In reply to Bunk Moreland

Bunk Moreland said:

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I think it wasn't only the physical injuries but the mental exhaustion and he wanted to spend time living his life not being dominated by golf...which it was ever since he was very young with an overbearing father.

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I think you're right about that but only the physical stuff was relevant to the insurance.

Coverage signal is bad today. Picture is twitchy. I assume satellite issues. Hard to watch

AK report for the round

Kim just left a 20-ft putt 8 feet short.

In reply to Sooper Jeenyus 'Just'

Niemann is on a tear. Will be very interesting to see his form in a month at Augusta. Lot of the heavier hitters put up some good rounds this weekend.

With the PGA-PIF deal looking less and less likely, and now Norman saying they will no longer pursue OWGR points, are we thinking Saudi Golf is about go all-in on talent accumulation? Rory, Hovland, Hideki, Im, etc. Seems like maybe their next (and maybe last) move until a deal with PGA tour is finalized.

In reply to class of 03 I hope

Will definitely be interesting to see play out.

In reply to class of 03

class of 03 said:

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With the PGA-PIF deal looking less and less likely, and now Norman saying they will no longer pursue OWGR points, are we thinking Saudi Golf is about go all-in on talent accumulation? Rory, Hovland, Hideki, Im, etc. Seems like maybe their next (and maybe last) move until a deal with PGA tour is finalized.

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LIV is going to partner with the Euro tour to allow the LIV guys to play in their tourneys to earn OWGR points.

No doubt that Rory is pissed at the PGAT and Jay Monahan for using him as a sacrificial pawn. I wouldn't be surprised if Rory ends up with LIV. Norman and McIlroy will put aside their differences and join forces to minimize and embarrass the PGAT. Would be quite the coup for Norman.

In reply to Unemployed

Unemployed said:

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class of 03 said:

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With the PGA-PIF deal looking less and less likely, and now Norman saying they will no longer pursue OWGR points, are we thinking Saudi Golf is about go all-in on talent accumulation? Rory, Hovland, Hideki, Im, etc. Seems like maybe their next (and maybe last) move until a deal with PGA tour is finalized.

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LIV is going to partner with the Euro tour to allow the LIV guys to play in their tourneys to earn OWGR points.

No doubt that Rory is pissed at the PGAT and Jay Monahan for using him as a sacrificial pawn. I wouldn't be surprised if Rory ends up with LIV. Norman and McIlroy will put aside their differences and join forces to minimize and embarrass the PGAT. Would be quite the coup for Norman.

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If I were Rory, I'd be looking at the $$$ Rahm got and think it's a good idea to take the $$$ while it's there.

In reply to Marauder Blue 6

Marauder Blue 6 said:

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Unemployed said:

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class of 03 said:

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With the PGA-PIF deal looking less and less likely, and now Norman saying they will no longer pursue OWGR points, are we thinking Saudi Golf is about go all-in on talent accumulation? Rory, Hovland, Hideki, Im, etc. Seems like maybe their next (and maybe last) move until a deal with PGA tour is finalized.

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LIV is going to partner with the Euro tour to allow the LIV guys to play in their tourneys to earn OWGR points.

No doubt that Rory is pissed at the PGAT and Jay Monahan for using him as a sacrificial pawn. I wouldn't be surprised if Rory ends up with LIV. Norman and McIlroy will put aside their differences and join forces to minimize and embarrass the PGAT. Would be quite the coup for Norman.

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If I were Rory, I'd be looking at the $$$ Rahm got and think it's a good idea to take the $$$ while it's there.

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If LIV could $convince$ Rory to come over it would not doubt be the bullet they need to get OWGR points, as well as the big fish needed to get LIV guys into majors, other tournaments, etc.

If they're able to partner with the DP tour and backdoor their way to ranking points there could be a flood of guys leaving for big paydays.

Would it be easier or harder for LIV to negotiate with majors directly to get exemptions like top 3 or 5 LIV points guys qualify for majors?

In reply to lazuras_dc

lazuras_dc said:

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Would it be easier or harder for LIV to negotiate with majors directly to get exemptions like top 3 or 5 LIV points guys qualify for majors?

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The OWGR is the majors. The governing bodies of all 4 majors each have 1 of the 7 board seats on the OWGR. The idea that the OWGR is some outsider organization that the majors somehow got lumped in with and now are beholden to is just wrong. The OWGR was created by, and is still run by, the majors. If the majors think the OWGR should recognize LIV so their guys can gain eligibility, they can easily make those changes to the OWGR.

In reply to JCA1 They can also say "top 5 LIV" players get into X tournament if they want but I think they are waiting for things to shake out between LIV and PGAT....see where this thing goes

Use data golf rankings. much more accurate.

In reply to Aggie369

Aggie369 said:

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They can also say "top 5 LIV" players get into X tournament if they want but I think they are waiting for things to shake out between LIV and PGAT....see where this thing goes

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Of course. They are clearly free to come up with whatever criteria they want for admission. My main point is some seem to be under the misconception that the majors may not like that the OWGR are excluding liv guys and may be looking for ways around the OWGR. That's simply not the case. The majors control the OWGR.

In reply to JCA1

JCA1 said:

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Aggie369 said:

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They can also say "top 5 LIV" players get into X tournament if they want but I think they are waiting for things to shake out between LIV and PGAT....see where this thing goes

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Of course. They are clearly free to come up with whatever criteria they want for admission. My main point is some seem to be under the misconception that the majors may not like that the OWGR are excluding liv guys and may be looking for ways around the OWGR. That's simply not the case. The majors control the OWGR.

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"The majors" don't control the OWGR. "The majors" aren't all one monolithic group. Yes they can band together to force a majority but each entity could do that with the other members of the board at any time as well. It's not a simple light switch that they can turn on or off and very political.

I understand your overall point and tend to agree with it, but you're also presenting it as some simple thing when it isn't.

In reply to Bunk Moreland

Bunk Moreland said:

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JCA1 said:

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Aggie369 said:

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They can also say "top 5 LIV" players get into X tournament if they want but I think they are waiting for things to shake out between LIV and PGAT....see where this thing goes

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Of course. They are clearly free to come up with whatever criteria they want for admission. My main point is some seem to be under the misconception that the majors may not like that the OWGR are excluding liv guys and may be looking for ways around the OWGR. That's simply not the case. The majors control the OWGR.

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"The majors" don't control the OWGR. "The majors" aren't all one monolithic group. Yes they can band together to force a majority but each entity could do that with the other members of the board at any time as well. It's not a simple light switch that they can turn on or off and very political.

I understand your overall point and tend to agree with it, but you're also presenting it as some simple thing when it isn't.

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I'm just meeting people on their terms when they talk about "the majors." People seem to think the majors are divorced from the OWGR. They're not. They have the ability to change the OWGR's criteria. Whether that's easy or hard is a different question and nothing I said anything about.

The Masters is either going to be the first one to jump or they may never jump. I could see them saying "this is the prestige tournament, it's bigger than the PGAT, and we'll always have the best players" just as easily as I could see them saying "The tradition of golf is bigger than any tour, and The Masters will be the standard bearer of that tradition and always will be."

If Rory had half the amount of integrity and virtue that he was projecting during this whole ordeal, he'd retire before joining LIV.

I could be wrong but I don't see him doing that. Its a different case than say, Rahm was. Despite Rahm initially expressing loyalty to the PGAT, he always seemed to be outside of the cool kids club of Tiger, Rory, etc.

In reply to MW03

MW03 said:

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The Masters is either going to be the first one to jump or they may never jump. I could see them saying "this is the prestige tournament, it's bigger than the PGAT, and we'll always have the best players" just as easily as I could see them saying "The tradition of golf is bigger than any tour, and The Masters will be the standard bearer of that tradition and always will be."

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Masters are an invitational and are free to invite whoever they want (see Niemann invite). Also, LIV seems to have concentrated on past Masters champs and landed a bunch of them. They're very few LIV guys who have a case for playing the Masters that aren't already in, many for life. I see no reason for the Masters to be in a hurry. And hurry has never been their style either.

Phil did AK a solid in round 1 of Hong Kong by shooting an 80 to settle in at +10. Kim and Swafford both shot 76.

Not sure if this has been discussed already, but DFW's Avid Golfer magazine just released their new ranking of private clubs and seemingly confirmed the longstanding rumor that there will likely be a LIV tournament this fall, potentially the championship, at Maridoe in Dallas. I'm not a big LIV fan, but I would go check it out just to see those guys play that beast of a golf course.

In reply to FTAco07 yeah DFW has been the very publicly speculated location for either the individual championship weekend or team championship weekend.

Maridoe would be real interesting. I'm going to try to go to Houston in June but that is appealing for this fall too.

In reply to Bunk Moreland Heard Maridoe but then heard they ended up moving on

I'll check on it, if so I'll see if I can't get some extra tickets for a group from here

Watching some action before hitting the hay. The course looks interesting. Some tight fairways that force driver out of their hands. Ancer playing great.

Edit - wrong emoji

In reply to Bunk Moreland Shooting 76 first week of competitive golf after a decade plus off is impressive

Didn't expect him to go this low but the 76 told me he still "had it"

LIV has been announcing various partnership deals the last few days.

AEG Presents and LIV Golf are excited to announce an exclusive multi-year partnership to deliver world-class entertainment at LIV Golf events around the world 🤝#LIVGolf https://t.co/jgCiQt8GwL

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) March 19, 2024

Digging in together with @JCBmachines 🚜

Excited to announce JCB as the presenting partner of LIV Golf UK 👏#LIVGolf

— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) March 20, 2024

When it comes to design and comfort, that’s the REDVANLY Smash factor for the fits 💥

Excited to announce a partnership between SmashGC 🤝 REDVANLY as the official on-course apparel partner for #SmashGC

Cop the same polo the team is wearing this season ➡️… pic.twitter.com/DE3jBd7xgP

— Smash GC (@SmashGC) March 21, 2024

Next tournament is Doral in Miami. With the Mexico/Brazil game @ Kyle being the same weekend as LIV Houston I might try to get out there just for Sunday.

AK is finally stateside and LIV Miami gets going today. Interested to see who's game is in good form going into next week.

LIV Players in Masters Field:
Bryson Dechambeau
Sergio Garcia
Tyrel Hatton
Dustin Johnson
Brooks Koepka
Adrian Meronk
Phil Mickelson
Joaquin Niemann
Jon Rahm
Patrick Reed
Charl Schwartzel
Cameron Smith
Bubba Watson

I also read where Talor Gooch got an invite to play the Masters.

In reply to Bunk Moreland

Bunk Moreland said:

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I believe you read that on April 1st.

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Then I guess he has about as much of a chance of winning as Justin Thomas does right now. It would be great if one of the LIV guys like Niemann won. Not one of the past major winners but one of the others.