No golf fan will ever forget 2022, the year their favorite sport changed forever...and it's still unclear whether for better or worse. Created in the mid-15th century, golf has undergone several revolutions throughout its history, it has been growing and adapting to the times. But what is happening now, with the rise of LIV Golf, the Saudi Super League, is unprecedented. And not only that, the leaders of other sports would do well to be alert to the threat of petrodollars.
In golf, the schism is a fact, although the new scenario is still taking shape and there are many loose ends to be tied up. This week during the British Open the tension has increased and this division has become evident, with the Saudis and the golfers who have succumbed to their millionaire siren songs on one side and the traditional circuits and the players who remain faithful, on the other. .
Although the players themselves try to play down what is happening, it is not in vain that many have deep friendships with someone from the other side. In Saint Andrews, the golf leaders, as has been understood in recent years, have tried to defend the fort tooth and nail. No player affiliated with LIV Golf was summoned to an official press conference in the previous days and there have even been those who, with a low voice, have criticized that the worst tee times have been awarded to deserters.
LIV Golf's response has reached the networks, bragging about the good results of its players on the Old Course and even publishing an alternative classification of the British only with its golfers. The always controversial Patrick Reed has gone even further and has played with a cap and a vest with the LIV Golf logo. On the other side, it is possible to place Tiger Woods above all, since his very harsh words against what is happening resonated in the five continents. "They are turning their backs on what has allowed them to be where they are," he lamented, even taking into account that he has good friends who have taken over Villadiego.
How could it be otherwise, the conflict has also reached the fans. In Scotland, the country that invented golf, it has become clear that they have sided with tradition. The English Ian Poulter, absolute idol of European fans for his great feats in the Ryder Cup, was booed on the first day of The Open and something similar happened to his compatriot Lee Westwood, another veteran. An unthinkable image in almost 500 years of history of this sport. Petrodollars can with everything.
Regardless of what happened this week on the Old Course, the situation continues to evolve day by day and it is impossible to guess where the shots will end up. For now, the new LIV Golf circuit has already held its first two tests and the world keeps turning. Two South Africans, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace, have become the first two billionaires, winning the London and Portland events respectively. Two wins that were, of course, the biggest paychecks of their careers ($4 million). Whoever wins this afternoon on the Old Course and becomes champion of the British Open, the most prestigious tournament in the world, will pocket $2.5 million.
The next appointment of the Super League will arrive at the end of this month, from July 29 to 31, in Bedminster (New Jersey), and surely new golfers can be seen enrolled in this millionaire adventure. Because the trickle of signings is constant, with incorporations such as the Mexican Abraham Ancer (conquering the Hispanic market is one of the great objectives of the Super League), Brooks Koepka or Patrick Reed. Jordan Spieth, who had been linked to LIV Golf, had to come out against the rumors and categorically deny them, although as happened with Brooks Koepka, it is better not to take anything for granted. The Saudi claws have even reached the amateur world with the notorious incorporation of Madrid-born Eugenio López Chacarra, number two in the amateur ranking, who had decided to finish his career in the United States but could not refuse the offer and has turned professional to play four years the LIV Golf.
But the most important battle of this war is still being waged and it could radically change the landscape, definitely destroying the foundations of golf as they are built today. This is the world ranking. At the moment, the LIV Golf tournaments do not distribute points and that is stopping many players from taking the leap despite the millions offered from Saudi Arabia. Because without ranking points you can't play the Grand Slam tournaments and that's where the glory is and everything that goes with it (sponsors, legend, ego...). The Official World Ranking (OWGR) confirmed a few days ago that it has received a formal request from LIV Golf for its tournaments to distribute ranking points and that it has “begun to study it”. The OWGR council is made up of representatives of the main entities in the world of golf, such as Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, or Keith Pelley, general director of the DP World Tour, two of the people who have shown the most opposition to the Super League.
The PGA Tour has been the toughest, expelling all the golfers who participate in its tests while the European Tour (DP) has limited itself to imposing large fines and denying the participation of rebellious players in some tournaments. A veto that had to be lifted at the Scottish Open for three players (Otaegui, Poulter and Harding) after they appealed the decision in court. There is no time horizon for the OWGR to make a decision but it would not be surprising if the case also ended up in court.
The only thing that is clear is that golf is going through troubled times.
