To win the PGA Tour’s game of cat and mouse, or lose it in a game of chicken? The decision is yours in the next month, and it’s yours alone.
On or before January 4, it must decide whether or not to accept members’ requests for release so that they can compete in Saudi Arabia’s first round of the Saudi International.
Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Xander Schauffele are among the many players the Saudis have pledged their commitment to, but none of them have received authorization from the city of Ponte Vedra to join the team. Competing without a waiver may result in disciplinary action, which is likely to be restricted to a fine—a little droplet in the bucket of blood money they may take home while whipping themselves with backslaps for “developing the game. “.
Don’t confuse February’s event participants with the Saudi Arabian Super Golf League’s roster, which is aiming to entice stars with guaranteed money of up to $30 million for some. There will be no invitations to a breakaway circuit for the elite like Jason Dufner and Harold Varner III will receive at the International. For this reason, Saudi Arabia is utilizing the bait of appearance fees that are rarely showered on the lower levels of the PGA Tour, which has a lot more Dufners and Varners than it has Mickelsons and DeChambeaus. The Saudis have forced commissioner Jay Monahan to make a difficult decision by enticing a large number of people to shove their snouts into the trough.
AT&T, one of Monahan’s most important partners, has a $40 million or more commitment in golf as a title sponsor of two Tour events, one of which is opposite the Saudi International, and at the Masters. If some or all of the waiver requests are denied, this investment will be protected. Denials, on the other hand, would prompt Greg Norman, Saudi Arabia’s flaxen-haired henchman, to complain that the Tour is not defending players’ interests and is denying them lucrative opportunities.
Those saws have already been sanded down by the pilot shark.
It is with great pleasure that I write to express my full and unequivocal support and endorsement of your decision to officially commit to the Saudi International. In your position as professional athletes, you’re defending your rights, and you’re also doing what’s best for the growth of the sport around the world.”
To praise golfers for standing up for their rights on behalf of an oppressive government that routinely violates their constitutional rights is intellectual and moral bankruptcy.
Norman’s whirlwind agitprop these days as he mocks himself for the Crown Prince makes it difficult to stay up with him. Financial Times interviewed him and said that “every country has done awful things.” He connected racism in the U.S. with his employer’s present atrocities. Norman’s notion of “history” will be a shock to Yemeni citizens who are fighting for their lives against Saudi Arabian aggression. The “emperor has no clothing” notion is best represented by Greg Norman.
In reality, the PGA Tour is a prisoner of its own history.
exemptions were granted when it was sanctioned by European Tour formerly known as the Saudi International. When the PGA Tour formed a partnership with the Euros to combat the Super Golf League, the latter dropped their support for the event from their calendar. When the PGA Tour announced that it would not release the ’22 edition of the tournament, Monahan would have had no problem. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, purchased the Asian Tour’s seal of approval, which the PGA Tour has previously given its members access to.
Rory McIlroy believes the Tour should allow players to withdraw from tournaments. “I can understand why they wouldn’t provide releases, but I believe that if they’re trying to do what’s best for its members, and those members are earning money in places other than the PGA Tour, we as independent contractors should be free to do that.”
As the chairman of the Players Advisory Council, McIlroy has claimed that the majority of players support his opinion on not playing in the Saudi International, despite repeated offers of millions of dollars to do so. Because of this, Monahan should give up the fight over one tournament in favor of the larger campaign against the hostile takeover of professional golf by Saudi Arabia.
Tiger Woods joined the battle when he mocked the idea of a Super Golf League on Tuesday. “I’m a big fan of the PGA Tour. It’s where I’ll leave my mark, he remarked. In my career, I’ve won 82 races and 15 major titles on this tour.” As a result, I am a member of the PGA Tour.”
To remind his colleagues—he has no peers—that he is the benchmark by which they are judged, Woods uttered the following: He has appeared at several money-grab tournaments during his career, but Woods does not confuse meaningful competition with synthetic entertainment purposefully muddied by Saudi suckups who push the nonsense that their goal is to elevate the sport rather than to normalize the regime’s reputation.
As with the Super Golf League fling, the looming waivers dispute is a leverage move by the PGA Tour’s stars in an effort to gain more income and concessions. Getting the money and recalibrating their authority are both on the horizon for them. They can expect bigger paychecks, guaranteed cash events, and higher bonuses. Members-driven, but many of the Tour’s top performances believe the organization is overly focused on safeguarding journeymen at the expense of its members.
In spite of Monahan’s objections, giving releases to Saudi International will not signify a shift in policy. So, why would he give the Saudis a stick with which to further divvy up his supporters? Every year, Monahan must pay the price of allowing players to show off their lack of morality by wearing their lack of morality on their sleeves.
