Category: Golf

The “Dead” Presidents Cup

Presidents Cup Trophy Photo courtesy of bvmsports.com

I forced myself to watch a little bit of the Presidents Cup on Thursday, with hopes the International squad was going to do something exciting against the American team.  Of course, it was the same old song, the United States finished the day with a 5-0 sweep.

The coverage? The same old NBC Sports/Golf Channel coverage, not much golf and a lot of nonsense.

The Canadian fans were as dull as a butter knife. Not event Tom Kim could bring those people to cheer.

The course looked beautiful on television, but that is as far as I can go on praising this event.

The International team is taking on an American team that cannot be beaten without the best International players.

Before you go on to say the event is a PGA Tour sanctioned event therefore LIV Golf players are not eligible, I will not disagree with you.

Having said that, let me say to you the PGA Tour always do whatever they want to do as long as it is convenient for the PGA Tour.  They change the rules as they please time and time again.

The International team did not have a chance to begin with. You cannot compete without the best international players on your team. With all do respect to Captain Weir, he did not pick the best international players to win this competition.

Like it or not, the best international players at this moment are in LIV Golf. Again, the PGA Tour changes the rules all the time, they could have done the same this time and allow Captain Weir a chance to pick a winning team.

Having said that, I am not sure if Captain Weir even brought up the subject, so I am going to assume he toed the line and went along with whatever the PGA Tour mafia told him to do.

It is a shame, but this competition has become a joke. You cannot expect to be taken seriously when the best players are not in the field.

These are not the best international players in the world. On the other hand, these are the best American payers in the world, even ignoring the corrupt OWGR system.

Which players got left out from consideration? Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Joaquin Niemann, Dean Burmester, Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Anirban Lahiri, Marc Leishman, Sebastian Munoz, and Mito Pereira. These guys are the hottest international players in LIV Golf, hands down.

Go to the DPWT, and the list is even bigger. No Triston Lawrence on the International Team? Seriously?

As the great William Shakespeare once wrote, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” Unfortunately, the PGA Tour does not understand their responsibility and the importance of having the best players in the field, regardless of tour or corrupt OWGR influence.

LIV Golf League And Buyer’s Remorse

Is Jon Rahm On His Way Out of LIV Golf?

Is this the face of Buyer’s Remorse? Photo courtesy of yardbarker.com

A year ago, LIV Golf was rejoicing with the signing of their biggest star today, Jon Rahm. They gave him a huge contract, including his own team, Legion XIII.

There is no denying that Legion XIII has done pretty well in their first year, including Rahm winning the 2024 Individual LIV Golf Championship.

But it was not an easy trek for the Spaniard in 2024. He did not perform well in the Major Championships, withdrawing from the U.S. Open with a foot injury, and it took him several starts to win his first LIV Golf individual championship in England.

Rumors have been floating around about Rahm’s feelings and the LIV Golf League. Mostly coming from voices on the Golf Channel, who are not in love with LIV Golf and will go at any length to discredit the league.

I personally posted the question about Rahm’s rumors to LIV Golf via their YouTube channel and got no response from their PR department, Greg Norman, or Jon Rahm.

Fast forward to LIV Golf Individual Championship week. During his press conference, Rahm was asked about his future in the DPWT and the ongoing saga on the payment of fines and his participation in the Ryder Cup.

Rahm said that he was not planning to pay fines, and he wanted to be part of the Ryder Cup. At this time, the case has been reviewed by a DPWT panel and in the meantime he will be eligible to play in the Acciona Open De España .

To add more mud to the already murky waters, Rahm skipped the LIV Golf Team Championship citing an illness. I would guess he let Norman know from Spain as the Acciona Open De Espana is going to be played this week.

Most LIV Golf doubters will see this as a “Buyer’s Remorse” move from Rahm. I do not know what it means, but in the absence of LIV Golf management addressing the aforementioned rumors, it is easy for the opposition to create lots of chatter.

Will we see Jon Rahm in LIV Golf next season? Perhaps or perhaps not. The PGA Tour would be smart to buy his contract out from LIV Golf and return him to the PGA Tour, but I am not sure how these contracts have been negotiated to begin with.

One thing is certain, Rahm leaving his team out to dry during the LIV Golf Team Championship is not what been a team captain is all about and has left a lot of questions about his future with LIV Golf.             

McIlroy’s Nightmare Continues

Whoop! Whoop!

Rory is “Fighting Something” Photo courtesy of msn.com

Rory McIlroy is definitely fighting something: A weak state of mind.

I am all for technology and taking advantage of every piece of information available. But to allow technology to dictate how I am supposed to play or live my life, that is a whole different thing.

It seems Rory McIlroy is doing that. Golf.com is quoting him saying after his first round at the 2023 PGA Championship, “I’m fighting something.”

“I thought I got a great night’s sleep last night, and I look at my WHOOP, and I was 22% recovery, and my skin temperature was 3.5 degrees higher than what it’s been, I’m fighting something.”

Say what? My WHOOP? Oh brother! Calling McIlroy a basket case is an understatement.

Honestly? I do not know what to make of Rory McIlroy. But if you thought for a minute I would give him a pass, you are highly mistaken. McIlroy made his own cozy bed, running his mouth about things he did not know anything about, and disrespecting lots of people in the process.

Sleep well on that bed Rory. Whoop! Whoop!

A Man Without Conviction

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy Photo courtesy of golfdigestme.com

There is no doubt, Rory McIlroy is one of the best professional golfers in the world. His accomplishments are well documented and he can be a very entertaining golfer when his game is on.

Unfortunately, this is not what McIlroy has been remembered for as of late.

Since the creation of LIV Golf, McIlroy chose to be the de-facto leader of the PGA Tour. Taking on LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson, and the great Greg Norman, he decided to interject on something he obviously did not have much knowledge of.

For over a year, press conference, after press conference, McIlroy has sounded like PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s loudspeaker, unlike Jon Rahm who decided to concentrate on his game and stayed above the pettiness of it all.

Nobody can deny the fact, LIV Golf has changed the face of professional golf and has forced the PGA Tour to be transparent. McIlroy is making more money because Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf shined a light on the PGA Tour’s alleged financial shenanigans.

As a result of McIlroy’s lack of attention, and self appointed leadership role, his own game has suffered and it seems his mental health has taken a hit. His performance at the 2023 Masters was dismal and he chose to disappear for over four weeks, missing his second PGA Tour “Elevated Event” of the season.

According to him, he needed a mental health break from golf. I have to admit, I needed a mental health break from all his nonsense.

This evening, I watched his interview with Golf Channel’s Kyra Dixon and I have to say, he sounded like a man without conviction. His weak answers were telling and it showed me he is not ready to return to the “Big Time” yet.

McIlroy looked more like a lost teenager than a professional golfer on a mission.

My unsolicited advice? Rory McIlroy needs to pay more attention to his own professional career and leave the adults in the room deal with the nuisances of the Tour.

Has he learned his lesson? Only time will tell.

The Continuous Trip Down Irrelevancy Road

Brandel Chamblee

Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee. Photo courtesy of golfnewsri.com

Another week and another opportunity for Brandel Chamblee to make a fool of himself on national television.

On Monday’s episode of Live From The PGA Championship, Chamblee went on a full frontal attack against Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf.

Along with Rich Lerner and Paul McGinley, they were discussing Phil Mickelson’s recent Twitter spat with the USGA and his use of vulgar language. Seriously? Vulgar language?

Chamblee went on to say Mickelson was riding a high after his second place finished at The Masters and that was one of the reasons why he was going after the “establishment.”

He stated that Tiger Woods, not Phil Mickelson, was responsible for the increase in PGA Tour purses. This is laughable to say the least. Phil Mickelson sounding the horn on the PGA Tour alleged financial shenanigans and the emergence of LIV Golf were part of the reasons why the Tour came up with all the changes and increase in purses.

As he went on, Chamblee insinuated Augusta National was a hacker’s paradise.

He alleged Mickelson’s second place finish at The Masters was expected because Augusta National is where, and I am paraphrasing, ‘has been’ golfers go for a second wind, including the likes of Jack Nicklaus in 1986. Say what?

He continued to spew his normal garbage about how LIV Golf was losing lawsuits and players were not happy. According to Chamblee, Mickelson made a lot of promises he did not fulfilled and players were complaining about it.

I do not know where Chamblee is getting his bad information, but LIV Golf players are pretty happy and people are watching more and more.

He continued to ramble about Mickelson, insider trading, and all kind of nonsense that had nothing to do with golf, nor golf fans care about.

Chamblee’s LIV Golf Derangement Syndrome is real and it only continues to make him look like small and irrelevant.