Quote:
Originally Posted by jms62
You can't blame the players. After thinking about this I would play it differently than the PGA. I wouldn't ban the players. I'd allow them to compete in the Majors IF they qualified. What I would do is say to the Networks and Streamers (Think AMAZON) and say if you broadcast this you no longer are eligible to broadcast our product. And advertisers if you advertise we are no longer interested in your dollars (Think AWS).. Eventually the Saudi's will get tired of throwing their money away because a special someone was pissed off that the PGA won't play at his course because they didn't want to associate with someone trying to overthrow the government.
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The decision about playing in the majors isn’t up to the PGA. All 4 are independent businesses with PGA affiliations. It’s similar to the college bowls relation to the NCAA. Their decisions (The Masters in particular) will weigh heavily on how hard the PGA can push against players in LIV events.
The US Open has already decided that players on the LIV who otherwise qualify can play this year. It’s a business decision for each. They obviously want to maintain a good relationship with the PGA while presenting the best product possible.
The Ryder Cup is the exception but that’s only every other year.
A friend of mine watched the stream and mentioned the shotgun start and lack of advertising. He liked it. I imagine they aren’t too worried about sponsors at this point but I can imagine some hesitation in boardrooms about supporting LIV given the backers.
Greg Norman’s press conference at the start of the tournament was interrupted for security to throw a journalist out who asked about human rights in Saudi Arabia. That could be a problem for their marketing department.