Phil Mickelson during a press conference at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire ahead of the Liv Golf Invitational Series. Photo / Getty
OPINION:
The controversial Liv Golf rebel tour kicked off this week, along with a range of painfully awkward and PR-proofed media conferences where golfers defended their decisions to play for an organisation funded by the Saudi Arabian government.
Hundreds of millions were thrown around by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to attract players to Liv Golf, and many took it and ran.
But according to the players, joining the nation's latest sportswashing project was about a lot more than the money.
It turns out the players' reasons for joining Liv Golf, and potentially putting their careers with other tours and the ability to play in majors in jeopardy, was almost as wide-ranging as the growing list of Saudi human rights abuses.
Here's a list of Liv golfers and their reasons for taking Saudi money – ranked from worst to best (in terms of sportswashing).
Millions of dollars in potential prize money and millions more just for signing up, but for many Liv golfers, it was the change in scenery and new format that was attractive.
Louis Oosthuizen: "I was excited about this whole tour starting up being different, being something different to what we do every day on tour. Where I was in my career, it was time for a change. I was trying to do something different and this was very exciting."
Dustin Johnson: "Ever since I was first introduced to this idea, I thought it was great for the game of golf. I was excited for a new format, a new kind of golf that I think is great for the game, great for the fans. I think it's going to be very exciting and I'm excited about playing."
Graeme McDowall: "I think there's a space in golf for the traditional 72-hole format, there's also a space for the game for something fresh and new. Shorter playing windows, kind of like Twenty20 cricket if you like. We look at the cricket model, and we look at the success they've had with the IPL and Twenty20, there's a lot of what we're trying to do here that we feel like it's better for the fan. It's better for the players, and it's just a new opportunity. It's just something fresh and fun."
You've been grinding your whole career, and you're getting on. Competing against all these younger golfers is hard. Then a magical Saudi prince pops up and offers you a bucket of cash to join a new golfing super league – how good!
But it's definitely not about the money though, it's the opportunity. Other tours make you qualify and stuff, and work for your card. That's basically ageism. Plus, think about all the time you get to spend with your family when you retire early after making all that money, oops, I mean opportunity to play at the top again!
Martin Kaymer: "The truth is, if you see where I am in my career right now, I don't have a full PGA Tour card. In fact, I resigned from the PGA Tour last Friday. I want my life to be clear-cut. I don't want legal stuff hanging over me. I've made my decision to be part of this tour and the DP World Tour. I wasn't going to have much of a category on the PGA Tour next year. I barely had one this year. I didn't get the starts I wanted over there. So earning my playing rights for next year was going to be really tough. So this tour just makes sense for me."
Louis Oosthuizen: "For me where I was in my career, it was probably going to be my last year on the PGA Tour. I always said when I get to that stage around 40 I want to do something else and not just golf in my life. I wanted to try something else and everyone knows that I love being on a farm and being outside. I was almost done and along came this opportunity where I can do four years of this and be faster time spent with my family after this. I can do what I want to do."
For Kevin Na, he sees himself as a pioneer. The money? That's for people who need it. Na cares more about being a leader in ushering his sport into the future.
Na: "I feel like Liv Golf could potentially be the next world stage. I envision it as this being the world tour, this being the – I like to use the word – Super League. I think this is where the best players compete. The 48 guys. I don't think it's a risk because all the Ryder Cup or majors, without the best players in the world, yes majors are still majors but it's not the same."
Journalist corrects Na: "With respect Kevin, you keep saying the best players in the world are here. 46 of the world's top 50 are playing on the PGA Tour. The Canadian Open this week is far stronger than this event. The world's best players are still very much there."
Na: "What I'm saying is the vision moving forward. This is only the first event. I think this has the potential to have the best players in the world and to be maybe the best Tour in the world. I do get what you're saying about risk, but somebody asked me that – my friends or family – 'Kevin do you feel like you're risking or taking a risk', I really don't feel that way. I feel like it's something that's going to be amazing in the future and I'm the pioneer of it."
For some golfers, well just Dustin Johnson – who received a reported US$150 million to commit to Liv Golf – the new tour was more of an equal playing field. You see, Johnson is an equal opportunity advocate. Meritocracy is his jam. He was tired of the unfair playing conditions of the other tours. On Liv Golf, you get to see who is really the best (in a field that includes four of the world's top 50 golfers).
Dustin Johnson: "There's three rounds, there's no cuts, it's a shotgun start. So to me, everyone's playing in the same conditions. We see it all the time where you can get the bad side of the draw and unfortunately it's just how it goes. Now we're all playing at the same exact time, same exact condition. So it's going to be a really true test."
Talor Gooch simply wanted to have good preparation for next week's US Open.
Gooch: "For me from a scheduling perspective, this makes a lot of sense to come play here. It's a great week to knock off the rust if you will at the US Open next week. For me it was very clear that this was the best move for me, for my season and again to prepare for the US Open and just give me the best chance to play the best golf I can."
This week's Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, a tournament with a far more competitive field and a format that more accurately reflects the US Open, was just not good enough preparation for a major.
Playing in a country and playing for an organisation funded by that country to improve its tarnished reputation is exactly the same, right?
Ian Poulter: "We've played on the European tour in Saudi Arabia over the last number of years. The event has been a big event with a world-class field. I think everyone up here now has played in that event. It's been a world-class tournament."
Lee Westwood: "Like Ian said, we've both played in Saudi Arabia already. We've been given releases by the PGA Tour to play there and European Tour have held events there. This is no different really. Yeah I feel educated on it (Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses) but it's something I've done in the past. As independent contractors, we can basically play wherever we want."
In comments published earlier this year by biographer Alan Shipnuck, Phil Mickelson was quoted as calling the Saudis "scary mother***ers" and questioned the country's human rights record. Mickelson then took months off away from the game and returned after signing a reported $200 million bonus to commit to Liv Golf.
Why did he return if it wasn't the money? Mickelson wants everyone to know he's sorry – and believes he can use his time at Liv Golf to make the world a better place.
Phil Mickelson: "I've made, said and done a lot of things that I regret. And I'm sorry for that and for the hurt that it's caused a lot of people. I don't condone human rights violations at all. Nobody here does throughout the world. I'm certainly aware of what has happened with Jamal Khashoggi (a journalist who was allegedly murdered by agents of the Saudi government) and I think it's terrible. I've also seen the good that the game of golf has done throughout history and I believe that Liv Golf is going to do a lot for the game as well. And I'm excited for this opportunity – that's why I'm here."
Journalist: "Can I just ask what you are apologising for? Are you sorry for speaking the truth about the Saudis, or are you sorry for the shameless hypocricy of taking their money anyway?"
Mickelson: "I understand that many people have strong opinions and may disagree with my decision. And I can empathise with that, but at this time, this is an opportunity that gives me the chance to have the most balance in my life going forward and I think this is going to do a lot of good for the game."
Phil Mickelson = 🤡 #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/uYT6hEFDVS
— Jordan Tomiyama (@Jttomiyama) June 8, 2022
Graeme McDowell wins the day. Incredible piece of sportswashing. 10/10.
McDowell: "This has been incredibly polarising. I think we all agree up here, take the Khashoggi situation, we all agreed that that was reprehensible. No one's going to argue that fact. But we're golfers. Speaking personally, I really feel golf is a force of good in the world. I try to be a great role model to kids. I know what the game of golf has taught me. I love using the game of golf as something to kind of help grow around the world. That's pretty much what we've done over the last 20 years, be role models to kids, try and use this game as a force of good really.
"We're not politicians. I know you guys hate that expression but we're really not unfortunately. We're professional golfers. If Saudi Arabia wanted to use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be and they have the resources to accelerate that experience, I think we're proud to help them on that journey using the game of golf and the abilities that we have to help grow the sport and take them to where they want to be."
Later in the week, McDowell said he "wanted to keep the moral high ground" and not resign from the PGA Tour over his involvement in Liv Golf, before eventually resigning anyway 30 minutes before teeing off at Liv's first event in London. What more can you say, this man is on fire.
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