McIlroy to LIV? 'Fake news'
Is change inevitable at PGA Tour HQ? Visiting Masters Birdies & Bogeys
It has gotten increasingly harder for some folks to differentiate what’s real and what isn’t in the digital world. That is the same on the golf front as well in this new divided realm of the professional game. Most of the LIV rumors you see and hear in the TwiXter-verse are pure nonsense. But when someone like Jon Rahm can go from not interested and pledging his fealty to the PGA Tour to wearing a LIV letter jacket and announcing his departure for the rival league after months of smoke turned into fire, then you start to question whether anything can be trusted. The latest smoke has been rising around Rory McIlroy, so what’s the skinny?
‘My future is here on the PGA Tour’
Responding to reports citing anonymous sources that he was close to an $850 million deal to join LIV Golf, Rory McIlroy on Tuesday denied that he’s even been in discussions with the league and said, “I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career.’’
Brian Keough in the Irish Independent first reported that the report on Monday in the London-based City A.M. business publication was being denied by McIlroy’s representative, Sean O’Flaherty, as “fake news.’’
Later, Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis spoke to McIlroy on camera in Hilton Head Island , South Carolina, where he’s preparing for this week’s RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. McIlroy told Lewis “I honestly don’t know how these things get started’’ and reiterated that he’s never received a LIV offer and that “I don’t think it’s something for me.’’
“I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career,” McIlroy said.
Off camera, McIlroy told Lewis that he’s had discussions with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, in the past but that it was always in the context of how the game could get better. Knowing his stance on LIV Golf, McIlroy said, the PIF and LIV never offered him.
But he understands why some players such as Jon Rahm, the biggest name so far to make the switch, have made their decisions.
“Guys need to keep an open mind,’’ McIlroy said. “It’s never ever been a conversation for us. But this is the state the game is in.’’
City A.M. reported that two separate sources told the publication that a deal was close and claimed that the $850 million was not all. There would also be a 2 percent equity stake in the competition. It noted that the claims had not been verified.
McIlroy offered no hints over the weekend at the Masters, where he tied for 22nd. In fact, he laid out a robust schedule through the Travelers Championship the week following the U.S. Open.
Asked if he’d consider scaling back his hectic playing schedule after playing seven events before the Masters, he said: “No, the next two weeks I’m playing Hilton Head, I’m playing New Orleans. I’ll take a week off, playing Quail Hollow, play the PGA, take another week off, then play another four in a row.”
PGA Tour’s Global Home and PGA Tour Studios. (Scott Michaux)
Rude awakening coming to PVB?
While the Masters tends to suck the oxygen out of the golf world, there were some interesting items that got eclipsed by the events at Augusta National the previous two weeks.
Steve Cohen – New York Mets owner and chairman, CEO and president of Point72 – talked about his investment in professional golf through Strategic Sports Group recently when the group committed up to a head shaking $3 billion to PGA Tour Enterprises.
As a hedge fund manager, Cohen knows the value of a dollar and seems to be focused on making sure the PGA Tour is as well.
“We think the ways it’s been run; we think we can improve the operations and make it much more profitable,” Cohen told Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
What is improving operations? Whatever it means is likely to include a reduction in force or layoffs from the newly constructed castle in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
SSG has clearly had numerous meetings with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan before its investment and had its first meeting with the 13 member Policy Board in February.
In that February meeting, Monahan said during his interview at the Players Championship that the substance of the discussion focused primarily on how the tour can place its current and future fans at the center of their decision making, never suggesting the number of tour employees that is north of 1,000 were part of any discussion.
While this makes sense to focus on the fans, it won’t be just a singular focus that will find an adequate return on investment for SSG, which brings the attention back to cost cutting of inefficiencies.
In a recent discussion with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund that bankrolls LIV Golf, Cohen suggested that artificial intelligence may prompt the world to embrace a four-day work week, which would add an extra day for rest and relaxation and, of course, golf. That means potential additional revenue.
While Cohen answered the question about his discussions with Al-Rumayyan, he never mentioned PIF or LIV Golf. But the sovereign wealth fund and the rival league it supports is clearly a major factor on the future success of PGA Tour Enterprises. The professional rift is something that needs to be addressed for the PGA Tour and the SSG investment to get on firm footing.
“Golf’s at a moment where a lot of stuff is going on that needs to be worked out generally,” Cohen said. “But we think we can work it out and we’re excited to get involved and help the sport grow.”
The SSG group includes a number of prominent NFL, MLB and NBA owners who understand how to run sports franchises and get return on investment. In addition to Cohen, SSG includes: Boston Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner; Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank; Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio; Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts; Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck; and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Mark Lasry.
What’s your pleasure? Birdies & Bogeys
For more than a decade, Birdies & Bogeys have been a staple feature after every major men’s golf event from the Players Championship through the Tour Championship and international team events. It started many years ago with The Augusta Chronicle and continues now with Global Golf Post+. It’s been a fun way to put a bow on a major week and analyze more than just which players performed well or not-so-well in the most competitive crucibles on the golf calendar.
The Masters Birdies & Bogeys column in GGP+ includes highlights from champion Scottie Scheffler, promising debutante Ludvig Åberg, Max Homa and the retiring Verne Lundquist as well as a few low moments from Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas and Zach Johnson. Hope you check it out.
