Charl Schwartzel TOUR PRO GOLF CLUBS
9 JUNE, 2022 - SHANK MEDIA, BY MATT HOOPER: Anyone who watched today can only see this is good for golf, not good for the PGA TOUR, but good for golf. The crowds turned up. The viewers watched. The players played. PERHAPS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL, HISTORIC DAY IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF THIS GREAT GAME HAS COME TO A CONCLUSION, AFTER A ROUND OF GOLF LIKE NO OTHER, PLAYED UNDER A CLOUD CAUSED BY THE SOURCE OF THE MONEY FOR LIV GOLF AND BY THE MONOPOLISTIC ATTITUDE AND AGGRESSION BY THE PGA Tour.
AT 2.15PM, AFTER A SPECTACULAR OPENING EVENT UNLIKE ANY EVER SEEN IN THIS SPORT, Dustin Johnson HIT THE VERY FIRST TEE SHOT IN THE HISTORY OF LIV GOLF, AT THE MAGNIFICENT CENTURION CLUB NEAR St Albans, NORTH OF LONDON. WITHIN HALF AN HOUR OF THAT SHOT THE PGA Tour COMMISSIONER RELEASED HIS LETTER TO THE TOUR'S MEMBERSHIP, INFORMING THEM THAT ALL 17 CURRENT AND FORMER PGA Tour MEMBERS HAD BEEN SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY FROM PLAYING IN PGA Tour SANCTIONED EVENTS.
AFTER 2 YEARS OF RUMOURS, DISCUSSION, DEBATE, THREATS AND DECLARATIONS, GOLF HAS REACHED A SEMINAL MOMENT IN ITS MODERN HISTORY. Phil Mickelson, A LIFE-MEMBER OF THE PGA Tour WITH OVER 40 WINS INCLUDING 6 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES, HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FROM THE TOUR HE HAS HELPED TO MAKE SUCH A DOMINANT FORCE OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS.
HE IS JOINED BY Dustin Johnson, SERGIO GARCIA, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen AND Martin Kaymer, MAJOR CHAMPIONS AND HUGE FIGURES IN WORLD GOLF, IN BEING DITCHED BY THE PGA Tour. GOLF, AT ITS CORE, IS ABOUT TWO THINGS - GOLFERS AND GOLF COURSES, AND IT ALWAYS SEEMS THAT IT IS THE ORGANISATIONS, WHETHER THAT BE A PRIVATE GOLF CLUB OR A GOVERNING BODY, THAT CONTINUALLY GIVES THIS SPORT SUCH A BAD REPUTATION AMONG THE MASSES. RULES AND REGULATIONS, ELITISM, MEMBERSHIP IN GENERAL AND MANY OTHER THINGS BESIDE PUT OFF MILLIONS FROM PLAYING AND WATCHING THIS GREAT GAME.
THIS GREAT GAME HAS DONE SO MUCH GOOD IN THE WORLD, AND LET ME EMPHASISE THAT WORD - WORLD. GOLF HAS BEEN A WORLDWIDE SPORT FOR OVER A CENTURY, I AM PERSONALLY TIRED OF HEARING HOW ANYONE IS GROWING THIS DAMN GAME, IT HAS ALREADY GROWN. IT IS PLAYED IN OVER 3 QUARTERS OF THE WORLD, BY OVER 66 MILLION OF US, BUT THAT HAS NEVER BEEN REFLECTED IN THE SCHEDULE OF SUPPOSEDLY THE WORLD'S BEST GOLF TOUR - THE PGA Tour.
OF COURSE, THE MONEY ON OFFER TO PLAYERS AT LIV GOLF IS OBSCENE, BUT THEN SO IT IS ON THE PGA Tour. TODAY I WATCHED GOLF SERIOUSLY ON MY TELEVISION FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE PGA Championship, AND ONLY THE SECOND TIME SINCE THE MASTERS, AND I ENJOYED IT. WHY? THE COURSE WAS A PROPER TEST OF THE GAME, ACCURACY WAS REWARDED, INACCURACY WAS PUNISHED, THERE WERE LONG HOLES, THERE WERE SHORT HOLES, AND IT TOOK PLACE AT A COURSE IN THE UK, OR TO BE PRECISE, ANYWHERE OUTSIDE OF THE United States.
LET US LOOK AT SOME KEY ELEMENTS OF ROUND ONE AT CENTURION.
FIRSTLY IT IS THE BEST NON-MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF BROADCAST I HAVE EVER SEEN. I SAW MORE SHOTS THAN YOU EVER SEE IN A USUAL BROADCAST AND THIS WAS IN PART DUE TO THE LACK OF AD BREAKS, BUT I AM NOT HUNG UP ON AN AD BREAK, THE MAIN CAUSE OF IT WAS THE ON-SCREEN PRESENTATION. THERE WEREN'T ENDLESS CUTAWAYS TO LEADERBOARDS AS THE LEADERBOARD WAS ON-SCREEN FOR ALMOST THE WHOLE BROADCAST.
THERE WEREN'T ENDLESS REAMS OF MEANINGLESS, IRRELEVANT STATS SUCH AS STROKES GAINED TWIRLING A CLUB, AS THE ONLY STATISTIC THAT MATTERS IS THE SCORE TO PAR AND THE NUMBER HOLE THEY ARE ON. THE COMMENTATORS DIDN'T DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN WINS ON THE PGA Tour, DP WORLD TOUR, ASIAN TOUR ETC, A WIN WAS A WIN, AS IT SHOULD BE.
THE GOLF COURSE WAS PHENOMENAL AND THE TEST IS SHOWN BY THE FACT JUST 9 OF 48 PLAYERS BROKE PAR AND THE LEADING SCORE IS JUST 5-UNDER-PAR, IT TAKES SKILL TO MAKE BIRDIES ON THIS COURSE AS IT ISN'T JUST HIT IT AS FAR AS YOU CAN AND FIND IT AND HIT IT AGAIN.
THE GOLF WAS OVER WITHIN 5 HOURS, AND THAT IS GOOD FOR GOLF.
OF COURSE, THE ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA HAS LAID INTO THE 48 GOLFERS PLAYING THIS WEEK AND THEY HAVE GOT IN BEHIND JAY MONAHAN AND HIS DECISION, WHICH IS ENTIRELY PREDICTABLE, BUT PLEASE, JUDGE THE PRODUCT AND THINK, THIS IS SOMETHING WHICH GOLF SHOULD HAVE DONE A LONG TIME AGO. I IMPLORE THE EXECUTIVES OF THE PGA Tour, DP WORLD TOUR, SUNSHINE TOUR, JAPAN GOLF TOUR AND PGA Tour OF AUSTRALASIA TO GET AROUND THE TABLE WITH LIV GOLF TO COLLABORATE ON A TRULY WORLDWIDE PGA Tour, WITH AN ELITE SERIES OF GLOBAL EVENTS AT THE TOP.
DO THIS, AND FIND ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF FUNDING AND GOLF CAN REACH ITS TRUE, FULL POTENTIAL.
AND WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL? WELL LET US LOOK AT THE VIEWING FIGURES FOR TODAY. LIV GOLF WAS BROADCAST ACROSS YOUTUBE AND FACEBOOK, SKY SPORTS GOLF BROADCAST THE CANADIAN OPEN AND SCANDINAVIAN MIXED ON THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNELS. THE DIFFERENCE IS STARK, IT IN FACT IS A CHASM.
THE YOUTUBE BROADCAST OF LIV GOLF HAD A PEAK OF NEARLY 110,000 VIEWERS AND AN AVERAGE OF OVER 80,000 THROUGHOUT ITS DURATION, THE FACEBOOK BROADCAST HAD 122,700 VIEWS. BY CONTRAST THE CANADIAN OPEN ON THE SKY SPORTS YOUTUBE CHANNEL HAD AN AVERAGE OF 1,800 VIEWERS THROUGHOUT ITS DURATION, AND 43,000 TOTAL VIEWS AND THE SCANDINAVIAN MIXED WAS JUST A FEW HUNDRED VIEWERS ON AVERAGE, AND 4,400 TOTAL VIEWS.
BUT ALSO THE RESPONSE FROM THE PUBLIC WAS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. I HAVE TO SAY WHEN I SAW THE TICKET PRICES, IN ADDITION TO THE LEVEL OF CONTROVERSY AROUND THIS EVENT, I ANTICIPATED A SCENE REMINISCENT OF VFL PARK FOR THE OPENING OF THE World Series CRICKET OVER 45 YEARS AGO. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. I DON'T HAVE AN IDEA OF NUMBERS BUT THE CROWDS FAR EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS, AND THE RESPONSE TO THE PLAYERS AND THE EVENT WAS HUGE.
AS I HAVE PREVIOUSLY SAID THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE THING, I AM AGAINST THE SOURCE OF FUNDING FROM Saudi Arabia, BUT I AM ALSO AGAINST THE SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR THE DP WORLD TOUR. THE QUESTIONING OF THESE 48 PLAYERS THIS WEEK BY THE MEDIA HAS BEEN AGGRESSIVE AND BRUTAL, AND I'D LOVE TO SEE THE SAME TONE OF QUESTIONING TO THE PLAYERS OF NEWCASTLE UNITED AND Manchester City, AND EACH OF THEM CASTOGATED FOR TAKING 'BLOOD MONEY'. IT WON'T HAPPEN. HERE IS COLIN COWHERD TO EXPLAIN MY VIEW FAR BETTER THAN I CAN.
CHANGE IN SPORT IS ALWAYS MET WITH OPPOSITION, AND MORE SO IN A SPORT WHICH IS BUILT ON HISTORY AND TRADITION. BUT THIS SPORT HAS BEEN CRYING OUT FOR SUCH CHANGE FOR SUCH A LONG TIME. IT HAS ARRIVED, AND NOW I SINCERELY HOPE ALL THE ORGANISATIONS OF THE GREATEST GAME ON EARTH CAN COME TO AN AMICABLE AGREEMENT TO WORK TOGETHER IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE SPORT THEY SERVE, NOT BE OUT TO SERVE THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND KEEP THIS SPORT AS AN ELITIST, SLOW, TIRED GAME.
THURSDAY 9 JUNE WILL BE REMEMBERED BY MOST GOLF FANS, GOLFERS AND GOLF JOURNALISTS FOREVER, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WILL BE EQUALLY AS IMPACTFUL.
ROUND ONE LEADERBOARD
Charl Schwartzel -5
Hennie Du Plessis -4
Phachara Khongwatmai -3
Scott Vincent -3
Branden Grace -2
Justin Harding -2
Phil Mickelson -1
Dustin Johnson -1
Sam Horsfield -1
2011 MASTERS CHAMPION Charl Schwartzel LEADS THE INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT AFTER 18 HOLES WITH A FINE ROUND OF 65, MORE HERE ON THE DAY'S PLAY.
