I suppose my cynical outlook contributed to my getting so many aspects of LIV versus PGA correct. As I noted in my May 23 (2023) "LIV and Super Bowl III," Koepka stood in for Joe Namath, and the 2023 PGA Championship stood in admirably for Super Bowl III. Of course, just as with the NFL/AFL scenario in 1969, negotiations were clearly long in progress before the events' results sanctified the negotiations.
What right did anyone have to question, based on alleged competition level, Joe Namath's 400K bonus for signing with the AFL Jets? What right did anyone have to denigrate DeChambeau or Koepka or Dustin Johnson or Mickelson, based on competition level, for signing with LIV?
On June 5, the day BEFORE the LIV/PGA merger was made public, I wrote "LIV vs. PGA: More Eamon Lynch." The closing paragraph implied that the LIV and PGA goals and priorities were virtually synonymous. The primary difference was simply the acronym used.
Did PGA Golfers Really Not See the Handwriting on the Wall?
I guess I'm surprised that many of the PGA golfers said that they were surprised by the merger announcement. Or perhaps most of it was feigned surprise. Surely, the PGA golfers had to have some sense of the scale involved. Back on July 5 (2022) in my "The Saudi Golf Tour (Part Two)," I wrote:
"Watching an attempted monopoly (the PGA) twist in the wind because it lacks the funding to compete on equal terms with what amounts to a proprietorship is...quite funny. All that American wealth overmatched by non-American wealth. It doesn't happen that often. We should appreciate the show."
Is the show now finished with the merger announcement? Well, not quite. American political factions will try to pick up some morality points by challenging the merger. Not as entertaining as watching the Saudi sharks gobble up the PGA guppies (to employ one of Eamon Lynch's metaphors), but hand-wringing and loud speeches on "sportswashing" will, at some point, make their way onto CNN.
Until then, let's just enjoy the golf. The merger, in my mind, seemed likely from the beginning of all this. The PGA players' financial managers must have spelled it out for them. And yet none of the PGA stalwarts, buttressed by their unflinching morality, publicly anticipated the merger and jumped ship for the Japanese Tour.
To quote the great philosopher, Gomer Pyle, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"
Bob Dietz
June 16, 2023
