FORE!
- Thread starter egr2teup
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Every once in a while I forget most pro golfers are big babies, then they remind me.
It was wet and cold on Friday, just cold on Saturday and Sunday. Still a fun weekend. Rolled in a nice straight 15 footer on 18 yesterday with the new putter so I think it works just fine.
Go on...
I love some drama, especially at a course that doesn't effect me one bit haha
Bentwinds...that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.
When I was in law school (97-00) had a buddy whose Dad was a big member there. I can still hear my old friend's quote anytime we were thinking about where to play that day....
"Boys, lets head to Bentwinds where we don't pay for ****. Gerald's got us (his dad / RIP)"
Check out the RDU golf reddit page for the full rundown. TLDR- they've lost around 15-20% of their membership due to the board ruffling feathers w/choices regarding replacing their clubhouse. There has been a lot of back and forth between some members and board members/defenders. It's a true drama unfolding in real time.
Because of the loss of membership it looks like they may be struggling to secure funding for the project and things appear to be spiraling in a bad way. The board just sent out an email threatening legal action over reddit posts. Lulz.
Maybe I should be ashamed to admit this, but I'm looking forward to TGL Season 2 kicking off on 12/28. Yes, it's silly and stupid and their personalities are bland, but I've got nothing better to watch on winter weeknights when UNC basketball isn't playing, and it will give me enough of a golf fix to carry me into some of the more interesting PGAT events.
Normally would be $550 a round, but a friend is a Caddy there and it was $50 a person.
Just saw the announcement that Koepka won’t be back with LIV in 26. I’m not a particular fan of Koepka but I do hope the tour lets him back without much of a kerfuffle. Making it a pain for him will only make it less likely others will follow.
no doubt. Skipped out on the tour for a huge payday. Just to let him back in without anything would be a bad precedent.
Then again, Koepka strikes me as the type of guy that really wants to only play majors anyway, and was happy while he was winning but isn't really the type to put in the work to get back to what he once was.
Not saying I am right, just sort of seems it. He has his money and i think at this point he's pretty satisfied.
I don’t get what a punishment would do. I don’t know all the legalese of the pga tour deals, but they are independent contractors, not employees. They can go play DP tour events and events for any other league that will have them.
They left the tour so they gave up their eligibility. But a few of them have eligibility due to winning majors or in Phils case he’s a lifetime member due to winning 20+ tournaments. They should have the right to come back under whatever rules exist. Others would need Q school or sponsor exemptions til they earn enough to regain status.
Forcing the brand name players to sit out will have them staying in LIV and extending this ridiculous scenario. Get them back and let LiV exist as the league for washed up 40-50 year olds and it’ll fizzle quickly.
They left the tour so they gave up their eligibility. But a few of them have eligibility due to winning majors or in Phils case he’s a lifetime member due to winning 20+ tournaments. They should have the right to come back under whatever rules exist. Others would need Q school or sponsor exemptions til they earn enough to regain status.
Forcing the brand name players to sit out will have them staying in LIV and extending this ridiculous scenario. Get them back and let LiV exist as the league for washed up 40-50 year olds and it’ll fizzle quickly.
I think the current rules are that they have to sit out. I agree that there shouldn’t be additional punishment but I also don’t think they should just be able to walk right back onto the PGA Tour.
I don’t envy the position the Tour is in. You’d love to let him walk right back, but how do you justify that to your membership?
Seems like they’ve already sold out to only caring about the top 40-50 players and the LIV stuff is making those guys bank now.
I’m only talking about the few players that would have eligibility through existing rules. Rahm, Keopka, Bryson, Michelson. The others would need to earn status again. Rahm might be tempted back, doubt the others would. Phil seems more interested in running for office than golf these days anyway.
You can’t do that, though. There absolutely has to be a punishment or you’re setting a terrible precedent. You’re taking a spot from a Tour member when you allow those guys back, and it’s fair for other members to be mad about it, especially the ones who had the opportunity to leave but stayed loyal.
You wouldn’t allow that at any company. The PGAT is no different. What happens if another startup takes off? Or the Saudis double down and can then say, “See, the Tour will let you back anytime without consequence.”
100% has to be a punishment, even for the elite guys you mentioned. Tour is winning the war without them, so what does bringing them back without consequence really accomplish? I’ve gone three years without watching Koepka play regular season golf and life has gone on, so I can certainly abstain for another year.
Hi all.
Some of ya'll know I do a charity golf tournament every year. Last year we had 186 players, and raised $40,000. But I have changed the beneficiary to my high school's booster club. Filling it up will not be hard. We play sixsomes (3 man teams) to protect field and even flight the teams. Last year we had 4 flights, and we give a ton of money out. Even gave $1,000 cash for closest to the hole. So here is question. I decided to do an honorary chairman each year, a former athlete, and I want to give them something nice. I was thinking blazer, or watch, but that seemed cliche. Money not a real big deal, but was thinking in the $200 range or so, and that we could engrave high school name on it or something like that.
Any thoughts?
Some of ya'll know I do a charity golf tournament every year. Last year we had 186 players, and raised $40,000. But I have changed the beneficiary to my high school's booster club. Filling it up will not be hard. We play sixsomes (3 man teams) to protect field and even flight the teams. Last year we had 4 flights, and we give a ton of money out. Even gave $1,000 cash for closest to the hole. So here is question. I decided to do an honorary chairman each year, a former athlete, and I want to give them something nice. I was thinking blazer, or watch, but that seemed cliche. Money not a real big deal, but was thinking in the $200 range or so, and that we could engrave high school name on it or something like that.
Any thoughts?
This does happen all the time today. Employees leave for competitors and come back frequently and non compete clauses are getting voided in the courts. A reasonable suspension may fly, but if the tour wants to levy heavy fines, I think it’ll cause lawsuits which aren’t likely to land favorably for the Tour. At the very least it’ll be ugly in the press.
They don't leave for competitors, sue the former employer, and then get invited back without consequence. Eamon Lynch had a good article about this last week...
Lynch: The PGA Tour needs a plan for when a LIV star comes knocking. The path back isn’t complicated.
While LIV continues to list, the moment nears when someone aboard starts looking for a life raft.
golfweek.usatoday.com
This quote from the article is why there has to be some punishment...
Not long ago, I asked one Tour veteran how he’d feel if a prominent LIV guy wanted to return. “F*** them,” was his unvarnished response. “They made their choice. If they’re that important, how come no fans followed them to LIV?”
This is just my opinion, but I expect Brooks to sit out for 2025 (except Majors) and then return to the Tour next season. He'll allow the Tour to frame that as a suspension or however else they want. He was under contract with LIV for another season and they allowed him to leave it early and remarkably amicably. It's hard to imagine them doing that if they believed he was going to walk right back onto the Tour.
I’d be okay with the years suspension. Not more though. Really just don’t want to see this thing in court. I don’t think it matters all that much. Keopka and Rahm are great golfers, but BDC is the only one in that bunch that will draw a crowd or move the needle on ratings and he seems happy with LIV and don’t think he’d care about sitting a year in any event.They don't leave for competitors, sue the former employer, and then get invited back without consequence. Eamon Lynch had a good article about this last week...
Lynch: The PGA Tour needs a plan for when a LIV star comes knocking. The path back isn’t complicated.
While LIV continues to list, the moment nears when someone aboard starts looking for a life raft.golfweek.usatoday.com
This quote from the article is why there has to be some punishment...
Not long ago, I asked one Tour veteran how he’d feel if a prominent LIV guy wanted to return. “F*** them,” was his unvarnished response. “They made their choice. If they’re that important, how come no fans followed them to LIV?”
This is just my opinion, but I expect Brooks to sit out for 2025 (except Majors) and then return to the Tour next season. He'll allow the Tour to frame that as a suspension or however else they want. He was under contract with LIV for another season and they allowed him to leave it early and remarkably amicably. It's hard to imagine them doing that if they believed he was going to walk right back onto the Tour.
BDC actually said this week that he’d be fine only doing the YouTube stuff if it came down to it, but he’s also prepping for negotiations with them so that’s probably just a leverage ploy. They’re going to have to give him a blank check or shut down the whole thing. They have no other choice.
Vijay Singh is using his career money list exemption for full-time status on the PGA tour in '26.
In practice, how does that work? Allows you to accept a few sponsor exemptions? I don't see him showing up for any Monday Q's, and he's too far down the list to get into any tournaments above other card-holding mules.
"Singh won’t have carte blanche playing privileges; the designated events will, of course, be off limits. But a Tour spokesperson said that Singh “will likely be eligible for the vast majority of full-field events” in 2026. The spokesperson did not know how many of those tournaments Singh intends to enter."
He takes a spot from a deserving member every tournament he enters. The tour wants to talk about being a meritocracy, but they don't want to abide by the principles of one.
Vijay has always been a thorn in the Tour's side and will be every chance he gets.
Been some smoke behind this for a little while. I truly believe some of these guys now regret it because of how irrelevant they became as competitors.