When you observe the vast world of golf, you certainly heard Phil Mickelson‘s feedback final week about how LIV Golf is “trending upward” whereas the PGA Tour is on a downward trajectory. Whereas this is not the primary time Mickelson and his cohorts who defected to the rogue league have thrown shade on the PGA Tour, his most up-to-date feedback do make us marvel: Is LIV Golf on a giant uptick whereas the PGA free-falls?
Spoiler alert: It isn’t.
Whereas LIV Golf defenders similar to Mickelson and Dustin Johnson stand by their selections to hitch the Saudi Arabia-funded league, LIV Golf continues to be on the surface of the golf world trying in. For starters, Greg Norman’s battle to make LIV Golf a part of the Official World Golf Rating system stays fruitless because the powers that be denounce the breakaway league’s format. As an alternative of aiming to make LIV Golf meet extra standards, Norman selected not too long ago to fireside again at shareholders.
“By degrading the power of discipline by not permitting LIV gamers to get OWGR factors, it’s not doing the sport of golf any good,” Norman informed WIO Information in India. “Rise above all of it. It’s good for the gamers, it’s good for the sport of golf, it’s good for manufacturing, it’s good for companies, it’s good for OEMs, it’s good for followers, it’s good for everyone. Simply because you’ve got a unfavourable viewpoint and also you’re one of many voting members of an impartial group… you hate LIV and also you vote in opposition to it.
“Develop up.”
Suffice to say, telling the folks with all the facility to “develop up” most likely is not going to make the method go any smoother.
Then there’s the matter of TV programming, with LIV Golf having to pay Fox Sports activities to get its tournaments on tv after the opposite main retailers declined, and the common viewing public hasn’t proven a lot curiosity in watching it.
This is not to say that LIV Golf has been an entire failure in its inaugural season. It has tempted a number of the greatest golfers on the planet to hitch, in any case, however as Defector’s David Roth not too long ago wrote, LIV Golf’s behavior of trash-talking different golf outfits and throwing cash in any respect of its issues might very effectively be what causes the league to break down inward on itself.
Mickelson is perhaps having a grand ol’ time enjoying on the LIV Golf circuit, making boatloads of money and by no means having to fret about being minimize from a contest, however so far as him on the “successful aspect,” it’s tough to see how that argument holds any water.
