LIV Golf is like … the Ryder Cup?! Questions, observations on the Saudi league

Majed Al Sorour, left, the CEO of Golf Saudi; and Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf, on Saturday at Pumpkin Ridge.

We’re trying to grow the game.

We’re trying to spend more time with our families.

We’re doing this for you. And the money. So please click and share.

Now that we’ve got all of the talking points out of the way, too — the ones you’ve probably heard ad nauseum recently — let’s try to make sense of this weekend’s news that seemingly came out quicker than a hosel rocket. The PGA Tour , in Illinois, and LIV Golf , in Oregon, went head to head on American soil for the first time this week, and, among other nuggets, we heard comparisons to the Ryder Cup, we read a rumor of when future signings could happen and we watched bizarre vignettes. That’s a lot, so let’s begin.

First things first: Did Talor Gooch compare the LIV event to playing in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup?

Yes.

Really?

Yes.

His complete quote, as he stood with his winning team afterward: “I haven’t played a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, but I can’t imagine there’s a whole hell of a lot of difference.”

Justin Thomas, your thoughts?

“I’ve seen some funny stuff online, but this is one of the better ones,” he wrote on the Zire Golf Instagram page . OK, with that, who were the winners?

Branden Grace, who shot rounds of three-under 69, 69 and 65 for a two-stroke win over Carlos Oritz, and the 4 Aces team of Gooch, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez.

Grace earned $4 million, and the team split $3 million.

How did the team aspect look?

This has potential. If players are locked onto teams (which appears to be coming as soon as next year) and there are individual backers of teams (which is being efforted), team play adds another level to an event. Golfers normally out of an individual tournament still have a lot to play for; on Saturday, Ortiz dropped a lengthy putt on the final hole to boost his team to third, and money, and the reaction from his teammates was engaging.

Did any players sign with LIV this weekend?

Yes, Paul Casey.

Didn’t Casey once come out against playing in Saudi Arabia? Yes. In 2019, when the European Tour played an event in the country, Casey withdrew. The former UNICEF ambassador then told the Independent :“It just didn’t sit well with me. I’ve not talked too much about it and I’m not sure I want to, but certainly signing a deal and being paid to be down there, I would be a hypocrite if I did that.“Anybody who says sport isn’t political, that’s rubbish. Sport is very political, and we’ve seen it through the years. I’m glad I took a stance, more so if it highlighted the issues within the region, especially next door in Yemen.” Did any players re-up with the PGA Tour? Yes, Will Zalatoris . Are there odds on the next players to sign with LIV? Yes, over at bookies.com , which was first pointed out by Golfweek .The current favorites? Patrick Cantlay and Hideki Matsuyama, at +350. When will we hear about the next LIV signing? Soon, according to Kenny Harms, Kevin Na’s caddie.This week, Harms posted multiple videos from the event, and in one, he answered a comment with this :“Let’s see which field is better in four weeks,” he wrote. “I’ll take NJ LIV field and you can take the Rocket Mortgage. I’ll go one better I’ll take every field for the rest of the year against all the PGA tour fields they play against. Just so you know four more guys are signing next week. Then after the tour championship there will be another five to ten. Did Perez say this was the greatest thing he’s ever been a part of in golf? Yes.His complete quote: “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever been part of in golf. Even though I’ve won three times, it doesn’t matter.” Did Perez shoot an 80 on Saturday and make nearly a million dollars? Yes. He finished 29th and earned $153,000, and as a member of the winning team, he brought home another $750,000. Did Grace compare himself to Tiger Woods? In a way.When asked afterward what the experience was like for him on the 18th hole as he finished his victory, Grace said: “I’m no Tiger, but that was as close as I’m going […]

source LIV Golf is like … the Ryder Cup?! Questions, observations on the Saudi league