I respectfully disagree. Cam Smith is the real deal…..or had the chance to be. Too bad he made the decision he made.
Can the PGA survive LIV?
- Thread starter INXS83
- Start date
Tiger didn't and doesn't have a bubbly personality, either. It should be about the quality of golf they play. Some guys are unflappable and even snarky when competing.
And he flat out admitted that the financial opportunity was too good to pass up.
Honest men are a rare commodity these days...
Smith was also more honest than most of them have been. It’s a lot of money and allows me to spend more time around friends and family in Australia. He seems a bit homesick.
I think what’s disappointing is how many of these players are represented by the same agent, who apparently has bragged about how much he’s made getting players to jump to LIV.
Do they expand the field or kick out people?
Smith, 29, is leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, the new circuit announced Tuesday. Smith is No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking and won the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July. Chile's Joaquin Niemann (the 19th-ranked player in the world), Harold Varner III (No. 46), Cameron Tringale (No. 55), Australia's Marc Leishman (No. 62) and India's Anirban Lahiri (No. 92) are also joining LIV Golf, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
Smith, 29, is leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, the new circuit announced Tuesday. Smith is No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking and won the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in July. Chile's Joaquin Niemann (the 19th-ranked player in the world), Harold Varner III (No. 46), Cameron Tringale (No. 55), Australia's Marc Leishman (No. 62) and India's Anirban Lahiri (No. 92) are also joining LIV Golf, which is being financed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
Again...I don’t blame these guys for going with LIV. However, they need to realize that once they sign up with LIV, they cannot expect the privileges and perks of the PGA Tour...
I think someone like Cam Smith has sacrificed his golfing legacy by not competing agaist the best week in and week out.
But then..down the road, we don’t know how this is going to work itself out.
$100m > golfing legacy?
I am sure his kid’s kid’s kid’s will just feel bad about all that money.
legacy is mostly a bullshit term the media likes to discuss. I highly doubt most sports figures give a damn about it if they have generational wealth. 100% guarantee family members don’t care about legacy as long as the money flows.
The PGA needs to come down off it's throne and just continue what it's been doing for years to promote the game of golf,... LIV is an expensive hobby for the Saudis and it will fade.
That was a fun round Sunday. Rory, Scheffler, Im, Schauffele, etc. I think the PGA will be fine.
Never once did I say, "gosh I wish DJ and Brooks were playing". Not once.
Scheffler would have had 37 million in tourney earnings for the season if he held on Sunday.
Cam Smith could have had seasons like that.
That does not include the off course earnings he foregoes by leaving.
The long term earning power of these old PGA guys is amazing.
All gone for Smith.
Non-stars...it makes some sense for them.
Cam Smith could have had seasons like that.
That does not include the off course earnings he foregoes by leaving.
The long term earning power of these old PGA guys is amazing.
All gone for Smith.
Non-stars...it makes some sense for them.
LIV is never going to make it, at least in the USA, and here is why, TV. Where are you going to watch it? Sure, if you are a hard core fan you will pull it up on YouTube, but as we all know TV ratings live and die by the casual fans. That's why sports like baseball are destroying their history to cater to the "casual fan".
You won't see LIV on the Golf Channel. You think ESPN is going to promote it? ESPN has a contract with the PGAT. You think ESPN slights the Big Ten I bet they don't give LIV the time of day. CBS, nope. NBC, nope. Both have contracts with the PGAT. FOX? FOX isn't going to get back into golf after their last dismal foray.
It's simple, viewers will not be able to turn on their TV and watch LIV. No viewers, no advertisers, no money. We've already seen LIV can't give away tickets, and their association with Trump has alienated more than half the people in this country. Hell, the biggest coverage I have seen of LIV was on a CBS morning show where they spent 10 minutes blasting the league and talking about how horrible it is.
LIV may survive in International markets. LIV may survive internationally if the Saudis keep pumping in billions of dollars. But long term in the USA it is DOA and every golfer that signs up for it will be out of sight, out of mind, and forgotten about.
For guys like HV3, good for him, he got paid. He's in his 30's and on the downslope of his career. He got generational wealth out of the deal and he is a pretty decent guy. I got no ill will against him and many of the others that took LIV money. I'm just not interested in LIV and I don't see how it will ever be a thing in this country.
You won't see LIV on the Golf Channel. You think ESPN is going to promote it? ESPN has a contract with the PGAT. You think ESPN slights the Big Ten I bet they don't give LIV the time of day. CBS, nope. NBC, nope. Both have contracts with the PGAT. FOX? FOX isn't going to get back into golf after their last dismal foray.
It's simple, viewers will not be able to turn on their TV and watch LIV. No viewers, no advertisers, no money. We've already seen LIV can't give away tickets, and their association with Trump has alienated more than half the people in this country. Hell, the biggest coverage I have seen of LIV was on a CBS morning show where they spent 10 minutes blasting the league and talking about how horrible it is.
LIV may survive in International markets. LIV may survive internationally if the Saudis keep pumping in billions of dollars. But long term in the USA it is DOA and every golfer that signs up for it will be out of sight, out of mind, and forgotten about.
For guys like HV3, good for him, he got paid. He's in his 30's and on the downslope of his career. He got generational wealth out of the deal and he is a pretty decent guy. I got no ill will against him and many of the others that took LIV money. I'm just not interested in LIV and I don't see how it will ever be a thing in this country.
Don't forget the sponsors. Nobody is going to throw millions to a guy not even on tv.
I just saw this alert. While I won't try to go back and catch up on the details, I'll just say that Klayman is synomymous with losing litigation that takes a really really really long time.
Sort of like in the early days of my practice, when as an associate I got involved in a case involving a serial litigant whose initials were AMT and would sue anyone and everyone that sneezed in his direction and throw so much sand into the procedural gears of the system as to just grind it to a halt.
Is this the deal where LIV is buying airtime, like an infomercial?
It is. They were rejected by Disney, NBC, CBS, Apple and Amazon. Fox initially said no but whatever Murdoch is in charge wanted it. FS1 will air it. LIV has to pay for airtime, production and they are responsible for bringing in advertisers.
Last edited:
They got rejected to get a rights fee to their own product in year 2 according to the Digest article. Sounds like a winner.
No it won’t. All PGA had to do was ride out the initial wave of defectors. There’s not enough American interest in a second pro golf league. The stars of LIV are has-beens and golfer-bro douchebags that no one misses (with the exception of Cam Smith).
LIV’s product will never be superior with the format they use. No Sunday drama.
Yes, they are paying airtime, production and have to find their own advertisers
Maybe The Trump Organization can find some money and underwrite this effort! The Donald can use the TV time to run for President, hold rallies in conjunction with his golf tournaments and have real live celebrities campaign for him!
Money will prevail, the PGA can see the handwriting on the wall at some point they cut a deal or go under.
None of them want to be deposed. Eight of the eleven P’s have dropped out of the lawsuit.
Yeah, the PGA is screwed. They only had their most successful year ever with a wild Fed Ex Cup finish.
He gave a non-answer in his statement,
mentioned he loved LIV, said he loved the Tour
was happy players are now getting paid and shown respect
My job is done here, so I am dropping out of the lawsuit.
Much more flowery language, but likely first step in hopes of getting back in the good graces of tour one day
Six months ago I would have agreed, but seeing the changes the tour made as a result of LIV I think it is possible, in a few or more years. Once the old guard phases out, the younger guys may have a differing opinion about Phil's push for LIV since they will have an additional 100 million acquired because the Saudis were trying to wash money.
