PGA/LPGA Golf Discussion Thread • Page 43

I’m stunned. LIV had zero leverage. The timing of this is so strange, especially the back door nature of it.

 

Best tweet of the day.

 

This is super fucking gross.

 

Release the tapes!!!

 

This is reverse Viking shit and the Tour loses any moral ground it had, forever, with this move today. Forget the money - what about the players who, for their own moral reasons, didn’t want to play for the Saudis, and now they have no choice? This is a hostile monopolistic takeover by a foreign entity, all for cash. JayMo hid in his office while Rory, JT, Rahm and others took the grenades, all while crafting his bullshit press release on the back of the white flag he was about to wave on behalf of his players.

All because money always, always, always wins in any late stage capitalism deal. There’s truly no ethical consumption under capitalism but this shit should still matter.

Hard to imagine a larger own-goal for the Tour. It takes any meager desire I had to watch golf beyond majors and fucks it. I’ll watch the majors and Ryder Cup, and that’s enough. I’ll spend more time practicing or playing. That’s where the real joy comes from anyway, for me. I’m sure I’m the minority and I’m fine with that. It’s just sad.

 

sheeesh

 

After a day to consider it, this could not be any grosser or worse for the tour, and the world in general.

I’ll fully admit I’m as biased as they come. My best childhood friend died in Iraq in 2006, blown up by an IED. Fighting a war we shouldn’t have fought, with people we didn’t need to fight, because we were wrong about who was behind 9/11. And he was so patriotic he signed up to fight even though his life was full of a million open doors.

He was smart. He was kind. He could have done anything. He should be like me, wishing his kids would quiet down for the night and worried about his tee time tomorrow. But he got sent home in pieces in a fucking box, fighting the wrong war while we take blood money from the very folks who attacked us and kill women and gay people and now it’s fully immersed in one of the few passions I have in sport and even in my life - aside from my own family. And it sucks. It’s gonna suck for a good long while.

I’m having a real hard time with it.

 

Thanks for sharing your feelings. I can see why it hits close to home. I'm feeling conflicted myself. I'm probably in the same boat as others as feeling resigned to this happening. Trust me, it doesn't feel great and honestly, I can see myself compartmentalizing this as I have done with various murky things that are associated with things I enjoy. I also don't mean to be glib as labeling this as just "murky". These are evil people who have done heinous things. I also know life is difficult enough and you have to derive enjoyment from things where you can. And watching golf has brought me a lot of joy. It's hard to envision my life without it. Maybe I'm part of the problem but very few people pass the purity test.

It's also very early in this process. This deal can fall apart very easily. They have so many hurdles to overcome, but I guess the money will win in the end. But what we won't know for a while is how these changes affect the competitive landscape. I truly hope the meritocratic nature of the tour does not go away. I worry it will but will have to see how much money the guys will be swimming in.

If you're looking to fill a golf void and the messiness of the PGA is too much, hop on the Rose Zhang and LPGA bandwagon before that gets co-opted by the Saudis.

 

A preview of Oak Hill was posted a few weeks ago. The Fried Egg did another preview episode featuring LACC, host of the US Open this week.

 

Oh man, Tommy tied for the lead heading into the last hole.

Also, whatever the outcome, huge props to Nick Taylor for not asking for a bogus ruling involving a sprinkler head despite CBS's crew urging him to do so. I think Nick is in the minority of players by not asking to move their ball to a more favorable position.

 

Tommy come on

 

Tommy might still pull this out, but it should have never gone to a playoff. Easy birdie hole.

 

Heartbreaking for tommy but what a putt. Tommy should have never laid up on 18.

 

Nantz mentioned this on the broadcast but here's video of fellow Canadian and PGA Tour player Adam Hadwin getting smoked by security.

 

lol security like get this champagne spraying LiV shit outa here

 

man i wish it was remotely possible for rickie to do this all weekend

birdied 10 of 18 holes. just absolutely dialed in.

 

Very fine with this leaderboard. Loved seeing the last gutted bogey putt from Rory. He misses putts like that the last few Sundays. Want him to keep it up, but would not be disappointed if BDR won it.

 

i don't think the enormous lead Rickie and Xander have will be the case going into Saturday, but it feels like Brooks is struggling to get the car out of the garage. back to +1 after starting the round with a birdie.

 

I got my first albatross this morning!

I hope the good golf vibes carry into the weekend because I have a feeling this tournament will need them. I know there's a lot of chatter about the low scores, but it's one day and they had to usher things along to alleviate the pace of play concerns. They can get creative with pin positions and if the sun breaks out then things will firm up.

I just hope NBC Sports ups their game this weekend, but I'm not holding my breath. They bragged about reducing commercials but when you start at such a high level of them it's quite miniscule in the end. There's no flow with how they integrate their breaks and the coverage suffers for it. In the end, it just means more "Playing Through" segments. CBS improved--why can't NBC?

 

im begging hideki to start making faster tee shots

 

Rory is on a mission

 

Things I like: Cam Smith back into the fold, Hole #6, variety of the leaderboard, Rory finally learning how to manage himself early in a major.

Things I dislike: Sam Bennett's pre-shot routine, funnel pins, the long Par 3s, Morikawa's continued descension into irrelevance.

 

The long par 3s are so dumb. Give the folks what they want, ace opportunities!

 

king