seems likes cameron smith is going to LIV...........all the rumours so far have been correct about who is going. this will be some kick in the teeth for the british open and pga/european tour.
sergio garcia gave an interview in spanish and said "for the first time in my life i am thinking about myself"......in reference to going to LIV........this is all you need to know about what goes on in the head of a multi millionaire sportsperson who has spent the last 20 years flying around the world in a private jet playing a game he loves.........
only way to stop this is to ban the players from the majors. otherwise the pga tour and european tours will be dead.

pgsa dont run majors cant ban them was my understanding

If Stenson is worth $40m  Smith will feel insulted by only a $100 offer.

a few years back, stenson said he lost 15 million in the scam run by the cricket guy in the carribean............

dont know where this is all heading but one thing is certain...........LIV is not a project.............a project is something which has a return on its investment..........there is no tv deal or any amount of ticket sales that can compensate any portion of the money LIV is paying for their investment......so it is a reasonable question to ask how long will they pay these high signing on fees and crazy prize funds?........are they going to do it for 10 years? 40 years?.........eventually they will have to reduce the money they are paying out and then there will be no motivation for this tour cause money is the only reason. the 72 hole strokeplay format is infallible........it gives 4 days of great play that can accomodate 150 pro golfers.......think of all the excitement we get on the back nine every other week......it happened again at st andrews, just like the pga championship and the us open........they just chose the 54 holes to say its different. team golf does not work except for once every 2 years in the ryder cup. so they are not creating anything different by having a team aspect. all thats happening is that the worlds best are now split between LIV and the pga tour. if the pga tour did not ban them...........THEY WOULD ALL HAVE GONE BY NOW.......why would you not sign up and not get your 50 million when u can still play on the pga tour now and again......the ban will turn some of them off. all of them going to LIV would result in LIV having 20 events per year, and this would decimate the pga tour events. i do think however the defection of koepka, dusty, bryson and the likely defection of cam smith and matsuyama has the pga rattled.........jay monohan must be sweating bigtime.
the moral aspect of this are totally irrelevant IMO........america and the european union have diplimatic ties and trade with saudi arabia........the saudis have massive investments in US corporations.......its well documented so i dont see any point in throwing moral darts at the players.
someone must ask greg norman if LIv will be around in 20 years time and if he says yes, how will that happen with such a mismatch between cost and revenue? im sure you guys will tell me that the saudis have so much money it doesnt mtter, but i disagree. sheik mo used to spend millions at the sales every year for yearlings.........that has been scaled back in recent years because as i said, godolphin has to get its revenue closer to its costs.......u cannot run a massive deficit forever.......whoever is running LIV now obviously has convinced his superiors to run this massive deficit for now but personalities in charge change and in ten years time they may say no to continue to run this deficit.
david feherty has also got a commentating gig with LIV and word has it charles barkley is signing up. charles plays golf - hes not very good - but he is one of the best sports commentators around. put him into you tube and there are lots of clips of him slamming NBA players and saying whatever the hell he wants when he wants. hes a legend.

Stenson a perfect example. Lucrative deal on the table. Hearing some say he should have waited until after the ryder cup but highly likely there wouldn't be a deal on the table for him then.

Its also probable that some form a deal will be agreed in the next 12 - 18 months with the other tours which will remove the need to offer big incentives to switch.

I think Stenson only got the bag because he was Ryder Cup captain, as a player he is currently worthless. Norman wanting to tear at the fabric of what is most sacred to the PGA Tour. Savage move.

"If the format works and grows in popularity especially around the world then it is quite possible it will be financially viable in the medium to long term".........no idea how this can happen when u pay 200 million for a 51 year old (phil).............

In 2018 the PGA Tour sold its international rights for $2 billion. If and it is a big if LIV can become the number one show in the world there would be mega money in tv rights. Whether the team element and format can break through and become popular is debatable but not impossible.

The IPL (a 10 team start up concept) tv rights have just been sold for $6 billion dollars for 5 years.

The aim of the PIF is not to be financially viable in the short term it is to help elevate Saudi Arabia on the global stage. Google the futuristic city Neom to see some of their plans. They have untold riches.

They already have four of the top 10 in the PGA Tour PIP last year.

Highly likely they pick up Bubba and Fowler in the not two distant future. Can see Cam Smith, Leishman and Adam Scott going to put together a strong Aussie team. Hideki strongly rumoured to be going to strengthen a Japanese team. Rumours about Cantlay and Xander.

Once the Fed ex cup is out of the way more of the top 50 will move in the fall.

If LIV gets momentum they will move on the old brigade in next to no time. Look at who Man City were signing in the first years of the Sheikh and now look at the talent they pick up.

Bryson got an upfront signing on fee greater than Tiger was won on the PGA tour in his career. Only 23 players in the history of the PGA tour have won more money than Henrik has reportedly been offered to just sign up. That is before you get into the massive prize money on offer every week.

Ultimately money talks.

Everyone is replaceable. In fact many of these high-ranked PGA Tour players were getting replaced with or without LIV. There is a constant stream of talent coming from the US collegiate system and the junior tour. The current best player in the world has only had a PGA Tour card for a couple of years and I don't think he's more talented than anybody else. If you now give Scottie Scheffler a billion dollars and no need to really compete any more then, pretty soon, I don't think he would be competitive with the players he is currently beating

I actually hope some LIV players will still be able to play in the majors just to highlight how bad they've become

Signing CH3 is a clear attack on the Sony Open

All this talk about Adidas paying 1 billion for a Liv team etc, is anyone actually bothered about these made up, meaningless teams.

I guess if there's a strong geographic element the team thing might become relevant and there's signs that's what they're starting to do. But it's still hard to see people truly caring when there's no real prestige and they are just competing for obscene amounts of money, having already been paid that just to be there. Do I care if a UK team gets richer than a Japanese team? Or if Team Adidas beats Team Nike? Nope. But then neither do I care if Mercedes beat Ferrari but I guess some people do.

At the present rate of defectors from pga to Liv, in about 18 months or so pga will be in a bad state.  A few good players have gone so far, and the rest after a late career payday, but the cash being offered will be more tempting as pga weakens, that's where the problem may lie.

LIV Golf is expanding its schedule and increasing its prize money for the 2023 season.

The circuit announced on Wednesday (via ESPN's Mark Schlabach) it will play 14 tournaments with a total prize purse of $405 million next year.

This season, the first year for the controversial golf league, the schedule consists of eight tournaments with a total purse of $255 million.

LIV Golf set to expand to visit Australia, more events in Asia and South America.

Players will also have the option to play in 11 events on the Asian Tour 'International Series'. The international series will also offer a direct route to play in the 2023/24 LIV Series.

Relegation is to be introduced in 2022/23 with the bottom four players relegated and promotion event introduced where players will have the opportunity to qualify for the 23/24 season.

LIV to Saudi public investment fund----Things going great,decided to tweak things for next year,please send more money.

Along with the 48-man field, no-cut events worth $25m in prize money, LIV Golf Investments has pumped $300m into the Asian Tour for “International Series” events. While details on promotion and relegation were not revealed, players could earn their way into the LIV Golf League through their performance in these Asian Tour events, while those who finish toward the bottom of LIV Golf events would be replaced.

The news release said LIV Golf players are expected to compete in “numerous” International Series events, which would mean playing more than the 14 tournaments on the 2023 LIV Golf schedule. One appeal for players who have signed up, such as Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, was to play less.


Now the poor sods are now expected to do overtime on the Asian tour --- relegation could be an attractive way out for those with the largest signing on fees.

The whole idea is built on Norman's bitterness towards the PGA. The Saudi's should have made him invest a big chunk of his own wealth in the project.
We'd be in a different place now if he had to back up his bullsh*t with his own money.

50 million for Bubba doesn't suggest that offers are significantly less but does anyone expect the truth from "a source close to LIV"

Yes MW 2008 that makes more sense.

If they think they've a chance to make the top 50/60 they may consider this option.
I think that LIVs big names(Phil,DJ,Bryson and Koepka)will qualify for all next years majors
if there is no change in rules.

The Liv Events are only 54 holes so that is a lot less rounds of golf equivalent to 3 events a year less.

The Asian Tour international series will not have many events in Asia and it is likely they will be tied into the LIV events such as how the International series at Slaley Hall in England was the week before the first LIV event.

Unless there is a thawing of relations or a legal directive I doubt there will be many PGA Tour invitations and you can't compete in the play offs unless you are a member.

I think the play less golf argument is also being over played a few players have said that e.g. Perez (who wont get any majors) and DJ/ Brooks who won't need to play additional events to qualify.

The majority of LIV players are international and used to playing multiple tours and lots of travel.

Watson, Poulter. Phil, Westwood, Stenson.
Looks like a seller at Catterick.