LIV Golf is collapsing in a sea of red ink, lawsuits, and unpaid bills.
asserted
Golf → collapse → ink
No one’s mourning its passing — certainly not the PGA Tour, the shockingly woke sports media, or most golf fans.
asserted
one → mourn → passing
But LIV Golf transformed the sport and everyone who loves the game, from players to fans, owes it gratitude, not scorn.
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who → transform → gratitude
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has spent roughly $6 billion on LIV Golf since its 2023 launch and pulled the plug on the endeavor earlier this year.
asserted
Fund → spend → endeavor
Therein lies the primary objection — critics claim that the Saudis were “sportswashing” or using athletics to launder their less-than-stellar human rights record.
uncertain
Saudis → lie → record
Since the Saudis were behind the whole thing, the golf world had license to despise it.
asserted
world → have → it
Not fair, not accurate, and let me show you why.
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me → let → you
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Let’s review the state of play prior to LIV Golf.
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’s → review → Golf
You had 2,600 golf tournaments a year, most of which featured only a sprinkling of name-brand golfers.
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most → have → golfers
Some are named after waste treatment centers.
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Some → name → centers
Most are won by guys you never heard of before or after.
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you → win → guys
Top golfers, competing for chintzy purses, made only as much as second-string NHL defensemen.
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golfers → compete → defensemen
They weren’t even guaranteed to compete on the weekend, when the TV cameras rolled, because if they didn’t make the cut, they’d be on their way to East Nowhere for next week’s joust.
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they → guarantee → joust
All the sponsorship money, TV rights, and other emoluments went to the PGA and the tournament owners.
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money → go → PGA
The sport hadn’t exactly covered itself in glory from a race relations standpoint.
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sport → cover → standpoint
In living memory, black golfers weren’t even allowed to enter PGA tournaments.
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golfers → live → tournaments
And as recently as 1990, tone-deaf golf leadership announced an important golf tournament at Shoal Creek, an Alabama course whose founder proudly and publicly defended its exclusion of black members.
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founder → announce → members
Baseball had integrated in 1947, but news of that event must not have reached the PGA.
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news → integrate → PGA
As long as we’re talking about race, who can forget golfer Fuzzy Zoeller’s 1997 comment after Tiger Woods became the first black person to win the Masters?
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Woods → talk → Masters
The winner gets to set the menu for the following year’s Champions Dinner.
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winner → get → Dinner
Zoeller thought it would be hilarious if Woods served fried chicken and collard greens.
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Woods → think → chicken
Zoeller’s sponsors, Kmart and Dunlop, didn’t join in the laughter and dropped him.
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sponsors → join → him
Yet the PGA did exactly nothing to sanction Zoeller.
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PGA → do → Zoeller
And what other sport has guys named Fuzzy Zoeller?
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guys → name → sport
Legendary Australian golfer Greg Norman had always wanted to start a rival golf circuit, but it wasn’t until the Saudis stepped up with the cash that his dream came true.
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dream → want → cash
LIV Golf innovated mightily.
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Golf → innovate → ?
First, they paid fortunes to numerous top golfers to defect.
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they → pay → golfers
Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Young, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Justin, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and many others competed head-to-head every single week, something the PGA could only offer at a handful of majors each year.
uncertain
PGA → compete → majors
Next, LIV Golf went with a 54-hole format, three rounds of golf instead of four (the Roman numeral LIV equals 54; get it?).
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LIV → go → it
They went with the shotgun start, so you have excitement from the first moment.
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you → go → moment
You had teams based on nationality, which the players loved because it reminded them of being on college golf teams.
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it → have → teams
You had rock music and a party atmosphere.
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You → have → music
You had golf taken a tiny bit less seriously while still maintaining the dignity of the game.
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golf → have → game
From the moment it was announced, LIV Golf suffered the enmity of the golf establishment — the PGA, the players who didn’t cross over, and golf reporters, who were beholden to the PGA for contacts and livelihood.
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who → announce → contacts
Most of the criticism focused on the Saudi connection, but you know what they say about people who live in glass houses.
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who → focus → houses
The PGA does $10 billion a year with China, a notorious abuser of human rights and not exactly an American ally.
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PGA → do → rights
And as many as a dozen major PGA sponsors do business with Saudi Arabia, including FedEx, Amazon, MasterCard, Delta, and Uber.
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sponsors → do → FedEx
So blasting LIV Golf because it’s Saudi-backed is the ultimate in hypocrisy.
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it → blast → hypocrisy
They’re finally getting the same kind of financial rewards earned by athletes in other sports.
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They → get → sports
“Signature” events now feature large numbers of top pros and no cut.
asserted
events → feature → pros
…and 5 more, not listed.
