With LIV Golf currently stealing players and decimating the PGA Tour it’s important to remind golf fans that there is still competitive golf being played in the USA.
It hasn’t ceased to exist as a sport.
There is still a form of professional golf available for you to watch on television or attend in person. But LIV Golf is really screwing over golf fans. LIV is a joke league that is filled with greedy weirdos. It should be scorned by decent people. Jon Rahm leaving for LIV (and 300 million dollars) only confirmed what I already knew about him- total weasel. Rory McIlroy has tried to bridge the gap between LIV (barbarism) and the PGA Tour (civilization) by saying he’s been too hard on players who took the easy money and split for LIV.
They were well-intentioned comments that took the right tone but mainly were an admission that this sham league is here to stay, so we might as well try and get along with them. I don’t want to get along with them. I think it is incumbent on real golf fans to mock the players who left for LIV. It doesn’t have to be heckling or anything of that sort, but when you see Phil Mickelson playing at the Masters, scream out, “Go High Flyers!” (Phil’s LIV golf team, whatever that means)…if you say it loud enough, everyone will know you are being sarcastic because there’s no person on earth that actually roots for a LIV golf team because again, the league is a joke and nobody authentically watches. “Go High Flyers!!” It’s perfect- just do it.
How ridiculous is LIV golf? Check out the highlights of these LIV tournaments. There are nine fans in the gallery. That’s no exaggeration- their bell cow Jon Rahm was playing on the final day in Dubai, and there were more cameramen and production people than fans. Disgraceful. They also just gave Anthony Kim, who hasn’t been relevant in over a decade, over 30 million dollars to play in their joke league. He doesn’t even have to win to get the 30 million – just play. And it’s a good thing because he’s terrible. There are probably 5,000 golfers in the world better than Anthony Kim, so LIV signed him up. Greg Norman, LIV’s CEO, is a very off-putting man, and anything affiliated with his name will fail. Norman may have ungodly amounts of money, a beautiful wife and family, and a legacy, but he is still a failure. He just is, and normal people know this. It’s akin to the fact that LIV may succeed, but only because the Saudis will throw infinite money behind it. However, it’s still a failure. It makes sense that Norman is their CEO.
Greg Norman reacts during the LIV Golf Invitational – London Draft on June 07, 2022 in London, England. (Aitor Alcalde/LIV Golf/Getty Images)
This league should be shunned by all decent people.
Shun anyone who talks about LIV. A good shunning is what they deserve. The old-school Amish way of shunning is best. And has any LIV player pledged the ungodly money they made to any charities? I haven’t heard anything significant. Jon Rahm got 300 million, and I haven’t heard of any significant donation of funds. He may have started a “foundation,” but nine times out of 10, that’s actually a tax shelter. People forget the PGA Tour is one of the most charitable organizations in the world.
As far as the PGA Tour is concerned, The Players Championship will be really fun to watch this week. The scene is a nice mix of a Southern cocktail party, an amusement park, and a retirement picnic. Having walked the course for the practice round, I made some observations. Some things were good, some bad, and some were like Bill Maher (ugly).
Lots of women have lots of tattoos. Not just one tattoo of a rose or a kitten on their ankle. We are talking sleeves of tattoos covering their entire arm or leg. I’m not sure if these women realize that tattoos are permanent. They will be grandmas with tattoos on top of their varicose veins. Fortunately, I did not see any face tattoos, so I guess that’s something. Will face tattoos be normal in 10 years? Will there be kindergarten teachers in 10 years with face tattoos? I would assume so.
The 17th hole island green is one of the most fun spectacles in the sport. Many a golfer has come to the 17th with a chance to win only to see his/her/they/them/it/cis/Ze/Two-Spirit hopes splashed in the pond surrounding the green. Ask Sergio Garcia back in 2008. Go ahead, ask him! Have you asked him? Well, he’d tell you that he hit two balls into the pond and gave his nemesis Tiger Woods the championship. The pressure is immense, and as the crowd drinks more during the day, they become less sympathetic to the struggling golfer. Sergio got it so bad fans used to yell, “Go in the water!” when he would put it after making it onto the 17th green! Ricky Fowler, however, birdied the hole three times back in 2015 to win in a playoff, which is one of the most clutch moments in golf history. Fowler was five strokes back with 6 to play and finished birdie, par, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie to force a playoff that he won by birdieing the 17th hole for the 3rd time that day. Amazing. Don’t ever let anyone tell Rickie chokes. He’s just not that good. He doesn’t choke, though.
Rickie Fowler of the United States reacts to his putt on the ninth green during the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Big difference.
If you’re going to go to a golf tournament and not drink you may be in for a long day. I saw countless couples at the tournament just sitting there for hours upon hours. Not really talking to one another just watching the golf shots. I guess it could be considered relaxing. It could also be considered boring. I’ve always felt fishing was boring, but some people love it. But people also drink when they fish. May need to be researched at a University level.
Scottie Scheffler, who dominated and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, is by far the best player in the game, and he’s a really cool guy as well. It’s possible the coolest guy on Tour is also the best player. That’s true in a lot of sports- Nikola Jokic – is very cool and the best player in the NBA. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen- pretty cool. Shohei Ohtani…all seem like cool guys you’d want to hang out with. It didn’t used to be that way – Tom Brady is a grifter who, even in retirement, is still trying to scrounge every dollar from the American public. LeBron is a miserable person…that goes without saying. Alex Rodriguez was vain and odd. Another thing to study.
Who will win The Players? I get the feeling Scheffler could win again if he wanted to, but his focus is on the Masters. He may just be too good not to win, even if he’s not that focused. Hopefully, it will be close down the stretch, and the players will have to make some clutch tee shots on the 17th hole.
Dan Redmond can be found on X at @danfromdc
