The PGA and DP World Tour vs. LIV Golf: Who is on the Right Side?

The golf world, once a place of civility, whispers and etiquette has suddenly been turned on its head. If you thought the Ryder Cup celebration at The Country Club in 1999 following a mile and a half made Justin Leonard putt was disruptive, then what LIV Golf has done is nothing short of an eighteen hole tsunami. The closest golfers usually get to a courtroom are when they try to set up a tee time with the local judge who happens to be in their foursome.

But now, we have Jay Monahan of the PGA Tour and Keith Pelley of the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) on one side and Greg Norman and eleven LIV and now suspended PGA Tour players on the other side. The battle lines have been drawn and the dispute appears to headed to court as the players have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. We're not talking about the Joel Dahmen's and Beau Hossler's here, but instead they're the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, players with 77 Tour victories and nine major championships between just the three of them.

On the one hand, this dispute between the established Tours and LIV appears to be somewhat complex, especially when considering that the source of the funding is Saudi Arabia. We've heard talk of human rights violations, appearance money instead of purses distributed on the basis of performance and even that the startup is somehow damaging the integrity of the game. 

In order to keep this piece to a length that won't require the consumption of a meal while reading it, I'll try to be brief on my take on the entire dispute. First of all, the PGA Tour is comprised of players who are all independent contractors, as much as the Tour would like to think differently. With the exception of the four World Golf Championship events that don't have a cut, thus guaranteeing players a minimum payday, a player has to make it to the weekend to be compensated for that event. 

If a player doesn't finish in the top 125 in FedEx Cup points at the end of the season, they lose their fully exempt status on the Tour. If they finish outside the top 200, they basically lose all status whatsoever. So these guys have travel expenses, caddies, coaches and whoever else they wish to employ, with no guaranteed money outside of any sponsorships or exhibition pay they might be able to negotiate. None of that, however, comes courtesy of the PGA Tour or any of its 45 or so events.

Then along comes LIV Golf, which is offering some players more than $100 million over several years to participate in their Tour. Now let's take Dustin Johnson as an example. He's been on Tour for 15 years with 24 victories, including a pair of major championships. Johnson's career earnings on Tour stand at just under $75 million. He signed with LIV for at least $125 million, and that's in addition to any tournament winnings he amasses with his play on the course. At the time he was suspended from the PGA Tour, he'd earned $1.6 million in the current season.

In last week's LIV event in Bedminster, New Jersey, Johnson finished second in the individual  competition and he was a member of the winning team, handing the 38 year old a total paycheck for the week of just over $2.5 million. That brought his total LIV winnings to over $5.2 million, and that's for playing 54 hole events with no cut. The winner of the event, Henrik Stenson, won $4 million individually and another $750,000 for his team's second place finish. Stenson was forced out as the European Ryder Cup captain after signing with LIV. 

To say it's all about the money would probably be accurate, although some players have also expressed that part of their motivation was the way they've been treated by the PGA Tour. Don't get me wrong. Many of these players have been highly compensated for years and I'm not painting any of them as lacking financially. Nonetheless, guaranteed money, shorter golf tournaments, a team component and bigger purses all add up to a huge incentive for players to make the jump. After all, even though they're competitors, golf is a business and it's their livelihood.

What's interesting about this situation is that shortly following the inception of the LIV season and in response to the continuing exodus of players from the PGA and DP World Tours, the PGA Tour announced big changes to the Tour schedule, tournament formats and purse sizes. They've increased the number of events without a cut and radically raised purse levels for a number of tournaments. For an organization that wanted to stand by the "don't make the cut, don't get paid mantra", it smacks somewhat of hypocrisy.

I'm no legal expert, but when a non-profit organization suspends or kicks out independent contractors who get no guarantees on a week to week or season to season basis, it would appear the PGA Tour has a pretty thin case. In conversations with a longtime friend who also spent his career in the golf business, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the Tours to suspend these players for simply pursuing a living. LIV Golf could easily have coexisted with the PGA and DP World Tours. Both of those organizations have minimum participation requirements in order to retain membership.

LIV golfers could have chosen to play the minimum number of Tour events while still participating in LIV tournaments. The goal of LIV, as explained this week on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" during interviews with Norman and DeChambeau, is to bring a different type of fan experience to the sport. It's as if TopGolf suddenly came to a country club near you. Now the PGA and DP World Tours simply look jealous and vindictive, and may very well lose in court or need to come up with some compromise to avoid legal embarrassment.

There are still some issues around how long LIV Golf may survive, especially without a television contract or Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points awarded for tournament play. The earliest OWGR points could be granted would be July of 2024, so even if the other bodies such as the PGA of America, the USGA and the Masters allow LIV golfers to play in their major events, it's doubtful they can qualify, except for the players who have exemptions already in place.

Where will this go? My prediction, and if you've ever seen my football prognostication, could be spot on or wildly inaccurate. I am guessing that LIV could end up going the way of the original USFL, while many of the new ideas generated finding their way to the major Tours. They already have to an extent. I find it hard to believe that top players, despite the money, will want to be on the outside looking in when it comes time for the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.

What's really interesting is that a victory in court for the players could actually end up being the best thing to happen to the PGA and DP World Tours. It would mean they would retain the top players for many of their events, making it more difficult for LIV Golf to gain additional traction. I believe the players will prevail and the Tours will work out some sort of compromise with LIV Golf to return civility to the game.

The latest novel in the PK Frazier series is now available. "Unplayable Lie", as well as the first three installments, can be found at PK Frazier novels

TIGER WOODS LEADS AMERICANS TO ROYAL MELBOURNE IN PRESIDENT'S CUP MATCHES

On paper, this week’s President’s Cup duel between the Americans and a squad of International golfers would appear to be a major mismatch. Beyond the Internationals having home course advantage at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia, there aren’t many numbers working in their favor. Despite being without top ranked Brooks Koepka, the Americans still have an average Official World Golf Ranking of 12. 25. The Internationals only boast two golfers inside the top 20 and an average of slightly over 40. Ten of the Americans have better rankings than the best International player, number 18 Adam Scott. The lowest ranked U.S. player for captain Tiger Woods is number 23 Matt Kuchar, who is ranked higher than ten of the players who will tee it up for captain Ernie Els’ International team.

Of course, the matches aren’t played on paper, but instead on a golf course with grass, higher grass, sand and water. Even though there appears to be a huge discrepancy in the players’ rankings, all 24 are in the top 63 in the world. Looking at the randomness of match play tournaments gives some insight into how little disparity there is between number 4 (Dustin Johnson) and number 63 (Haotong Li). Perhaps the biggest disadvantage Els faces is the inexperience of his team. He has seven President’s Cup rookies and it will be a challenge for him to sprinkle them throughout the competition to ensure that his veterans have some significant contributions.

Eleven of the twelve Americans played in last week’s Hero Challenge, Tiger Woods’ charity event in the Bahamas. Only Dustin Johnson sat it out, nursing an injury in hopes of being 100% in Australia. The limited field tournament ended Saturday, after which Tiger and his team took off for Down Under. No International team members were included in the tournament, so if you’re looking for an advantage for the underdogs, jet lag might be one of them. The other major benefit for Ernie Els is the golf course. Many of the Internationals are familiar with the venue, given the closer proximity to the Australian and Asian players on the team.

In 1998, the first time this event was played outside the United States, the Internationals dominated what to that date was one of the best teams to ever be assembled in international team play. The Americans never contended and lost 20 1/2 - 11 1/2. Could we see a similar result this time? Anything is possible, but here are some thoughts about what will contribute to the final outcome.

Tiger Woods as playing captain: In November, Tiger picked himself to be part of his President’s Cup team, the first time since Hale Irwin in the inaugural playing of this event in 1994 that the U.S. has had a captain teeing it up. After his victory at the Zozo Championship in October, the first PGA Tour event held in Japan, he really had very little choice but to include himself on the squad. Woods will have plenty of help with the details as former captains Fred Couples and Steve Stricker will be joined by Zach Johnson as assistant captains. Look for the 82 time winner to play the four-ball matches (more popularly known as best-ball) and sit out the foursomes (alternate shot). All players will participate in the singles matches on the final day.

Different schedule than the Ryder Cup: I believe one reason the Americans have had more success in the President’s Cup than they have in the Ryder Cup is the schedule. The matches are played over the course of four days, instead of the three days in the Ryder Cup. There are also an additional two matches in the President’s Cup, which means team depth comes more into play as it’s more difficult to hide or sit players that aren’t playing well.

Royal Melbourne Golf Club: The green complexes are big and the surfaces are undulating, making it important to place approach shots on the correct side of the hole. If the Internationals really do have a home course advantage, this is where it will be manifested. In addition, captain Ernie Els and his staff have control of the course setup, so he should be able to give his team a better chance at victory.

The players: There is little doubt that the Americans have a much better, deeper and more experienced team. Ernie Els will need to lean on his veterans. If the first round pairings are any indication, he will be doing just that. Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Hadwin will all be in action. Each of them are paired with a rookie member of the team. If the Internationals can keep it close the first couple of days, look for the Americans to start to feel the pressure. If not, this will be a runaway win for the United States.

Jet Lag: Today’s professional golfers are very familiar with international play and travel, but leaving on a Saturday evening and playing at a high level four days later can be a challenge. Last year, I believe fatigue played a big role in the American’s poor showing in Ireland during the Ryder Cup. Coming on the heels of a brutal FedEx playoff push with no, for which many of the Europeans were not qualified, was a huge factor. Perhaps the less congested fall schedule will find a more rested American team in Australia, but it could still be something that gives an overwhelmed International team a way to close the gap.

Conclusion: I look for the Americans to jump out to an early lead and hold on for the duration of the week. Despite some mitigating factors I’ve mentioned, the U.S. is just too strong and experienced for the Internationals. Tiger will surely have his team well-prepared and assuredly matched up to get the most out of their abilities.

Prediction: U.S. 18 International 12

Hear my recent interview with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, where we discussed his agency, concussions, franchise relocation and philanthropy at http://thechtonsports.com/cold-hard-truth-sports-radio-show-1242017/

Also listen to our conversation with author and sports journalist Mike Carey, as we discussed his latest book "Bad News" about Marvin Barnes and reminisced about Mike's coverage of the Boston Celtics during their glory years with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/golongmedia/2017/02/08/the-cold-hard-truth-on-sports-radio-show

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" at  Amazon.com .  Check out www.thechtonsports.com for our podcasts and live broadcast on Tuesday's at 9:00 pm EST. I can also be reached via email at kevin@pkfrazier.com.