KAEC-SAUDI-ARABIA – Asian Tour and LIV Golf Investments announce The International Series. From left to right -Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, Greg Norman, CEO LIV Golf and Asian Tour No 1 golfer, Joohyung Kim of Korea. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
LEE WESTWOOD IS A DP WORLD TOUR LEGEND, BUT ALSO HAS A LONG HISTORY OF SUCCESS IN ASIA WITH 15 wins in the region and has said he has signed an nda on the super golf league
AS TENSIONS RISE ON THE UKRAINE-RUSSIA BORDER AND WESTERN POWERS INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES AND THE UK ATTEMPT TO SUPPORT UKRAINE IN AN EFFORT TO AVOID WAR, THE POSSIBILITY OF A WAR IN EUROPE IS GREATER THAN AT ANY TIME IN THE LAST 30 YEARS.
MEANWHILE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF WAR MAY WELL BE UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF OUR EYES BUT THIS ONE WILL BE FOUGHT WITH MEDIA SOUNDBYTES, DRIVERS, IRONS, WEDGES AND ULTIMATELY MAY END IN THE COURTROOM. THE SPORT OF GOLF COULD BE HEADING FOR WAR AS THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND COMPLIANT GOLF MEDIA DOUBLE DOWN ON THEIR OPPOSITION TO THE SAUDI PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND SUPPORT OF THE ASIAN TOUR AND THE RUMOURED PLANS FOR A SUPER GOLF LEAGUE.
NO STATEMENT HAS BEEN MADE BY EITHER OF THE MAJOR TOURS SINCE YESTERDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT BY GREG NORMAN AND THE ASIAN TOUR UNVEILING THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES, BUT IN THE PAST THE PGA TOUR HAS THREATENED LIFETIME BANS FOR ANY PLAYER JOINING A BREAKAWAY LEAGUE AND IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHAT THEIR RESPONSE WILL BE TO THIS LATEST DEVELOPMENT.
THE SITUATION TOOK AN UNEXPECTED TURN ON WEDNESDAY WHEN IN HIS PRE-TOURNAMENT PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE SAUDI INTERNATIONAL LEE WESTWOOD WAS ASKED ABOUT THE SUPER GOLF LEAGUE CONCEPT, AND HE RESPONDED WITH "I don't know whether I want to answer questions on that. I've signed an NDA."
THIS IS A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT THE SUPER GOLF LEAGUE IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND THE PLAYERS HAVE INDEED BEEN APPROACHED ABOUT IT. THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES WILL "NOT BE GEO-FENCED" ARE THE WORDS OF GREG NORMAN, WHICH IS CLEAR TO SEE WITH THE ADDITION OF THE LONDON EVENT AT THE CENTURION CLUB. IT SEEMS MORE AND MORE LIKELY THAT THE FORMAT IS GOING TO BE SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE ARAMCO TEAM SERIES ON THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR, ADDING A DYNAMIC TO EACH EVENT AND THE OVERALL SERIES, IN ATTEMPT TO BUILD STORYLINES AND RETAIN THE ATTENTION OF THE AUDIENCE.
WESTWOOD, A FORMER WORLD NUMBER ONE AND WINNER OF 43 TOURNAMENTS WORLDWIDE, CLEARLY BELIEVES THE SPORT HAS TO CHANGE. "I think golf has got to move with the times and become more heat-of-the-moment, volatile and impactful right from the word go," he said.
"Certainly if you do it like the team aspect, there's more action happening in more different places."
WESTWOOD, WHO HAS BEEN OFTEN LAMENTED AND MOCKED BY AMERICAN GOLF FANS AND MEDIA FOR HIS FAILINGS TO WIN MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, HAS LONG BEEN A WORLD GOLFER. HE HAS PLAYED ALL ROUND THE WORLD AND WON TOURNAMENTS IN JAPAN, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, MACAU, THAILAND, KOREA, UAE, SOUTH AFRICA, AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES, SWEDEN, BELGIUM, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, GERMANY, NETHERLANDS, IRELAND, SWITZERLAND, SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
IT SEEMS TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A STRATEGY FROM GREG NORMAN AND THE SAUDI INTERNATIONAL TO RECRUIT PLAYERS WHO HAVE A RECORD OF PLAYING AND WINNING AROUND THE WORLD, EVEN THE AMERICANS IN THE FIELD HAVE HAD SUCCESS OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOMELAND. DUSTIN JOHNSON HAS WON IN CHINA AND TWICE IN SAUDI, BRYSON DECHAMBEAU HAS WON IN DUBAI, BUBBA WATSON HAS WON IN CHINA, PATRICK REED IS A MEMBER OF THE DP WORLD TOUR AND PLAYED IN SEVERAL EVENTS ACROSS THE WORLD AND TONY FINAU IS KEEN TO PLAY AROUND THE WORLD. BY RECRUITING THESE PLAYERS HE CAN BACK UP THE CASE FOR A GLOBAL CIRCUIT, AND IN WESTWOOD, WHILST HE ISN'T EXPLICITLY STATING IT, HE HAS AN AMBASSADOR FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ASIAN TOUR AND WORLDWIDE GOLF.
MEANWHILE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF WAR MAY WELL BE UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF OUR EYES BUT THIS ONE WILL BE FOUGHT WITH MEDIA SOUNDBYTES, DRIVERS, IRONS, WEDGES AND ULTIMATELY MAY END IN THE COURTROOM. THE SPORT OF GOLF COULD BE HEADING FOR WAR AS THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND COMPLIANT GOLF MEDIA DOUBLE DOWN ON THEIR OPPOSITION TO THE SAUDI PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND SUPPORT OF THE ASIAN TOUR AND THE RUMOURED PLANS FOR A SUPER GOLF LEAGUE.
NO STATEMENT HAS BEEN MADE BY EITHER OF THE MAJOR TOURS SINCE YESTERDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT BY GREG NORMAN AND THE ASIAN TOUR UNVEILING THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES, BUT IN THE PAST THE PGA TOUR HAS THREATENED LIFETIME BANS FOR ANY PLAYER JOINING A BREAKAWAY LEAGUE AND IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHAT THEIR RESPONSE WILL BE TO THIS LATEST DEVELOPMENT.
THE SITUATION TOOK AN UNEXPECTED TURN ON WEDNESDAY WHEN IN HIS PRE-TOURNAMENT PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE SAUDI INTERNATIONAL LEE WESTWOOD WAS ASKED ABOUT THE SUPER GOLF LEAGUE CONCEPT, AND HE RESPONDED WITH "I don't know whether I want to answer questions on that. I've signed an NDA."
THIS IS A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT THE SUPER GOLF LEAGUE IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND THE PLAYERS HAVE INDEED BEEN APPROACHED ABOUT IT. THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES WILL "NOT BE GEO-FENCED" ARE THE WORDS OF GREG NORMAN, WHICH IS CLEAR TO SEE WITH THE ADDITION OF THE LONDON EVENT AT THE CENTURION CLUB. IT SEEMS MORE AND MORE LIKELY THAT THE FORMAT IS GOING TO BE SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE ARAMCO TEAM SERIES ON THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR, ADDING A DYNAMIC TO EACH EVENT AND THE OVERALL SERIES, IN ATTEMPT TO BUILD STORYLINES AND RETAIN THE ATTENTION OF THE AUDIENCE.
WESTWOOD, A FORMER WORLD NUMBER ONE AND WINNER OF 43 TOURNAMENTS WORLDWIDE, CLEARLY BELIEVES THE SPORT HAS TO CHANGE. "I think golf has got to move with the times and become more heat-of-the-moment, volatile and impactful right from the word go," he said.
"Certainly if you do it like the team aspect, there's more action happening in more different places."
WESTWOOD, WHO HAS BEEN OFTEN LAMENTED AND MOCKED BY AMERICAN GOLF FANS AND MEDIA FOR HIS FAILINGS TO WIN MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, HAS LONG BEEN A WORLD GOLFER. HE HAS PLAYED ALL ROUND THE WORLD AND WON TOURNAMENTS IN JAPAN, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, MACAU, THAILAND, KOREA, UAE, SOUTH AFRICA, AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES, SWEDEN, BELGIUM, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, GERMANY, NETHERLANDS, IRELAND, SWITZERLAND, SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
IT SEEMS TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A STRATEGY FROM GREG NORMAN AND THE SAUDI INTERNATIONAL TO RECRUIT PLAYERS WHO HAVE A RECORD OF PLAYING AND WINNING AROUND THE WORLD, EVEN THE AMERICANS IN THE FIELD HAVE HAD SUCCESS OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOMELAND. DUSTIN JOHNSON HAS WON IN CHINA AND TWICE IN SAUDI, BRYSON DECHAMBEAU HAS WON IN DUBAI, BUBBA WATSON HAS WON IN CHINA, PATRICK REED IS A MEMBER OF THE DP WORLD TOUR AND PLAYED IN SEVERAL EVENTS ACROSS THE WORLD AND TONY FINAU IS KEEN TO PLAY AROUND THE WORLD. BY RECRUITING THESE PLAYERS HE CAN BACK UP THE CASE FOR A GLOBAL CIRCUIT, AND IN WESTWOOD, WHILST HE ISN'T EXPLICITLY STATING IT, HE HAS AN AMBASSADOR FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ASIAN TOUR AND WORLDWIDE GOLF.
GREG NORMAN HAS WON THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP TWICE IN 1986 AND 1993
BUT NORMAN AND WESTWOOD KNOW THAT THE POWER BASE OF PROFESSIONAL GOLF WILL NOT LIE DOWN AND ALLOW WHAT THEY SEE AS A THREAT TO DEVELOP. IN ADDITION TO THE BANS THREATENED BY THE TOURS, THE R&A HAVE NOW BECOME INVOLVED BY STRIPPING THE ASIAN TOUR ORDER OF MERIT FROM ITS EXEMPTION CRITERIA, A SCANDALOUS MOVE FROM THE ST ANDREWS-BASED ORGANISATION.
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP HAS BUILT A REPUTATION AS GOLF'S MOST GLOBAL MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP, SO TO REMOVE THE ASIAN TOUR ORDER OF MERIT FROM ITS EXEMPTION CRITERIA IS COMPLETELY AT ODDS WITH THEIR MISSION TO GROW THE GAME AND A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT THE ESTABLISHED, SELF-APPOINTED ELITE OF GOLF ARE CLUBBING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
SO IT DOES APPEAR THAT GOLF IS HEADING FOR WAR. THE NEXT MOVES WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE.
WE WILL GET MORE DETAIL ON THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES IN THE COMING WEEKS AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE FIRST EVENT, IN THAILAND IN MARCH. THEN I AM SURE THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR WILL MAKE STATEMENTS FORBIDDING THEIR MEMBERS FROM PLAYING IN THESE EVENTS, OR PUTTING FURTHER CAVEATS INTO RELEASES THEY GIVE THEIR MEMBERS TO PLAY IN THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.
GREG NORMAN HAS STATED "We're in this for the good of the game" AND HE ISN'T LOOKING FOR A FIGHT AND WANTS TO WORK ALONGSIDE THE EXISTING MAJOR TOURS. BUT IT IS CLEAR THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND R&A DO NOT SEE IT FROM NORMAN'S PERSPECTIVE, AND THEY HAVE THE BACKING OF A GOLF MEDIA WHICH HAS ITS EYES CLOSED AND MIND SHUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE SPORT.
25 YEARS AGO RUGBY LEAGUE IN AUSTRALIA WENT TO WAR, THE SUPER LEAGUE WAR. IT RESULTED IN ONE SEASON OF THE SUPER LEAGUE, PLAYED ALONGSIDE THE EXISTING AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE. AFTER ONE SEASON THE TWO PARTIES CAME TOGETHER AND MERGED TO FORM THE NRL, AND AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE HAS NEVER LOOKED BACK.
THIS TIME THE SPORT IS GOLF, BUT ITS AN AUSTRALIAN AT THE HEART OF THE MATTER AGAIN. IN THE BLUE CORNER WE HAVE GREG NORMAN, LIV GOLF INVESTMENTS AND THE ASIAN TOUR, AND IN THE RED CORNER WE HAVE THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND THEIR ALLIES AT THE R&A, PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA, SUNSHINE TOUR, AUGUSTA NATIONAL AND PGA OF AMERICA.
THE RED CORNER IS PREPARING ITS MILITARY TO SEND INTO BATTLE, AND THE ONES WHICH WILL SUFFER ARE THE PLAYERS, BECAUSE LET US MAKE NO MISTAKE HERE, THE ADMINISTRATORS AND PARTNERS OF THE EXISTING MAJOR TOURS DO NOT HAVE THE INTERESTS OF THE PLAYERS AT HEART. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN INTERESTS AT HEART AND THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT THAT.
UNLESS THE TWO PARTIES COME TOGETHER AMICABLY THEN GOLF IS HEADING FOR WAR.
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP HAS BUILT A REPUTATION AS GOLF'S MOST GLOBAL MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP, SO TO REMOVE THE ASIAN TOUR ORDER OF MERIT FROM ITS EXEMPTION CRITERIA IS COMPLETELY AT ODDS WITH THEIR MISSION TO GROW THE GAME AND A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT THE ESTABLISHED, SELF-APPOINTED ELITE OF GOLF ARE CLUBBING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
SO IT DOES APPEAR THAT GOLF IS HEADING FOR WAR. THE NEXT MOVES WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE.
WE WILL GET MORE DETAIL ON THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES IN THE COMING WEEKS AS WE MOVE TOWARDS THE FIRST EVENT, IN THAILAND IN MARCH. THEN I AM SURE THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR WILL MAKE STATEMENTS FORBIDDING THEIR MEMBERS FROM PLAYING IN THESE EVENTS, OR PUTTING FURTHER CAVEATS INTO RELEASES THEY GIVE THEIR MEMBERS TO PLAY IN THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.
GREG NORMAN HAS STATED "We're in this for the good of the game" AND HE ISN'T LOOKING FOR A FIGHT AND WANTS TO WORK ALONGSIDE THE EXISTING MAJOR TOURS. BUT IT IS CLEAR THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND R&A DO NOT SEE IT FROM NORMAN'S PERSPECTIVE, AND THEY HAVE THE BACKING OF A GOLF MEDIA WHICH HAS ITS EYES CLOSED AND MIND SHUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE SPORT.
25 YEARS AGO RUGBY LEAGUE IN AUSTRALIA WENT TO WAR, THE SUPER LEAGUE WAR. IT RESULTED IN ONE SEASON OF THE SUPER LEAGUE, PLAYED ALONGSIDE THE EXISTING AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE. AFTER ONE SEASON THE TWO PARTIES CAME TOGETHER AND MERGED TO FORM THE NRL, AND AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE HAS NEVER LOOKED BACK.
THIS TIME THE SPORT IS GOLF, BUT ITS AN AUSTRALIAN AT THE HEART OF THE MATTER AGAIN. IN THE BLUE CORNER WE HAVE GREG NORMAN, LIV GOLF INVESTMENTS AND THE ASIAN TOUR, AND IN THE RED CORNER WE HAVE THE PGA TOUR, DP WORLD TOUR AND THEIR ALLIES AT THE R&A, PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA, SUNSHINE TOUR, AUGUSTA NATIONAL AND PGA OF AMERICA.
THE RED CORNER IS PREPARING ITS MILITARY TO SEND INTO BATTLE, AND THE ONES WHICH WILL SUFFER ARE THE PLAYERS, BECAUSE LET US MAKE NO MISTAKE HERE, THE ADMINISTRATORS AND PARTNERS OF THE EXISTING MAJOR TOURS DO NOT HAVE THE INTERESTS OF THE PLAYERS AT HEART. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN INTERESTS AT HEART AND THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT THAT.
UNLESS THE TWO PARTIES COME TOGETHER AMICABLY THEN GOLF IS HEADING FOR WAR.
