while there have imitators, his style and touch will never be matched.

The R&A announced his passing Tuesday and published this lovely remembrance of the great first tee voice to the Open.

 

That's a lovely tribute.  The funniest bit I ever saw related to Ivor was K.J. Choi impersonating Robson's introduction of himself, though I haven't been able to find that video in ages.

Betsy Rawls, a 4-time U.S. Women's Open champion, dies at age 95

Betsy Rawls, a four-time U.S. Women’s Open champion, died Saturday at the age of 95, the USGA has confirmed. One of the most prolific winners in golf, Rawls transitioned from a playing

career to tournament administrator in 1975, impacting the LPGA greatly both inside and outside the ropes.

Rawls won 55 times on the LPGA, including eight majors. Only Kathy Whitworth (88), Mickey Wright (82), Annika Sorenstam (72), Louise Suggs (61) and Patty Berg (60) won more.

“There are simply not many careers that can compare to Betsy’s,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan in a release. “Fifty-five wins, eight major titles, LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame, former LPGA president, Bob Jones Award winner. She was a legend in the game who would have been successful in anything she pursued, so we are all lucky she made golf her passion. RIP to a true champion.”

R.I.P.

The Road Not Taken -  Geoff had a provocative Quad post on  the PGA Championship, noting the missed opportunity.  But first, how is May working out?

The PGA Championship held out hopes of becoming more than just a “last chance to win,” with dreams of a May date propelling the PGA of America’s golf instructors into the springtime spotlight when golfers are more apt to book a lesson. PGA’s in May were supposed to deliver better agronomics, weather and venue options than in sultry August.

Since the first edition in 2019 at Bethpage the May date has yet to deliver similar television ratings enjoyed when the PGA was the only major sports event in August. Venues have played fine in May, but it’s already been a close call agronomically after long winters prior to Bethpage, Southern Hills and Oak Hill. Only Kiawah improved under May conditions while the others were amazing testaments to wise superintendents and a little luck. And while not stated publicly, it appears Georgia and Florida courses are not a PGA option.

By following the Masters with late May dates, this has ruled out old PGA cashcows and successful weeks at your Hazeltine’s, Medinah’s and Bellerive’s, plus it seems, at least in unspoken Five Family terms, any venue near The Masters and The Players is out. Even the Pacific Northwest can be less than ideal in May, while Arizona is too hot and devoid of the wintertime residents who would support a championship. California’s prime coastal venues are likely to be foggy.

Fair enough, but let's remember that this organization used its August date to go to Atlanta Athletic Club, Shoal Creek, Valhalla, Kiawah and Southern Hills, just to note a few.  

As noted elsewhere in his piece, this was all trigger5ed by the Olympics, which is odd given that that's a once every four year issue and it affects only a handful of players.

Geoff the revisits a suggestion he made back then:

The obvious candidate to help free up the schedule in Olympic years would have been a February

date in Australia to kick things off. The land Down Under offers the most appetizing potential given the obvious venue quality, a country crying out to host a golf major, and likely government support for something as monumental as a major. They put up $28,000,000 Australian dollars (almost $18 million) for the last Presidents Cup and that’s a tiny event compared to a men’s major.

Tennis’ Australian Open has thrived in January thanks to investment, innovations and the intangible perks of returning annually to magnificent Melbourne. Though if a suitable course could be found, a major in Asia would have had no trouble generating the revenue and excitement necessary to offset cost increases for the PGA and possible advertising hits for television partners. Japan has plenty of swell options.

Geoff even tees up a DEI-compliant opportunity in the sandbelt:

Which brings us to Australia, where they’re playing this week’s Asia Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne. The country and its wise Golf Australia team have given birth to several innovative tournament formats combining men and women’s events (Vic Open, 2022 Australian Open). This alone should be inspiration for the PGA of America, or would it be the World Alliance of PGA’s?

There would be undeniable cost savings of conducting back-to-back championships in the Sandbelt. It’s a market made for such a scenario from the quality of golf to the weather outside of April-to-August, to millions from government and corporate support. Most of all, going international would give the PGA Championship and Women’s PGA enormous reputational and prestige boosts that can never hurt. As nice as spreading out the schedule would be in this scenario to give players the best chance to put on a great show, the ultimate victors would be an organization taken at gunpoint screaming into a sound idea. Wouldn’t be the first time.

That would actually be interesting and would, how do the kids put it, grow the game, so of course we can't allow it to happen.

That's it fore today, kids.  Have a great weekend and we'll catch up sometime next week.

Weekend Wrap - Minimalist Edition

It's going to be a period of light blogging, driven in equal parts by the calendar and my own need to stave off that dreaded condition known as Blogger Burnout.  Plus, every time I blog LIV I need to immediately go shower....

ZoZo Rising - This lachrymose lad just got things back on track:

Before Sunday’s trophy celebration at the Zozo Championship, Morikawa had gone more than two years without tasting a victory on the PGA Tour. He’d battled through swing changes and strange

misses and a balky putter. He’d watched his World Ranking dip and his status fall off.

And so as he addressed the crowds in Japan, where he claims half of his cultural heritage, he started to cry. The weight of the moment had finally set in, and it meant more than almost anyone knew.

Once upon a time, Morikawa had raced onto the scene in pro golf, collecting five wins and two majors in two abbreviated years to start his career. He was an overnight prodigy, a superstar in the making. His game earned fast comparisons to legends of the sport, including his idol, Tiger Woods.

Yeah, that last bit says more about us than about him....

For a while, it seemed Morikawa was this way, too: confident and self-assured, unflappable in the face of controversy. His certainty with a 6-iron seemed to radiate into the other folds of his life, presenting the image of a modern, squeaky-clean superstar.

But then something interesting happened: Morikawa came back to earth. His putter left him first. Then his driver. Then his shot-shape. Each time it seemed he’d figured one thing out, something else fell into disarray.

His consistency, once the calling card of his professional skillset, evaporated. He vacillated wildly between top-5 finishes and missed cuts. He struggled in clutch moments. In one particularly difficult memory, he blew a six-stroke lead on Sunday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to Jon Rahm, losing the tournament without even forcing a playoff.

The Tour Confidential panel takes it from here:

4. Collin Morikawa won the Zozo Championship in Japan, ending a winless drought that

dated back to the 2021 Open Championship. What had been holding him back the past couple of years? And now, as he jumps from 20th to 13th in the World Ranking with the win, do you expect him to crack the top 10 in 2024? Top five?

Sens: The stats tell a pretty clear story. Heading into the week, he was second on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach and 112th in Strokes Gained: Putting. Golfing his ball well but rolling it poorly. This week, he rolled it great. Putting is streaky. The good news for Morikawa is that his ball-striking isn’t likely going anywhere. And I’d wager on him having enough good weeks on the green to crack the top 10.

Barath: For Collin, it has always been about his putting, and it seems like his newest gear change has been a big help to that part of his game. If he is able to maintain a steady level, even if it’s not like it was this week, he will continue to show up on leaderboards in 2024 and beyond. (And here’s the story on his putter!)

Hirsh: Morikawa just needs to have average PGA Tour performances around the greens to win. We really saw how much his short game holds him back when he blew a six-shot lead at the Sentry. And his putting was just never what it needed to be. We didn’t get strokes gained data from the Zozo, but judging from his 26 putts in round four, I bet he’d at least rank among the top 20 in the field in putting. That’s scary for a guy who is nearly guaranteed to hit 13 to 16 greens a round. Plus, he was 17th in the field in scrambling for the week, with five of his seven missed up-and-downs coming in Friday’s 73. The work he’s doing with Stephen Sweeney and Parker McLachlin is clearly paying off.

There's just a million of these guys, the good ball-strikers who need to achieve mere mediocrity with the putter to have good weeks out there.  Now he won bi six, which is perhaps better than just a merely good week, although against a highly suspect field.

LIVing On Riyadh Time - You'll forgive the absence of extensive blogging of the Crushers dramatic win yesterday?   There's an old saying in politics, to wit, that if you're explaining, you're losing.  I assume the same applies here:

Explaining the format: $50 million 2023 LIV Golf Team Championship moves to stroke play for final round

Yeah, except that exactly no one read past that $50 million citation....There's exactly zero news of the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations, except that the absence of news is kind of newsworthy on its own.... And we're left to interpret the actions and comments of those who may be more in the loop, which are emitting quite the weird vibe these days.  Here's a quick take from Geoff:

As genuinely awful a “product” as LIV is—I swear it was on for 15 hours Sunday—I could never last more than five minutes between the announcing and incessant C-list DJ’ing in the background.

Yet signs of a fraying “framework agreement” have the Saudi lapdogs talking a big game going into the holiday season. If even half the Cleeks and Majesticks’ bullishness bears out, what a wild winter men’s golf’s in for.

The Telegraph’s James Corrigan summed up the key moments nicely here (paywall), noting Phil Mickelson’s doubling down on his life as Jerry Maguire fielding calls from PGA Tour players desiring of a move backed by PIF cash.

Geoff is actually in his early 50's, not quite as young as his cherubic features imply, but I'm relieved to have a somewhat younger man opine as to how genuinely awful the LIV product is.  If you wanted to kill off the game of golf, what would you do differently?

But I'm guessing it's that "fraying" bit that got your attention, not the first time Geoff has so indicated.  But what an odd and unprecedented juncture we find ourselves in, though one that should be a target0rich environment for a wiseass blogger....

So, what might a world in which the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations go, don't hate me, pffff, look like?  My first thought is of those investment banks lining up at the door to fund the Tour's For-Profit entity, because I can't imagine any of them putting capital at risk with PIF continuing to burn money to power wash their human rights record.... On the other hnad, Phil, Sergio and PReed being forced to continue to play their golf within that Cone of Silence seems, well, win-win, baby!

So, wither LIV in the absence of a deal?  Well, there are some trial balloons, including a rare Shark sighting.  This guy tries to untangle it all:

Is LIV Golf's future as robust as they say, or as bleak as reported after deal with PGA Tour?

Except for there being no deal yet with the PGA... He goes through the recent nonsense from Phil and Bubba, among others, then this bravado:

For a league that many believed was on life support four months ago and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was ready to pull the plug, the optimism and confidence within LIV’s headquarters is brimming.

“The main conversation from our side is business as usual,” Davidson said. “The focus is on LIV, it’s on what next year and beyond looks like.”

The storylines that came out of the framework agreement between the PIF (LIV’s financial backers), PGA Tour and DP World Tour painted a bleak picture for LIV. If it passes the U.S. Justice Department sniff test, the deal will combine commercial businesses and rights into a new for-profit company majority-owned by the PGA Tour, and Monahan making the decisions.

 Sorry to quibble, but LIV has always been on life support from the PIF...

Team and league sponsorships are being signed at a steady pace. The league is finalizing its 2024 schedule. Norman, Davidson and several players continue to insist the league is in a position of strength and will be expanding.

“Everywhere we go, we grow value, we grow value, we grow in value,” said Norman, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens. “The business model works. If anybody wants to sit down and understand that business model and actually see it for what it truly is, then you’ll see the reason why we are in the position we are in today.”

They have sponsors?  Who knew?  But before we accept that at face value, how are those CW ratings?

The piece originated in the Palm Beach Post, and they seem awfully willing to regurgitate LIV's talking points uncritically, no?   They're not quite up to the standards of the New York Times admitted, and I'll just gratuitously excerpt this amusing bit from the Babylon Bee:

New York Times Patiently Awaiting Zoom Call From Hamas To See What They Should Print Today

I wouldn't want to be writing satire these days, as reality overtakes facts on the ground too quickly.

But this was quite the slam, just couldn't tell if it was intentional:

LIV needs more star players to move the needle

LIV can talk about finding more U.S. sponsors and its upcoming transfer window and a promotion event in seven weeks in Abu Dhabi, all interesting and important to the future of the league. But the one subject that moves the needle is adding players to a field that still lacks the firepower when compared to, not only the PGA Tour, but now the TGL, the virtual golf league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to be staged in Palm Beach Gardens.

Heh!  You could add Korn Ferry as well...

Geoff picks up on Brandel's recent comments, which are both spot on but why now?

Chamblee later recognised that it is “inevitable others will join” but insisted that “very few stars that truly make a difference”. However, he also conceded that “[Jon] Rahm worries me a bit”.

Yeah, you heard it here first, after "Fealtygate."   Rahm is quite the conundrum, because he simultaneously makes the most trenchant arguments for the PGA and against LIV,  then goes to dinner with Phil.

I'm already looking a the clock and want to get to one more story, so let me leave you with a marker.  I'm trying to sort through in my mind whether LIV looks appealing to a Jon Rahm (or any of the terrific peni) if the negotiations break down.  To me it's a clearly failed product, but to these guys?  hard to tell, the dispositive factor likely being the number of zeros on the check.

Roman Holiday - I thought Xander's defense of his father's comments especially lame.  I think this bit about blaming the media goes back to Cato the Elder, but I also didn't think I explained my reaction all that well.  here's Geoff's take:

Stefan Schauffele talked to anyone who would listen about the horrible plight of his son having to play the Ryder Cup for free.

From No Laying Up to multiple outlets including The Times and Golf.com, the elder Schauffele left no doubt about where he and his manbun stand by saying that his son and Patrick Cantlay were in strong agreement about the gross effort of for-profit entities reaping money off the Ryder Cup play of his (1-3 in 2023) son.

Naturally, son Xander said in his ZOZO pre-tournament presser that the media twisted dad’s relentless, aggressive on-the-record cray-cray.

“I had to look back at what he said specifically, and he specifically said that if the tournament's for-profit, then players should get paid. He also said that if it's charitable – it should be a charitable event most likely and that everything should get donated.

“I don't know, when I look back on what he said, I think the headlines sort of skewed obviously what he was trying to say, but I don't think he ever really spoke directly to what you're referring to in terms of playing getting paid. He just said it should be either or, not really as confusing as it is.”

Total crap.

Just to recap, papa revealed that his son was essentially off the Ryder Cup team for a bit after demanding an agreement while demanding pay from Netflix, and probably skipped a team practice trip in protest while calling for the books to be opened up with a range of solutions offered that wildly contradicted his gripes about the PGA of America profiting off his son.

No headline skewed papa Stefan’s remarks.

Just a reminder, when they tell you it isn't about the money.... The ironic it being that Stefan was not only shooting his mouth off the anyone with a spiral notebook, but he was remarkably clear in his thoughts.  No clarification needed...

But this from Lucas Glover is the better catch.  It's pretty clear that those reports of the rift in the team room were accurate, despite certain apologists trying to cover for the hatless wonder:

Just when the fire crews were packing up and no embers were emanating from Rome’s Waldorf Astoria, we’ve got all available engines reporting to a Team USA flair-up after the spurned Lucas Glover went on Radio Sawgrass.

“It broke my heart the week after to hear about how splintered the room was and things about money and different things. That's not at all what the Ryder Cup stands for. And I'm not just going on what I've read and been told, I've talked to some people who were there in the fight, and it breaks my heart to hear that because that's not what it's about, that's not what it stands for and it's not why I want to play on that team.”

Lucas, you poor ignorant slut.  You just don't understand that we simply can't grow our game without putting millions more in Cantlay's pocket....

I'll leave you here.  This will be  alight blogging week, though I'm not exactly sure how light.  We're also traveling next weekend, so there will be no Wrappage next Monday.  Have  agreat week.

 

Bonus Saturday Blogging

With our fifth consecutive Saturday rainout upon us, what's a fellow to do?  Given that I fell slightly guilty about taking that back half of the weekend off....

LIV In The Time of Cholera - Hey, at least I didn't go with a Wings song like you-know who.....

It's been an interesting two weeks for sure, as so many idiots have self-identified as being entirely comfortable with Jew killing.  Alas, Alan Shipnuck might readily fit in that category, although first I want to revisit one of Alan's Olympic-worthy pieces of moral equivalency, from back in March:

I still haven’t found out if you are for or against LIV? @ReneSchaufuss

Good. Why do I have to pick a side? The golf world, and the golf media, has already become too tribal. I am intrigued by LIV, and exasperated and amused. The new league has made some monumental mistakes and gotten some things right. The players can be obnoxiously self-righteous and comically oppressed, but they also make a lot of good points. The tournaments are kind of ridiculous but also sort of fun. The Saudi Arabian government has done, and continues to do, abhorrent things, and the outcry around the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi undoubtedly stoked the sportswashing campaign that birthed LIV. But from the genocide of the Native Americans to the internment of Japanese citizens to the treatment of Blacks during the Jim Crow years to the torture at Abu Ghraib and the policy of “extraordinary rendition,” the U.S. government has often been on the wrong side of history. The source of LIV’s money is extremely uncomfortable, but it’s also true that we all happily burn Saudi oil and many American politicians (and business leaders) are in bed with the Kingdom, so it seems weird to hold golfers to a higher standard than public servants. I know nuance is unfashionable in these polarized times, but that is what I aspire to.

Do you see the parlor trick?  First he has to assure us of his impeccable moral judgment, notice the speed with which he works through his alleged Saudi concerns, before pulling up a chair to dig into the entrée, which is his lengthy recitation of all the moral failings of the U.S.  Now, you might also notice how feeble that U.S. list is... I mean, I'm not minimizing Jim Crow, but it was, yanno, a while ago and I'm guessing Abu Ghraib and extraoridnary rendition doesn't get your pinkos to the barricades quite like it did twenty yuears ago, eh?

It seems he wants a world in which no one is ever subject to any moral standings, except that you'll know that that's not true......  In fact, there's only one party that's ever held to any standards, and those standards are always unachievable.  Are you ready for it, here's Alan working up a head of steam:

The Bloody Truth

With a Dec. 31 deadline looming for the PGA Tour and the PIF, the stakes are rising as parties jockey for position in golf’s new world order

In Gaza and Israel, the streets run red with blood. In London, the blue bloods at the OWGR vote to uphold the status quo and deny LIV Golf precious World Ranking points in its ongoing

attempts at respectability. In Ponte Vedra Beach, Jay Monahan and his lieutenants flail for a consensus and a way forward. In New York and Silicon Valley and even Hollywood, private equity sharks and other moneyed predators circle, eying an embattled sport. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers watch every twist and turn intently, subpoenas at the ready. Meanwhile, the pros play through all the noise, chasing cartoonish checks—this week alone, a combined $58.5 million is up for grabs in Florida and Japan. (That $50 million of it is being handed out at LIV Miami speaks to the disparities between the haves and the have-mores that has cleaved the sport.)

Professional golf, as never before, convulses from events in faraway lands and shadowy back rooms. Who could have ever guessed that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia putting out a statement of support for Palestine would impact the future of the PGA Tour? Mohammed bin Salman had previously been laying the groundwork for an unprecedented normalization of relations with Israel, but last week, in the wake of Hamas’s terrorists attack and Israel’s extreme military reaction, MBS said, “The kingdom continues to stand by the Palestinian people in their pursuit of their legitimate rights, striving for a dignified life, realizing their hopes and aspirations, and achieving a just and lasting peace.” Given that MBS’s Public Investment Fund is in protracted negotiations to forge a partnership with the PGA and European Tours, his carefully chosen words still inflamed an already delicate situation for professional golf.

The bolding is mine, but you see the sickness in the liberal mind.  

Hamas paragliders are free to paraglide in to Israeli territory, beheading infants and gang-raping women, but the Israeli military reaction is dismissed as "extreme"?  Like you, I of course live my life according to the dictates of Alan's preening and virtue-signaling sense of right, but what would Alan recommend to the Israelis in response to this medieval attack?  It's pretty clear that the Israelis are not allowed to protect and defend themselves so Alan,. you can go to hell.

And Alan, this is the region in which Israel operates:

Just to be clear, Alan, the Hamas charter still calls for sweeping the Jews into the sea.  Just to be clear, Alan, I'm putting you into the Pro "Wiping out the Jews" camp, because that's exactly what you're supporting when you parrot Hamas propaganda.

But even within the ne column Alan can't decide what kind of world he wants to live in:

LIV has always been about much more than golf, chief among them money, power and politics. This week LIV is paying a former U.S. president millions of dollars to host its season-ending extravaganza at Trump Doral. As President, Donald Trump helped bin Salman maintain his iron grip on power amid international outrage over the state-sanctioned assassination of Jamaal Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi journalist who had become MBS’s fiercest critic. (When MBS was vulnerable, Trump dispatched U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Riyadh for photo ops and staged denials. “Mike, go and have a good time,” Trump said, according to Pompeo’s recent memoir. “Tell him he owes us.” It was a make-or-break diplomatic rescue mission that blunted efforts to isolate MBS in the halls of Congress and around the world.) It must be noted that Al-Rumayyan has donned a Make America Great Again hat when playing in the pro-am at LIV events at Trump courses.

But, Alan, you're the guy that says we can't criticize the Saudis, because Abu Ghraib or something.... You're happy to point out Jay Monahan's hypocrisy, and that's admittedly hard to miss, though you seem rather clueless as to your won.

But what does Alan fail to admit?  That the whole world has gone to hell since January 2021..... But while here he's trying to make fun of Trump and Mike Pompeo, above he did actually acknowledge the great work those two did to align Sunni Arab states against Iran, all of which the Biden administration has undermined to our misfortune.

Thank you, Alan, for clarifying that you stand with the baby beheaders and gang rapists.  Noted.

I'm done with that particular rant, but there's lots of LIV-related idiocy to be found elsewhere.  First, Greg Norman hasn't been seen anywhere lately, with the exception of milk cartons.  But, it so happens that everything is going according to plan:

Norman spoke with a small group of reporters at this week’s LIV Golf Team Championship at Doral, a former PGA Tour venue where Norman won in 1990, 1993 and 1996.

“I knew it wasn’t true,” Norman said regarding reports of his potential ousting. “There’s so much

white noise running around out there, I paid very, very, I actually paid zero attention to it. I know sitting in this seat today, I know every step I’ve made has been for the right reasons, right reasons for the game of golf. … So I was never in any fear of anybody saying anything or any animus against me or anything like that. Because the business model works.”

The two-time Open champion and former World No. 1 said LIV's 2024 schedule—which officials say will be released within weeks—was an indication the league was full steam ahead. LIV will have eight overseas events and six in the U.S. New international events will be held in Hong Kong and South Korea, while the league will return to Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Singapore, Spain and England.

"As we look forward into 2024, we’ve got a full schedule now, some places we’ve been to before, but we’ve got some new venues as well, reaching different new regions," Norman said.

Ya got that?  The business model works.....reminds me of the old Steve Martin bit about how to become a millionaire.  First step, get a million dollars.... As long as the Wahabis are willing to piss away $2 billion large, Sharkie is your man.

This had me laughing, though:

“The framework agreement really is a bit of a catalyst because of the recognizing the commercialization of what we are doing here at LIV,” Norman said. “Private equity has never been invested in the game. We’re an asset class now. And that asset class is in the teams.”

OK, you better be, because you're certainly not a golf tour....

But for those tired of their pablum about growing the game, hold my beer as you read this Norman-written editorial:

When we started LIV Golf, our mission was to change the game of golf for the better – to innovate and make the game we love more diverse and attractive to a broader, younger, more

international audience. Our goal is to be a force for good, and already, we’ve seen an explosion of support around the world, particularly from young people and young families, who believe in the mission and love the experience of attending a LIV Golf tournament.

We’ve accomplished so much over the last two years to move the sport into the future and give fans of all ages an experience that they’ll never forget. But our mission is so much bigger than just the game. At LIV, we believe golf has incredible potential to create significant positive social change, potential that has never truly been unleashed. We can upend the status quo and push the boundaries of how things have always been done in golf.

Potential, Unleashed, our recently launched social impact and sustainability strategy, reflects our ideas to address the challenges facing our society and our planet. Our guiding principles focus on two main ideas: positively impacting the lives of 5.4 million young people across the world and becoming climate-positive by 2030.

They're not doing it just to grow the game, they're also saving the planet..... Apparently by having a bunch of entitled millionaires hop on private planes, but thank God they're doing God's work.

So, it was LIV that stopped the rise of the oceans?  Not Obama?  I'll have to correct my style book...

Just a reminder at this point that the LIV-PGA Deal is supposed to be wrapped up by year-end, and we've been reliably informed by Jay Monahan that LIV's continued existence is at the convenience of, checking notes, Jay Monahan.... Yeah, Alan touched on where things stand with that:

Monahan spent a year demonizing the Saudis, up until the moment his tour was running out of money. Then he sold a piece of his soul to forge a tenuous armistice. The framework agreement announced in June had a lot of words but no hammers; it was basically a pledge to try to work things out, but there is nothing binding in the document, including the notion that the Saudis can veto other investors. Even the Dec. 31 expiration date is fungible, with room for an extension. Good thing, too; one finance titan deeply involved in the negotiations says, “It’s a mess. Any deal is always about more than the numbers—there is a human element. There are so many obstacles to getting this done, starting with government scrutiny and intense media attention. But the cast is too big. There is too much ego and too many agendas.”

Is there any chance a deal will be consummated by the Dec. 31 deadline?

“Not really, no. I’m sure it will get extended. And changed.”

The LIV guys have been chirping lately, although they do seem in a world of hurt.  For instance:

Seeing how far LIV Golf pros have fallen in the Official World Golf Ranking continues to be shocking

Something they might well have thought through beforehand.... 

But Phil initially was crowing on June 6th, whereas he now seems to be singing from a different hymnal:

Speaking Wednesday ahead of LIV Golf’s teams championship in Miami, the six-time major winner was asked if there will be an “exodus” of players from golf’s two major tours.

“Do I think that? No. I know that's going to happen,” Mickelson said at Trump Doral. “When players look at LIV, they are wanting to be a part of it. Everybody here is happy … [they are] enjoying the team aspect of it and the camaraderie and playing golf globally. There are a lot of players that see that and want to be a part of it. But the reality is, I've been fielding calls, as we all have, from players that are free agents to PGA Tour players to DP World Tour players that want to come over. You know, the spot's probably going to be filled by the time the qualifying tournament is here.”

Listen, Phil, I know the two of us haven't seen eye-to-eye in some time, but could do me a slid and take Patrick and Xander?  We're pretty fed up with them, so they're perfect for you guys....

But there's this wee little problem, one the OWGR folks tried to point out:

If there is any significant interest from players to join LIV in 2024, the question is who would be squeezed out of the league, and how? The top 24 on LIV’s points standings who are guaranteed for next season were cemented last week after its individual season finale. The 20 players who finished from 25th to 44th on points includes players who are contracted to the league beyond 2024. Those 20 are now open to being traded among teams, while four players were relegated to qualifying school set for Abu Dhabi in December. LIV also needs to account for four more players in 2024: the winner of the Asian Tour’s International Series order of merit—which is currently Andy Ogletree—and three others who will earn LIV cards at qualifying school.

Did you catch the news on relegation?  Yeah, not sure we have enough asterisks to demonstrate how bogus it all is:

LIV’s relegated four.

A quick primer on LIV’s relegation system: If you finish in the top 24 in the season-long standings, you’re locked in for 2024 on your same team. If you finish 25-44 in the standings you’re in what’s called the Open Zone, which means you can get re-signed by your LIV team or another LIV team but there are no guarantees. (Matthew Wolff, for instance, seems unlikely to return to Koepka’s Smash GC.) And then if you finish 45th or worse, you’re in what’s known as the Drop Zone (incidentally also the name of this beloved, award-winning golf podcast) and face mandatory relegation, which means you’re booted from LIV unless you play your way back through the league’s promotions tournament, which is expected before the end of 2023.

There’s one wrinkle: Team captains are immune from relegation.

So who got booted from LIV? That would be Jediah Morgan, James Piot, Chase Koepka and Sihwan Kim, who logged just one top-20 between them in 14 events each.

Seriously,  Jediah Morgan was playing on LIV and they still think they deserve OWGR points?  But this is the laugh-out-loud funny part, some guys can't play badly enough the be relegated:

The captain exemption protected Lee Westwood (45th) and Martin Kaymer (49th), while Bernd Wiesberger played his way to safety with an 11th-place finish to ascend to 41st.

Can someone explain to me how Martin Kaymer can be in 49th place on a tour with 48 players?  But shouldn't Phil be on that list as well....

But to me the saddest case there is James Piot, a former U.S. Amateur Champion who elected to forego the grind of qualifying for the PGA Tour to cash an easy seven-figure check.  Just a horrible decision for a young man, in your humble bloggers esteemed opinion.  He's denying himself the experience of that grind, a hard path indeed, but one that allows a young player to develop their game.  My belief is that James Piot will now look back and never know how good he may have become, because he didn't bet on himself.

But boy are they bringing the silliness.  Just like the big-boy tour bragging about all the merchant banks that have returned a pone call, this I'm sure has to be true:

Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson say suitors are lined up to purchase stake in their respective LIV teams

Bubba is so damn cute, having taken the riches because he's no longer a relevant player, I'm sure they're lined up at the door:

Speaking at LIV Golf’s $50 million season-ending team championship in Miami, two-time Masters winner Watson said he had been fielding requests from others to purchase his RangeGoats team as far back as April.

Watson would not reveal the price he’d set on his RangeGoats, which includes LIV’s 2023 season-long individual champion, Talor Gooch, as well as Harold Varner III and former DP World Tour star Thomas Pieters.

“The evaluation, it's not a small number,” Watson said at Trump Doral. He is also part owner of the AA baseball team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. “We're pretty high up. Luckily, I've had a franchise, I've been part of a baseball team, so I know how things work and run and been part of those discussions about things.

“[We have had] anywhere from 10 to 20 people have asked to buy the RangeGoats. There were three in Singapore [where Gooch won the LIV Singapore event], and then after Singapore the floodgates opened, there was even more. There's been talk this week. I met with people this week.”

Ummm, psst, Bubba, the word you looking for was "valuation", but please check back after money has changed hands....

But if any of these franchises had actual value, this would be the one, no?  But even DJ will only beclown himself so much:

Added Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open winner and 2020 Masters champion: “There's quite a bit of interest. Each team is going to differ. We'll get more into that in the offseason once we are done after this week.”

Just remember that the team competition is what makes LIV different and it's the value of these franchises that will yield a return on investment to the PIF.  So, pretty important how that team competition comes off this week, right?  I mean, this is their Super Bowl and World Series all wrapped up into one nice package.

So, how's it going?

Vegas oddsmaker dunks all over LIV Golf's team finale with shocking reveal

 Do tell:

Depending on who you talk to, LIV Golf is either doomed or about to dominate the pro golf landscape. Yes, we're referring to the ever-optimistic Phil Mickelson with the latter. But while there are questions about the league's future—especially with the partnership with the PGA Tour still being worked out—the numbers haven't seemed to be on LIV's side.

First, there's the matter of painfully low TV ratings on the CW that magically seemed to vanish after a few (tough) weeks. Then there's the repeated denial of Official World Golf Ranking points. And now, as we head into the team championship at Doral, one Vegas oddsmaker has delivered quite a dagger as well.

This week's event, which started Friday afternoon, is the season finale and it's supposed to be a big deal. Afer all, the entire basis of LIV and why it's so different than the PGA Tour is that it's a team-driven league. But according to Superbook Sport's Jeff Sherman, no one is betting on it. Literally.

I don’t think anyone will be … we have 1 ticket across all jurisdictions on this team format https://t.co/kmS8AHkQXP— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) October 20, 2023

ONE ticket?! At one of the biggest sportsbooks in the land?! How is that possible?!

 That many?

It's completely lame, so why would anyone give a rat's ass about it?

Now, I don't know why anyone would bet on golf under any circumstances, but you'll agree that this is pretty damn funny:

But somehow, it gets even worse. Golf News Net's Ryan Ballangee asked Sherman to compare this week's LIV betting action to that of the PGA Tour Champions, AKA the Senior Tour, and, well . . .

13X LIV lol— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) October 20, 2023

Ouch. This doesn't mean LIV is dead, but people will bet on anything, and yet they aren't betting on LIV's biggest team event? That can't be a good sign.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys.... To be fair, a round-belly event is far more exciting than anything these clowns have put on.

Damage Control Fail - That U.S. Ryder Cup team really made us proud, eh?  Standing up for truth, justice and the almighty dollar.  Terrific Peni Nos. 1 nd 2 have mercifully taken a powder recently, but now one of them is back to deal with the clean-up in Aisle 3:

Xander Schauffele clarifies his father's 'skewed' Ryder Cup comments

This will be good because, as the article lays out, Stegfan's comments were the epitome of clarity, he simply wants his spawn paid.  

But, as the header makes clear, we know who Xander will blame:

"If you look at what he said, I wasn't super fired up that he was speaking to media just because I know how things get twisted," Schauffele said. "I had to look back at what he said specifically, and he specifically said that if the tournament's for-profit, then players should get paid. He also said that if it's charitable—it should be a charitable event most likely and that everything should get donated."

Ryder Cup players aren't paid directly, but they do receive $200,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, plus have all their travel accomodations paid. And according to the PGA of America, 20 percent of Ryder Cup media rights fees also go to PGA Tour players’ deferred compensation plans.

"I don't know, when I look back on what he said, I think the headlines sort of skewed obviously what he was trying to say, but I don't think he ever really spoke directly to what you're referring to in terms of playing getting paid," Schauffele said. "He just said it should be either or, not really as confusing as it is."

Yeah, except that Xander is gaslighting us, because Stefan made clear that he thinks the only thing holding back the event is that there's nothing in it for his son:

“If the PGA of America is a for-profit organization, they need to have the players share in that profit instead of being so damned intransparent about it with intent,” Stefan said. “They should reveal the numbers, and then we should go to the table and talk. Alternatively, they can donate all proceeds after opening the books to a charity of our joint choice, and then we will happily play for free. Please print that.”

“I think it’s absolutely non-controversial,” he continued. “Imagine if the winners got $2 million and the losers get nothing. How good of a competition would we have now? I think it could be made so much better because of that. I don’t see a negative there. I think we need to talk about it without bringing up the issue of patriotism, which I think is a really, really cheap shot. Because they’re so wrong, especially these (PGA of America members) are not owning any mirrors in their houses because they’re the ones that are not patriotic. Hopefully the conversation, in seriousness, leads to talks about it that make sense. And then everyone can be happy.”

Not only is the PGA of America a not-for-profit, but notice how his son plays cute with that bit....  But he actually thinks that we care about the money, and that the only way to make the event of interest is to pay Xander.

LIV wants more players and Patrick and you don't seem happy where you are, so Win-Win, baby!

Tiger In Full - In the modern history of our game, the three American players have forged a unique bond with the town and citizens of St. Andrews.  The first was Bobby Jones, who after walking off the Old Course after making a big number on the Par-3 11th hole, though he always insisted that he never actually ripped up his scorecard.

Jones subsequently fell in love with the Old Course and he and Sr. Mackenzie used it as the defining template for the creation of Augusta National.  Jones' returned to St. Andrews in 1958, and I'll allow the great Herbert Warren Wind to describe that scene, one that typically results in your humble blogger reaching for the Kleenex:

There were several other assemblies during the week that will be long remembered by those fortunate enough to attend them. They were held to honor Robert Tyre Jones Jr., the truly immortal Bobby, who had come over to captain the American team. It was his first visit to St. Andrews since 1936 when he had sneaked into town, he thought, to play a quiet round and found 2,000 townspeople waiting for him at the first tee. Before he had finished his round, the whole town had come down to the links and was following him. This quite unique love affair between an athlete and a town—and a foreign town to boot—did not "take" in 1921 on Bobby's first visit to St. Andrews, when he could not get along with the Old Course and picked up in the middle of the British Open. But he came back for Walker Cup matches, and he came back in 1927 to win the British Open on the Old Course with a record-breaking score, and it was on the Old Course in 1930 that he won the British Amateur and was started on his grand slam. And during these visits an affection and mutual respect grew up between Jones and the golf-wise people of St. Andrews that has never died. Perhaps they love Bobby even better in St. Andrews than they do in Atlanta, and if you think this is going too far, do not be too sure.

In any event, there was one grand evening, a team dinner in the Borough Hall, and whenever Bobby's team was mentioned in one of the speeches, every St. Andrean jumped to his feet and roared his affection for his dream-golfer and old friend. Later in the week at another assembly in the Younger Hall auditorium Bob was made an honorary freeman of the Borough of St. Andrews, the first American to be so honored since Benjamin Franklin. (As you probably know by now, this allows him to take divots on the Old Course, to chase rabbits there, and to dry his laundry on the first and 18th fairways.) It would be wonderful to be able to present the complete transcript of the ceremony that night, and worthwhile to do so. That is out of the question, though, and so we must limit ourselves to a few of the meaningful remarks Bob Jones made in reply to the provost's graceful address in which (with the packed galleries of Scots stamping and shouting their endorsement) he was saluted as "the most distinguished golfer of this age...I might say, of all times." Bobby spoke for 10 minutes, beautifully and movingly. He told his friends in the audience, "You people have a sensitivity and an ability to extend cordiality in ingenious ways." He said of the Old Course, "The more you study it, the more you love it, and the more you love it, the more you study it." He said near the end of his talk, "I could take out of my life everything except my experiences at St. Andrews and I'd still have a rich, full life." He left the stage and got into his electric golf cart. As he directed it down the center aisle to leave, the whole hall spontaneously burst into the old Scottish song, Will Ye No' Come Back Again? So honestly heartfelt was this reunion for Bobby Jones and the people of St. Andrews (and for everyone) that it was 10 minutes before many who attended were able to speak again with a tranquil voice.

And now I might need ten minutes to compose myself....

Jack Nicklaus won two Opens at St. Andrews, and was awarded a similar honor to Jones:

Benjamin Franklin. Bobby Jones. Jack Nicklaus.

That’s the full extent of the Americans bestowed honorary citizenship in the Royal Burgh of St.

Andrews.

It’s something special to be in company with Jones, the great amateur golfer who won the 1927 British Open here and boyhood hero of Nicklaus, and Franklin, known as the first American, the Newton of Electricity and the Prophet of Tolerance. It made Nicklaus, an 18-time major champion and three-time Champion Golfer of the Year, choked up and teary-eyed.

“When I won the Open in 1966 at Muirfield I couldn’t speak and I can’t speak right now,” said Nicklaus as he wiped away a tear with a handkerchief Tuesday at Younger Hall at St. Andrews University upon receiving the one-of-a-kind distinction.

There's this other guy that has also won two Opens on the Old Course, and seems to understand its importance in our game and strategic intricacies.  But when it comes to the people of the Royal Burgh of St. Andrews?  C'mon, guys, he's got a brand to exploit:

Just a month ago, Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake opened a “dining and entertainment experience” in midtown Manhattan. The T-Squared Social enterprise opened to positive reviews,

a hubbub of press and a good deal of excitement. The same certainly cannot be said about the duo’s plans to replicate their NYC success at St Andrews.

Woods and Timberlake’s project of transforming the Scottish 1930s New Picture House into a “premium sports and entertainment gastro pub” has been met with much resistance by locals in the area fond of the historic independent cinema. Residents want to protect the region's beloved movie theater and are irritated by the potential sports bar that would mostly appeal to tourists. A campaign to not allow Woods and Timberlake to “strip away a vital part of our town's identity and history,” organized by University of St Andrews student and President of the St Andrews Film Society Ash Johann Curry-Machado, already has almost 9,000 signatures within just seven days.

“The proposed transformation of the New Picture House into a luxury sports bar by T-Squared Social, an American company, is deeply alarming," reads the petition. "Under these plans, the cinema will be reduced to a single screen, overshadowed by golf simulators and cocktail bars that cater predominantly to wealthy tourists. 

“St Andrews is a town with a rich Scottish identity, and the New Picture House has played an indispensable role in preserving that heritage. Converting it into another sports bar is a grave mistake that will contribute to the ongoing gentrification of our beloved town. Our culture, our heritage, and our community spirit are at stake. We must act now before it’s too late!”

Yeah, he's no Bobby or Jack, which no doubt the citizen's of St. Andrews are figuring out themselves.

That's it for today kids.  I mostly blogged so that I won't feel guilty if I don't feel the need to on Monday.  Enjoy your weekend.