The latest skirmish in golf’s civil war has finally seen someone take a stand against the bad guys. The PGA Tour kicked them all out Thursday morning, Phil and DJ and the rest, all 17 of the Blood Money Bros who just had to escape the shackles of their multi-million dollar lifestyles in America to go into business with a Saudi murderer.
The PGA Tour was right to do this, and, frankly, had to do it. To not suspend the fleeing golfers would be to send a message to every other PGA Tour player that they, too, can violate the terms of their agreement with the tour whenever the mood suits them and play anywhere else they want, anytime they want.
If the PGA Tour didn’t suspend the Saudi Seventeen and all their future LIV buddies, pretty soon, there might not be a PGA Tour at all.
“These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan wrote in a memo to the tour’s members. “But they can’t demand the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform as you. That expectation disrespects you, our fans and our partners.”
There was no word on how long the suspensions might last, so “indefinitely” is the correct description for now. But it’s logical to guess that by not putting a time limit on it, the PGA Tour is indicating this could actually be a long time, certainly as long as LIV Golf exists, however long that will be.
Right now the Saudi golf league features a few big names like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, reportedly some youngish golf stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler, and a whole bunch of guys you probably thought were already retired but it turns out are still playing. It also couldn’t somehow find its way onto one of the 872 TV networks out there but is being shown on YouTube, so we’ll see how that works out.
Once the PGA Tour announced the suspensions, LIV Golf shot back with a statement of its own.
“This certainly is not the last word on this topic,” it said. “The era of free agency is beginning as we are proud to have a full field of players joining us in London, and beyond.”
Conspicuously missing from the LIV statement was this paragraph:
“Our tour’s mission is to pay big-name male golfers tens of millions of dollars in what others might call bribes to sports-wash the image of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who sanctioned the 2018 ing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to human rights organizations and intelligence services. MBS is funding LIV Golf. Everyone who has joined the tour is his new business partner.”
No, they left that part out and focused on the virtuous fight for free agency in sports by these warriors for fairness for the common rich man and woman who toil and sweat inside the gates of the world’s most exclusive country clubs. Phil and the rest must think they are some kind of latter-day Curt Floods. In reality, they are just greedy multi-millionaires looking out for no one but themselves.
Nice try, LIV Golf. That’s not free agency. That’s me agency.
