Stunning LIV Golf claim leaves game in disarray

2 years ago 100

The brag of LIV Golf says helium would "create my ain majors" if the existing events don't let players from Greg Norman's circuit to compete.

Perhaps the biggest menace facing LIV Golf close present is the information its tournaments don't grant satellite rankings points, with the governing assemblage that oversees the rankings yet to marque a determination connected LIV's exertion to person points allocated to its events.

That means LIV's players are dropping down the satellite rankings, which is 1 of the criteria utilized by the 4 large tournaments to acceptable their fields.

As the reigning Open champion, Australia's Cameron Smith is exempt into each 4 majors for the adjacent 5 years, but different large names volition commencement uncovering their avenues into the majors blocked off.

Smith precocious called the determination not to grant rankings points to LIV events "bizarre."

In an interrogation with New Yorker magazine, Majed Al Sorour, the CEO of Golf Saudi, threatened to instrumentality matters into his ain hands.

"For now, the majors are siding with the Tour, and I don't cognize why," Sorour said. "If the majors determine not to person our players play? I volition celebrate. I volition make my ain majors for my players.

"Honestly, I deliberation each the tours are being tally by guys who don't recognize business."

Sorour ignores the evident occupation that majors aren't conscionable created - the youngest, the Masters, has been played 86 times, portion the Open Championship was archetypal contested successful 1860.

The 4 majors are tally by abstracted organisations, and the PGA Tour has been yearning for decades to person its flagship event, the Players Championship, recognised arsenic a major, preferably astatine the disbursal of the PGA Championship, which is tally by its fierce rival, the PGA of America.

As Golf Channel contributor Ron Sirak tweeted: "Majors aren't conscionable made up; past can't beryllium purchased. Meaningful championships are the merchandise of clip and tradition."

Writing for Barstool Sports, Dan Rapaport said the improvement is atrocious quality for golf.

"Oh man," helium wrote. "I've agelong wondered, and I've spoken astir this publicly, what's stopping the Saudis from, if the majors proceed to clasp firm, simply saying 'f--- the Masters, I'm going to person my ain Masters connected the aforesaid play and quadruple the purse?'

"There's thing stopping them, and present it's wide that Sorour's astatine slightest considered the possibility.

"Make nary mistake: this is however a athletics dies," helium added.

"If determination are nary events that are universally viewed arsenic the pinnacle of the sport, and players determine that dollars are much important than chasing large championships, the nationalist volition cease to attraction astir nonrecreational golf."

CBS play writer Kyle Porter projected thing of a compromise, wherever the majors could invitation the apical 3 oregon 5 players from the LIV wealth list.

Given the majors are escaped to acceptable immoderate qualifying criteria they wish, specified a alteration could beryllium the simplest mode to debar claims that the majors are missing immoderate of the world's champion players.

Sorour besides utilized the New Yorker nonfiction to code 1 of LIV Golf's biggest controversies to date, Phil Mickelson's infamous interrogation wherever helium referred to the Saudis arsenic "scary motherf---ers."

According to the New Yorker, that remark near LIV Golf "on the brink of folding."

"I called the boss, I said, 'Everyone's walking away. Do you privation to bash it, oregon not?'" Sorour said.

He added that the reply from Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the politician of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, was: "Get the biggest mediocres, get the 10 that we have, get you and I, and let's spell play for twenty-five cardinal dollars."

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!