The players are independent contractors. Leagues comprise teams with players "belonging" to a team. The merger only entails players return to PGA Tour or DP World Tour.
LIV is buying players. I suspect the players know that in a couple years they will be back in the PGA Tour or DP World Tour with large pockets of change in the bank. I believe the LIV guys need to play in only 20 tournies over 2 years to get their guaranteed money. And They get guaranteed pay per tournament nobody gets cut. On the major Tours you need to play well to retain your card. The Korn Ferry and McKenzie guys are fighting like hell to get to the PGA Tour. So it is play well or get relegated. Rough. But that is life. Top guys get the top money.
IMV, it is a stretch to compare football to independent contractors.
They have a league that pays players absurd money - mostly players whose European careers are done. But they sometimes make huge offers to current stars - one of them recently offered Cristiano Ronaldo something like $275 million PER YEAR for 2 years.
the only way they hurt the pga is if they impact their ratings/revenue which they haven't and have no plan to other than poaching. and there's only 1 golfer in the last 30 years anyone has tuned in for no matter where he played and he turned them down (and basically only plays a handful of events anyway).
the pga is already seemingly getting the majors to go along with them making it harder to qualify for liv players since they will fall off in the worldwide rankings and then the poaching will slow considerably.
they are lighting billions of dollars on fire in the middle of golf courses but nobody is around to see it. except the handful of golfers they pay to be there.
the angst over the multi-billion dollar PGA is just weird.
If you work for the PGA or play in the PGA tournaments, I get it, otherwise who cares. PGA is not entitled to a monopoly on tv tournaments.
you seem to be forgetting the group who is the source of the multi-billions - are golf fans allowed to care about what they watch? are there any at all who were looking for more events from a competing tour with a new zany format?
Best thing would be for the PGA and LPGA to make changes to compete. Players are basically contractors, so they follow the money. Many players have huge debts just trying to make it as a pro golfer.
Best thing would be for the PGA and LPGA to make changes to compete. Players are basically contractors, so they follow the money. Many players have huge debts just trying to make it as a pro golfer.
you mean like this?
i really don't understand why this is so complicated. if LIV baseball signed Aaron Judge to a 2bn contract to compete in their home run derby series for team rocket ballz what would the correct reaction be for yankee/mlb fans? PGA Tour Announces Sweeping Changes in Response to LIV Golf - ( New Window )
the angst over the multi-billion dollar PGA is just weird.
If you work for the PGA or play in the PGA tournaments, I get it, otherwise who cares. PGA is not entitled to a monopoly on tv tournaments.
If you knew ANYTHING about golf you would know it does not have a monopoly. Plenty of other tours are on Golf Channel. All anyone has said is, LIV is paying its players huge sums to play on that tour and then in addition, everyone makes the cut, so guaranteed more money. And then there is the "Saturday morning at the team Muni game" for added cash.
I have no problem with players grabbing $100 mill+ for 20 tournaments over two years. But let's face it, they are not really playing at their best - they don't have to play well to get paid. They can show up, slap the ball around for 54 holes and go home with $120 grand minimum.
how people get bent out of shape over Liv, but completely dismiss the NFL, MLB, and NBA that have been in bed with China, Pfizer, BLM etc. Keep supporting the big 3 sports with your hard earned money, suckers. I'll pass.
how people get bent out of shape over Liv, but completely dismiss the NFL, MLB, and NBA that have been in bed with China, Pfizer, BLM etc. Keep supporting the big 3 sports with your hard earned money, suckers. I'll pass.
I'm more pissed about the NBA's sellout to China. China bullies almost everyone and every country into getting their way. When the slavery issue with the Uighers cropped up, the Chinese threatened the NBA and LeBron big mouth sucked up to them and was their mouthpiece. That was and still is disgusting. Stealing company patents, hacking into agencies - nothing is "sacred" to them. They break every law and convention and get away with it because the bribe the right people.
The Saudis have not said boo about all their bad optics and press.
he got paid $22 million (upfront) to join the LIV tour for 2 years. Plus whatever he makes by playing, so were looking at potentially making $25 - $30 million for 2 years (24 events)
Who in their right mind is going to turn that down?
he got paid $22 million (upfront) to join the LIV tour for 2 years. Plus whatever he makes by playing, so were looking at potentially making $25 - $30 million for 2 years (24 events)
Who in their right mind is going to turn that down?
The question is, what are these players going to do when the Saudis have no more use for them? Or are we assuming they’ll just continue to throw around all that money, just because, forever? When they stop paying the bills, are these players going to try to go crawling back?
Dan Rapaport
@Daniel_Rapaport
·
15h
Since signing a reported $200 million contract with LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson is a combined +40 in 11 rounds of golf.
how people get bent out of shape over Liv, but completely dismiss the NFL, MLB, and NBA that have been in bed with China, Pfizer, BLM etc. Keep supporting the big 3 sports with your hard earned money, suckers. I'll pass.
Comparing LIV to BLM? GTFO. And I think the NBA's handling of China has been awful on The Association's part.
how people get bent out of shape over Liv, but completely dismiss the NFL, MLB, and NBA that have been in bed with China, Pfizer, BLM etc. Keep supporting the big 3 sports with your hard earned money, suckers. I'll pass.
Comparing LIV to BLM? GTFO. And I think the NBA's handling of China has been awful on The Association's part.
What’s funny is this guy, whoever the hell he is, supposedly doesn’t follow “the big 3” sports yet here he is, on a Giants football message board. That dude has some conviction!
he got paid $22 million (upfront) to join the LIV tour for 2 years. Plus whatever he makes by playing, so were looking at potentially making $25 - $30 million for 2 years (24 events)
Who in their right mind is going to turn that down?
nobody. congrats to whoever your friend is on essentially hitting the lotto, i dont think most golf fans are going to care 1 bit that a random 3rd year tour pro who likely isn't in the top 20 (guessing based on that $) isn't competing. I also can't imagine anyone other than family members going out of their way to watch him on a different tour.
again all of these anecdotal rationalizations and moral judgements are missing forrest from trees.
liv football pays pat mahomes and justin herbert 3bn each to play in their new 7 on 7 flag football tour how does any NFL fan feel about that?
Dan Rapaport
@Daniel_Rapaport
·
15h
Since signing a reported $200 million contract with LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson is a combined +40 in 11 rounds of golf.
Phil better up his game before one of MBS’s henchmen come knocking.
I love to play it and I love to watch it. I've been trying to get better since I picked up a club when I was 12 years old. I'd practice and play every day if I could.
I'm going to stick to just the golf, because IMO the last people on earth that should be lecturing anyone about human rights, morality, etc are the PGA Tour executives and players on and off the course.
If they'e going to merge in some way down the road they're going to have to figure out how to measure the LIV tournaments that are shot gun 54 holes no cut guaranteed money tournaments vs the PGA Tour tournaments that are 72 holes with a cut and no guaranteed money.
Quote:
“Pressure is when you’ve got thirty-five bucks riding on a four-foot putt and you’ve only got five dollars left.”
— Lee Trevino
Nothing is more true about golf than that quote. So if you get paid a small fortune for finishing last on LIV how do your rank that in the Official World Golf Rankings vs a guy who makes a 1/4 of that for making the cut in a PGA Tour.
Bubba Watson just signed with the LIV. He made the cut after 36 holes and made 43K for finishing next to last in the 2022 Players Championship. Half the field got cut and made $0. The Players (the island green tournament for those that don't follow golf every week) has a 20M total pay out. The winner gets 3.5M and perks.
Quote:
Perks of winning The Players Championship - the richest and arguably most important PGA Tour tournament:
Five-year Players exemption: You're in the The Players Championship for the next five years
Major exemptions: You're in the U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship for the next three years
You get a 5-year exemption on the PGA Tour for winning The Players, and you can pretty much set your schedule for two years
You get a spot in the next Tournament of Champions
You get 80 Official World Golf Ranking points, which pretty much locks up a spot in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 18 months, no matter what
You get 600 FedEx Cup points
You get big Ryder Cup points if you're an American or European player
The Players Championship is the largest payout on the PGA Tour. Last place in any no cut 54 hole LIV tournament is 120K before any team money. If Bubba finishes next to last in a LIV tournament how can a governing body equate the two finishes for ranking points?
Why does that matter? It matters for the Majors. Especially the Masters. The US Open is an "open championship" meaning anyone with a handicap less than 4 can try to qualify through 36 hole qualifying tournaments if they are not already exempt. There are ways to play your way in to the Open Championship too. The PGA Championship is run by the PGA non-tour club pros so is the Ryder Cup. They are are adjunct of the PGA Tour but a separate entity. We've just seen the PGA strip Henrik Stenson of the European Ryder Cup Captain position for signing with the LIV. It seems they will ban LIV players from the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. That leaves the Masters. Golf's most famous world wide tournament run by a secretive private club of the 1% of the 1%. Again the last people who should be weighing in on politics and human rights. Rumor is they're going to ban LIV players too. But The Masters invites are probably for sale if the Saudi's hit the magic number. Here's how you qualify for the Masters as of today:
Quote:
Masters Tournament Champions (Supposedly lifetime but they expect you to stop playing at 60)
US Open Champions (5 year exemption) - LIV players probably eligible to qualify
British Open Champions (5 year exemption) - LIV players probably eligible to qualify
PGA Champions (5 year exemption) - Probably PGA Tour only
Winners of The Players Championship (3 year exemption) - PGA Tour only
Current Olympic Gold Medalist (1 year) - LIV will probably be eligible
The first 12 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament
The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's US Open Championship
The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's British Open Championship
The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's PGA Championship - Probably PGA Tour only
Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters - PGA Tour only
Those qualifying for the previous year's season-ending Tour Championship - PGA Tour only
The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year - No points for LIV tournaments as of now
The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament - No points for LIV tournaments as of now
How are the LIV players going to qualify for the Masters with no ranking points? The Masters is an invitational though. Theoretically they can invite anyone they want to for any reason. Maybe The Masters will invite a dozen or more of the big LIV names? Bubba Watson is a 2x Masters Champion will they disinvite him because he plays the LIV Tour now? We will find out soon.
We've just seen the PGA strip Henrik Stenson of the European Ryder Cup Captain position for signing with the LIV
The PGA doesn’t have jurisdiction over the European team. Ryder Cup Europe stripped him.
Quote:
But The Masters invites are probably for sale if the Saudi's hit the magic number.
Highly unlikely. The Masters deserves much of the criticism it gets, but one thing you can’t criticize them for is greed. Compared to other majors or even lesser tournaments they charge less for tickets, less for concessions and allow far few commercials. If there’s one thing you can say about the Masters it’s that they will run their tournament the way they see fit, regardless of financial consequences.
I would expect that they will not ban any past champion or anyone who meets the existing qualifications. My guess is they won’t change the qualifications for 2023 at least.
Jim I think they have left the door open to adjusting qualifications
and the big outstanding battle is whether or not LIV events count towards world rankings - which are the main qualification metric LIV players are going to start falling off without playing in PGA events.
I agree with you past champions will probably not get shunned, but i think they are going to squeeze everyone else and they should. The majors aren't an entitlement especially for players not competing against in real tournaments.
I actually think there's a good argument for the majors to be more aggressive than that but i guess we'll see.
he said this LIV experiment has already forced the PGA Tour to make a number of changes that players have been begging for for years.
Biggest one being every player gets a $10,000 per week stipend for every event they play. That is massive for these guys since unless they make the cut, they make zero dollars some weeks. The deals they get from sponsors are much lower than you'd think. A PGA Tour rookie will maybe get $100k from their equipment sponsor (Taylormade, PING, etc.) for the year. That won't even cover a year of travel expenses let alone living expenses.
An average tour player spends $500k per year on travel, paying the caddy, agent, accountant/cpa, swing coach, etc.
This is really benefitting everyone that isn't currently a Top-30 Player.
RE: I am also friends with a current PGA Tour Rookie
he said this LIV experiment has already forced the PGA Tour to make a number of changes that players have been begging for for years.
Biggest one being every player gets a $10,000 per week stipend for every event they play. That is massive for these guys since unless they make the cut, they make zero dollars some weeks. The deals they get from sponsors are much lower than you'd think. A PGA Tour rookie will maybe get $100k from their equipment sponsor (Taylormade, PING, etc.) for the year. That won't even cover a year of travel expenses let alone living expenses.
An average tour player spends $500k per year on travel, paying the caddy, agent, accountant/cpa, swing coach, etc.
This is really benefitting everyone that isn't currently a Top-30 Player.
I havent seen that announcement, but it’s good for the marginal guys. But with 116 players already at over $1 million in earnings this season (plus endorsements), a lot more than 30 are doing OK.
a little noisy competition is good for the players. The big names will not benefit that much, but the back 50% of the players will get some benefits as mentioned, especially if they get $10k expense stipend per tournament - basically appearance money. I think a Tour caddy gets around $800$1000 per week plus a cut of the winnings if the player is a high finisher in a tournament. I assume the player covers most of the expenses(travel, lodging, etc)
Bubba Watson was going to retire after his tenth win, a promise he made to himself. But he decided to stay on as he was in a bit of a hot spell at that time. So obviously he had made enough to walk away when he got that tenth win. I believe he was just tired of being away from his family - not an uncommon feeling. By signing with LIV he only needs to be away 20 weeks in two years. So in effect, he is retired. It is also rumored that DJ would much rather be fishing(and chasing Paulina) then playing. I am sure he isn't the only one. Some guys are driven by the competition more than the money(once they are set). Why does Tiger keep trying to play?
One other thing, it is my understanding that basically a Tour Card is worth a minimum $1 mill per year. Even if Doomer2008 is correct and it costs a player about $500k in expenses per year to compete, that is still $500k.
I just found out that there is actually a retirement plan too. Based on points gathered by making and playing in tournaments.
there will be unintended benefits and negatives for PGA card holders
but that will be the market in action. for example the changes the PGA made above to the fedex cup and qualification criteria greatly benefitted the top 50-75 golfers at the expense of the lower ranked guys.
the top players wanted higher purses and smaller fields to improve their odds, so the tour gave them an easier way to make money. But the top 75 are all above 1.4m in earnings this year so the rich got richer while all those guys below that line got squeezed out of earning/qualification opportunities (though they picked up some other fringe benefits).
that happened bc the liv tour poaching those guys isn't nearly the threat that it is for the guys in the top 20-50.
all of that aside to me the bottomline is this - from a golf standpoint the liv tour has no purpose. which is why nobody is watching it or attending, and why it will fail. everyone arguing the sideshow virtue bs either way is falling into the trap of exactly what they were looking for.
The PGA Tour will ultimately let those players back in.
The first legal challenge to the PGA Tour’s stand against LIV Golf will come Tuesday in San Jose, California.
The U.S. District Court for California’s Northern District has scheduled an in-person hearing for the three players – Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones – who have challenged the Tour’s suspension for violating the circuit’s policies and playing the LIV Golf league. The players have filed for a temporary restraining order that would allow them to play the FedExCup playoffs, which begin Thursday in Memphis.
The hearing, which will be held before Judge Beth Labson Freeman, is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT and the Tour must file any opposition to the players’ motion for relief by 8 a.m. PT Monday.
LIV is buying players. I suspect the players know that in a couple years they will be back in the PGA Tour or DP World Tour with large pockets of change in the bank. I believe the LIV guys need to play in only 20 tournies over 2 years to get their guaranteed money. And They get guaranteed pay per tournament nobody gets cut. On the major Tours you need to play well to retain your card. The Korn Ferry and McKenzie guys are fighting like hell to get to the PGA Tour. So it is play well or get relegated. Rough. But that is life. Top guys get the top money.
IMV, it is a stretch to compare football to independent contractors.
LIV Baseball
LIV Hockey
LIV Soccer
LIV Motorsport
LIV Tiddlywinks
Golf is just the start
LIV Baseball
LIV Hockey
LIV Soccer
LIV Motorsport
LIV Tiddlywinks
Golf is just the start
Ha, could be....
The name will be different - LIV is Roman numerals for 54 as in 54 holes og gold vs 72...
Quote:
LIV Basketball
LIV Baseball
LIV Hockey
LIV Soccer
LIV Motorsport
LIV Tiddlywinks
Golf is just the start
(Fixed)
Ha, could be....
The name will be different - LIV is Roman numerals for 54 as in 54 holes of golf vs 72... sorry for fat fingers
If that doesn’t scream real Golf, what does? This is all a golf purists dream. Much like Butterbean was everything a boxing purist ever dreamed of
the pga is already seemingly getting the majors to go along with them making it harder to qualify for liv players since they will fall off in the worldwide rankings and then the poaching will slow considerably.
they are lighting billions of dollars on fire in the middle of golf courses but nobody is around to see it. except the handful of golfers they pay to be there.
Quote:
PGA sponsors have $43 billion invested in Saudi Arabia. I’d call that hypocritical.
Investing is one thing.
Directly ponying up the cash to run an alternate event is another.
Quote:
PGA sponsors have $43 billion invested in Saudi Arabia. I’d call that hypocritical.
how does this have any relevance w/r/t judging the liv tour as a golf and entertainment entity?
in the rush to virtue signal whichever way, isn't it weirdly being ignored that there's a garbage golf product being produced?
on a purely entertainment basis what audience is the liv tour serving?
Quote:
In comment 15765265 Bigislandfan said:
Quote:
PGA sponsors have $43 billion invested in Saudi Arabia. I’d call that hypocritical.
how does this have any relevance w/r/t judging the liv tour as a golf and entertainment entity?
in the rush to virtue signal whichever way, isn't it weirdly being ignored that there's a garbage golf product being produced?
on a purely entertainment basis what audience is the liv tour serving?
It wasn't my point, I was trying to respond to Bigislandfan and hit the submit before I said what I wanted...
But you are right, it is irrelevant that Sponsors have investments in the oil industry.
If LIV & the PGA got into a serious bidding war (with concurrent schedules during the big events - Masters, US Open, Memorial, etc).
Then they ended up in court; the IMA wins and gets awarded $1.00 (like what happened to the USFL).
LIV Baseball
LIV Hockey
LIV Soccer
LIV Motorsport
LIV Tiddlywinks
Golf is just the start
LIV U22 Football
If you work for the PGA or play in the PGA tournaments, I get it, otherwise who cares. PGA is not entitled to a monopoly on tv tournaments.
Quote:
In comment 15765265 Bigislandfan said:
Quote:
how does this have any relevance w/r/t judging the liv tour as a golf and entertainment entity?
in the rush to virtue signal whichever way, isn't it weirdly being ignored that there's a garbage golf product being produced?
on a purely entertainment basis what audience is the liv tour serving?
I guess that they are going for the young Bababooey, You Da Man drunk portion of the audience.
I agree that the format is horrible.
Stubhub has plenty of $2 and $3 tickets.
If you work for the PGA or play in the PGA tournaments, I get it, otherwise who cares. PGA is not entitled to a monopoly on tv tournaments.
you seem to be forgetting the group who is the source of the multi-billions - are golf fans allowed to care about what they watch? are there any at all who were looking for more events from a competing tour with a new zany format?
you mean like this?
i really don't understand why this is so complicated. if LIV baseball signed Aaron Judge to a 2bn contract to compete in their home run derby series for team rocket ballz what would the correct reaction be for yankee/mlb fans?
PGA Tour Announces Sweeping Changes in Response to LIV Golf - ( New Window )
If you work for the PGA or play in the PGA tournaments, I get it, otherwise who cares. PGA is not entitled to a monopoly on tv tournaments.
If you knew ANYTHING about golf you would know it does not have a monopoly. Plenty of other tours are on Golf Channel. All anyone has said is, LIV is paying its players huge sums to play on that tour and then in addition, everyone makes the cut, so guaranteed more money. And then there is the "Saturday morning at the team Muni game" for added cash.
I have no problem with players grabbing $100 mill+ for 20 tournaments over two years. But let's face it, they are not really playing at their best - they don't have to play well to get paid. They can show up, slap the ball around for 54 holes and go home with $120 grand minimum.
incredibly predictable response.
I'm more pissed about the NBA's sellout to China. China bullies almost everyone and every country into getting their way. When the slavery issue with the Uighers cropped up, the Chinese threatened the NBA and LeBron big mouth sucked up to them and was their mouthpiece. That was and still is disgusting. Stealing company patents, hacking into agencies - nothing is "sacred" to them. They break every law and convention and get away with it because the bribe the right people.
The Saudis have not said boo about all their bad optics and press.
he got paid $22 million (upfront) to join the LIV tour for 2 years. Plus whatever he makes by playing, so were looking at potentially making $25 - $30 million for 2 years (24 events)
Who in their right mind is going to turn that down?
he got paid $22 million (upfront) to join the LIV tour for 2 years. Plus whatever he makes by playing, so were looking at potentially making $25 - $30 million for 2 years (24 events)
Who in their right mind is going to turn that down?
The question is, what are these players going to do when the Saudis have no more use for them? Or are we assuming they’ll just continue to throw around all that money, just because, forever? When they stop paying the bills, are these players going to try to go crawling back?
@Daniel_Rapaport
·
15h
Since signing a reported $200 million contract with LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson is a combined +40 in 11 rounds of golf.
Comparing LIV to BLM? GTFO. And I think the NBA's handling of China has been awful on The Association's part.
Quote:
how people get bent out of shape over Liv, but completely dismiss the NFL, MLB, and NBA that have been in bed with China, Pfizer, BLM etc. Keep supporting the big 3 sports with your hard earned money, suckers. I'll pass.
Comparing LIV to BLM? GTFO. And I think the NBA's handling of China has been awful on The Association's part.
What’s funny is this guy, whoever the hell he is, supposedly doesn’t follow “the big 3” sports yet here he is, on a Giants football message board. That dude has some conviction!
he got paid $22 million (upfront) to join the LIV tour for 2 years. Plus whatever he makes by playing, so were looking at potentially making $25 - $30 million for 2 years (24 events)
Who in their right mind is going to turn that down?
nobody. congrats to whoever your friend is on essentially hitting the lotto, i dont think most golf fans are going to care 1 bit that a random 3rd year tour pro who likely isn't in the top 20 (guessing based on that $) isn't competing. I also can't imagine anyone other than family members going out of their way to watch him on a different tour.
again all of these anecdotal rationalizations and moral judgements are missing forrest from trees.
liv football pays pat mahomes and justin herbert 3bn each to play in their new 7 on 7 flag football tour how does any NFL fan feel about that?
@Daniel_Rapaport
·
15h
Since signing a reported $200 million contract with LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson is a combined +40 in 11 rounds of golf.
Phil better up his game before one of MBS’s henchmen come knocking.
I'm going to stick to just the golf, because IMO the last people on earth that should be lecturing anyone about human rights, morality, etc are the PGA Tour executives and players on and off the course.
If they'e going to merge in some way down the road they're going to have to figure out how to measure the LIV tournaments that are shot gun 54 holes no cut guaranteed money tournaments vs the PGA Tour tournaments that are 72 holes with a cut and no guaranteed money.
— Lee Trevino
Nothing is more true about golf than that quote. So if you get paid a small fortune for finishing last on LIV how do your rank that in the Official World Golf Rankings vs a guy who makes a 1/4 of that for making the cut in a PGA Tour.
Bubba Watson just signed with the LIV. He made the cut after 36 holes and made 43K for finishing next to last in the 2022 Players Championship. Half the field got cut and made $0. The Players (the island green tournament for those that don't follow golf every week) has a 20M total pay out. The winner gets 3.5M and perks.
Five-year Players exemption: You're in the The Players Championship for the next five years
Major exemptions: You're in the U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship for the next three years
You get a 5-year exemption on the PGA Tour for winning The Players, and you can pretty much set your schedule for two years
You get a spot in the next Tournament of Champions
You get 80 Official World Golf Ranking points, which pretty much locks up a spot in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 18 months, no matter what
You get 600 FedEx Cup points
You get big Ryder Cup points if you're an American or European player
The Players Championship is the largest payout on the PGA Tour. Last place in any no cut 54 hole LIV tournament is 120K before any team money. If Bubba finishes next to last in a LIV tournament how can a governing body equate the two finishes for ranking points?
Why does that matter? It matters for the Majors. Especially the Masters. The US Open is an "open championship" meaning anyone with a handicap less than 4 can try to qualify through 36 hole qualifying tournaments if they are not already exempt. There are ways to play your way in to the Open Championship too. The PGA Championship is run by the PGA non-tour club pros so is the Ryder Cup. They are are adjunct of the PGA Tour but a separate entity. We've just seen the PGA strip Henrik Stenson of the European Ryder Cup Captain position for signing with the LIV. It seems they will ban LIV players from the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. That leaves the Masters. Golf's most famous world wide tournament run by a secretive private club of the 1% of the 1%. Again the last people who should be weighing in on politics and human rights. Rumor is they're going to ban LIV players too. But The Masters invites are probably for sale if the Saudi's hit the magic number. Here's how you qualify for the Masters as of today:
US Open Champions (5 year exemption) - LIV players probably eligible to qualify
British Open Champions (5 year exemption) - LIV players probably eligible to qualify
PGA Champions (5 year exemption) - Probably PGA Tour only
Winners of The Players Championship (3 year exemption) - PGA Tour only
Current Olympic Gold Medalist (1 year) - LIV will probably be eligible
The first 12 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament
The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's US Open Championship
The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's British Open Championship
The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's PGA Championship - Probably PGA Tour only
Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters - PGA Tour only
Those qualifying for the previous year's season-ending Tour Championship - PGA Tour only
The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year - No points for LIV tournaments as of now
The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament - No points for LIV tournaments as of now
How are the LIV players going to qualify for the Masters with no ranking points? The Masters is an invitational though. Theoretically they can invite anyone they want to for any reason. Maybe The Masters will invite a dozen or more of the big LIV names? Bubba Watson is a 2x Masters Champion will they disinvite him because he plays the LIV Tour now? We will find out soon.
The PGA doesn’t have jurisdiction over the European team. Ryder Cup Europe stripped him.
Highly unlikely. The Masters deserves much of the criticism it gets, but one thing you can’t criticize them for is greed. Compared to other majors or even lesser tournaments they charge less for tickets, less for concessions and allow far few commercials. If there’s one thing you can say about the Masters it’s that they will run their tournament the way they see fit, regardless of financial consequences.
I would expect that they will not ban any past champion or anyone who meets the existing qualifications. My guess is they won’t change the qualifications for 2023 at least.
I agree with you past champions will probably not get shunned, but i think they are going to squeeze everyone else and they should. The majors aren't an entitlement especially for players not competing against in real tournaments.
I actually think there's a good argument for the majors to be more aggressive than that but i guess we'll see.
Biggest one being every player gets a $10,000 per week stipend for every event they play. That is massive for these guys since unless they make the cut, they make zero dollars some weeks. The deals they get from sponsors are much lower than you'd think. A PGA Tour rookie will maybe get $100k from their equipment sponsor (Taylormade, PING, etc.) for the year. That won't even cover a year of travel expenses let alone living expenses.
An average tour player spends $500k per year on travel, paying the caddy, agent, accountant/cpa, swing coach, etc.
This is really benefitting everyone that isn't currently a Top-30 Player.
Biggest one being every player gets a $10,000 per week stipend for every event they play. That is massive for these guys since unless they make the cut, they make zero dollars some weeks. The deals they get from sponsors are much lower than you'd think. A PGA Tour rookie will maybe get $100k from their equipment sponsor (Taylormade, PING, etc.) for the year. That won't even cover a year of travel expenses let alone living expenses.
An average tour player spends $500k per year on travel, paying the caddy, agent, accountant/cpa, swing coach, etc.
This is really benefitting everyone that isn't currently a Top-30 Player.
I havent seen that announcement, but it’s good for the marginal guys. But with 116 players already at over $1 million in earnings this season (plus endorsements), a lot more than 30 are doing OK.
Bubba Watson was going to retire after his tenth win, a promise he made to himself. But he decided to stay on as he was in a bit of a hot spell at that time. So obviously he had made enough to walk away when he got that tenth win. I believe he was just tired of being away from his family - not an uncommon feeling. By signing with LIV he only needs to be away 20 weeks in two years. So in effect, he is retired. It is also rumored that DJ would much rather be fishing(and chasing Paulina) then playing. I am sure he isn't the only one. Some guys are driven by the competition more than the money(once they are set). Why does Tiger keep trying to play?
One other thing, it is my understanding that basically a Tour Card is worth a minimum $1 mill per year. Even if Doomer2008 is correct and it costs a player about $500k in expenses per year to compete, that is still $500k.
I just found out that there is actually a retirement plan too. Based on points gathered by making and playing in tournaments.
the top players wanted higher purses and smaller fields to improve their odds, so the tour gave them an easier way to make money. But the top 75 are all above 1.4m in earnings this year so the rich got richer while all those guys below that line got squeezed out of earning/qualification opportunities (though they picked up some other fringe benefits).
that happened bc the liv tour poaching those guys isn't nearly the threat that it is for the guys in the top 20-50.
all of that aside to me the bottomline is this - from a golf standpoint the liv tour has no purpose. which is why nobody is watching it or attending, and why it will fail. everyone arguing the sideshow virtue bs either way is falling into the trap of exactly what they were looking for.
The U.S. District Court for California’s Northern District has scheduled an in-person hearing for the three players – Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones – who have challenged the Tour’s suspension for violating the circuit’s policies and playing the LIV Golf league. The players have filed for a temporary restraining order that would allow them to play the FedExCup playoffs, which begin Thursday in Memphis.
The hearing, which will be held before Judge Beth Labson Freeman, is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT and the Tour must file any opposition to the players’ motion for relief by 8 a.m. PT Monday.