Considering how Phil Mickelson’s attacks on the PGA Tour backfired spectacularly, not a few quarters believed LIV Golf Investments would want to let the controversy die down first before pushing through with its launch of a breakaway campaign. Not so. Yesterday, CEO Greg Norman announced the conduct of an eight-tournament series to be held between June and October. And, in the process, he made sure to underscore that the endeavor is “truly additive to the world of golf. We have done our best to create a schedule that allows players to play elsewhere, while still participating in our events. I believe players will increasingly make progress in achieving their right to play where they want. We will help in any way possible and will provide golfers with opportunities to achieve their full potential.”
Interesting choice of words. Indeed, the fact that LIV Golf exists points to a void in the offerings of the PGA Tour. That said, Norman went out of his way to indicate that he doesn’t see any conflict from the players’ standpoint. Forget that the longtime incumbent clearly feels threatened to the point where sanctions — suspension and even expulsion — have been conveyed to await those who join the events. And never mind that the schedule of the upstart league, while steering away from major championships, eats into the existing one.
It bears nothing that LIV Golf has done its homework. It used studies to address what it perceives to be flaws in the current game from the fans’ standpoint. At the same time, it went about addressing prevailing concerns of the players themselves. From the shotgun start to the shorter schedule to guaranteed weekend play to the three-round limit, measures have evidently been instituted to make participation easy and viewership frustration-free. And that’s saying nothing of the eye-popping payouts lined up — a whopping $255 million all told.
To be sure, Norman’s big bang did not come with names, said to be in the cards prior to Mickelson’s monumental miscue. Whether those rumored to be initially joining LIV Golf will make the leap despite the specter of bans remains to be seen. In any case, two things are apparent: 1) the Saudi Arabia-backed disruptor of the status quo will not be going anywhere; and 2) the PGA Tour has already stepped up its game, which is to say it’s dangling both carrot and stick. If nothing else, the development proves yet again that competition is good.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.