The PGA Tour Should Be Ashamed of Itself
Last summer, the PGA Tour did the Right Thing. As news emerged of LIV Golf, an upstart global golf tour funded by the Saudi Arabian government's Public Investment Fund, Commissioner Jay Monahan made it clear his Tour wouldn't associate itself with the Saudis' ongoing mission to sportswash. Plus, he wouldn't allow any pro who furthered that mission by joining LIV to play on the PGA Tour again. It was a firm stance, and even if it was mostly motivated by ego, the Tour was always going to have the easiest route to coming out as the "good guy" in all of it. Today's announcement of a PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger changed that—and exposed a good deal of hypocrisy along with it.
All that you need to know about the Saudi Public Investment Fund is that the money is unlimited and infinite, and the people in charge of it killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. That's all, it seemed, Monahan needed to know—or at least that's what made for an excellent opportunity to grandstand. It wasn't something that stopped Phil Mickelson from joining LIV. Before signing on, he told journalist Alan Shipnuck that his potential new bosses were "scary motherfuckers." He added, "We know they killed Khashoggi."
His public statements about the league and its baggage were nothing if not transparent. Mickelson wanted to use LIV as leverage: he thought it would expose the shortcomings of how the PGA Tour operates and force them to change, as they watch stars trade moral glory for generational wealth. Golf fans began to write Mickelson off as having lost his shit, speculating he was in such gambling debt he needed that blood money. Mickelson was proven right when the Tour announced a slew of changes to its operation, pumping up the checks for winners and adjusting the schedule for its biggest stars. I'm afraid he was proven right once again today, watching Monahan metaphorically touch the orb.
We can address the glass-half-full takeaway from this merger simply and succinctly—it's going to create a much better product for fans. To watch all the best professional golfers in the world compete against each other is the model of success in professional golf, and the sport's four majors' decision to allow qualified LIV players into the field has proven that. An overwhelming majority of people who sit down Thursday through Sunday to watch professional golf tournaments for more than background noise for a nap—they have no stake in the Battle of the Consciouses happening in board rooms above the game. Ultimately, this is a win for the average golf fan.
What it's a loss for, is the idea that standing on your principals holds any value anymore. Monahan and the PGA Tour had one of the easiest arguments against collusion since the submission of the Mueller Report, but today's news is but another reminder that everything in our lives is for sale. They now must eat shit on the arguments he stood on less than a year ago. And so does everyone else at the PGA Tour who was outspoken until they yanked their golden parachutes.
The question that remains is, how will the most outspoken players react? Less than a month ago, The People's President of Golf and the player with the biggest seat at the Tour's table other than a guy named Woods, went quiet on LIV. I can only assume he had a heads up on this, even if not everyone did. If I'm Rory McIlroy, I feel betrayed. McIlroy stood on his principles only for the executives he agreed to proxy for publicly pulled the rug out from underneath him this morning, whether he knew or not.
Next week's U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country club was going to be a talker no matter what. The tournament is returning to L.A. for the first time in 75 years, and the Hollywood backdrop combined with an intense boom in the golf media and content worlds might just lead to the most eventful U.S. Open in recent memory, at least outside of the golf course. Suddenly golf is a bigger crossroad than it's ever been.
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