AboutAnything | Greg McComb
When I have arguments with my friends about LIVGolf, the upstart league that is challenging the PGA Tour -- I like to use a metaphor with rock star Mick Jagger. I ask the simple question: if you attended a rock concert would you rather see the Rolling Stones fronted by a wrinkly, 79-year-old Mick Jagger -- or a group of talented musicians who could play much better.
Of course, the answer is the Rolling Stones.
I use this analogy to better understand what's going on as the abrasive Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, plucked player-after-player from the ranks of the PGA Tour.
Norman is going after character pros with some history, style and a bit of attitude. Fun to watch; a little bit older. Pros who have the potential to sell tickets at events and drive television ratings. He wants the rock stars, not the studio musicians...
Very smart.
Take Pat Perez, the mulleted-journeyman pro whose off-kilter quotes make for a lot of social media buzz.
"I really don't care...I'm paid. I don't give a damn," he quipped when asked about switching to LIV. Six-months later, his tearful comments about his career being rejuvenated with LIV, made for great TV (err... Youtube). Who else?
Sergio Garcia. I have early memories of a fiery-Spanish youngster storming onto the PGA tour, making an impossible recovery shot from behind a tree, then leaping to see the green over a hill. His play
in Ryder Cups has been legendary, so were his 35 wins worldwide. A consummate choker at majors, Sergio finally won the Masters in 2017, and named his first child after the popular-flowering bushes at Augusta National, Azalea. Yeah, I'd pay entry fee at a LIV event to see Sergio.
Ian Poulter was an early mover to LIV. In his early years, the Englishman nearly got banned from the European tour because of a radical spikey-blonde,
haircut. In a show of support, other tour pros wore wigs with the same punky hairstyle. Since then, Poulter has provided the fiery energy and leadership to lead Europe to a string of Ryder Cup wins, when much stronger fields of Americans should have man-handled Europe.
I could go on, Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa with a swing so pure and smooth, when my golf instructor used it for side-by-side video analysis, he started to drool. Hoganesque.
Compare Oosty's swing to the convulsive loopiness of Matthew Wolff's, and you wonder how the former college-star is able to hit the ball. After a quick win on the PGA tour, Wolff struggled and cited anxiety issues during the pandemic. The relaxed nature of the no-cut format of LIV golf probably led to his resurgence, contending at numerous events in his inaugural year. Spectators who support Matthew often howl like a pack of wolves, after he makes a good shot. Those howls are no-more on the PGA tour, LIV golf has them now.
Then there's the larger-than-life Bryson deChambeau, the mad-scientist who bulked up during the pandemic shut-down. Hoping to test the limits of the modern golf swing, he added so much speed, Bryson was the longest driver on the PGA tour two years running, 2020 and 2021. He often routed his driver on insane lines on par-4s, aiming straight at the green over trees, often coming up just short. DeChambeau isn't a one-trick pony and backed-up his driver with a well-rounded game (something of a rarity) winning eight times, including a major, the U.S. Open. The muscle-bound athlete won that major by ripping it off the tee, then using his incredible strength to gouge-out of the rough. A great acquisition for the LIV Tour.
Who else? Multiple major winners Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, and another mullet Cam Smith, number two in the world and probably the hottest player in the world, after winning the British Open.
I could go on-and-on, but it is clear that LIV has robbed the PGA of a good chunk of its value, the revenue-generating pros - the 'rock stars' - who will garner TV ratings and crowds at events. When I watched the weekly grind of PGA tour events last season, on more than one occasion I thought I watching a development tour, only a few recognizable names. Kinda' put me to sleep...
December 13, 2022
