Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where we’re planning lots of free drops from leafy lost balls this weekend.
Once again we are here to debate a series of statements that writers and editors can label as ‘Fact’ or ‘Fiction’, along with a brief explanation. The reactions can (sometimes) also be ‘neutral’, because there is a lot of gray area in golf.
Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf account.
With $750 tickets to next year’s Ryder Cup, which will fill the PGA of America coffers to the tune of millions of dollarsit’s time for American players to finally get paid instead of just giving money to their favorite charities.
Bob Harig: FACT. It won’t be popular with the masses, who think these guys should play for a country or continent for free – while everyone else involved makes money. The PGA of America should make its own charitable donations and let players make donations based on earned income. If necessary, they can even reserve a percentage. But no one in sports or entertainment – unless it’s an advantage – competes for free, especially when the score is kept and the outcome matters.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. There’s plenty of money around here. Just give them fair compensation for their participation – it doesn’t have to be extravagant – and this controversy will go away.
John Schwarb: FACT. The PGA of America would be wise to make this public sooner or later, that is, before all the top stars speak regularly again and will undoubtedly be asked about this. Let’s call it $500,000 per player: half in cash and the other half to charity, the latter of which the PGA of America will help promote. Not so much money to seem greedy, but enough to end the discussion.
In one exclusive interview with Sports IllustratedGreg Norman expressed his frustration that LIV Golf still doesn’t have a network TV deal. If the league had that, it would immediately gain more prestige in the sporting landscape.
Bob Harig: FICTION. It would certainly help the story, as would broadcasts not happening at the same time as PGA Tour events. But LIV’s problems go beyond just TV. Lack of sponsorship and large revenue streams are issues that need to be addressed. It is clear that compensation for television rights would go a long way.
Jeff Ritter: FICTION. Just being on television is not enough. LIV will gain respect by creating a TV-friendly product, ideally with innovations not currently offered in current golf television broadcasts, while hosting fair and compelling competitions and emphasizing viewer engagement.
John Schwarb: FACT. Jeff is right when he says that TV alone is not enough, but it would be an immediate game changer. A network would be motivated to promote LIV and give it the best chance to succeed in a crowded TV sports market. Or maybe the Saudis could just buy Golf Channel.
The PGA Tour lost a sponsor of 16 years Shriners Children’s Hospital is walking away from its annual stop in Las Vegas. This should not be seen as an aberration, but as a continued sign of the Tour’s struggle to find solid footing during a prolonged period of turmoil in pro golf.
Bob Harig: FACT. Shriners is out. Sanderson Farms was out and then decided to come back for another year. RBC is up again for just one year. The Tour has done a great job of replacing sponsors over the years and could perhaps do the same here. But the fall events have taken on a new look, with fewer stars playing. Purses have already been reduced this fall. Maybe a bigger hit is needed.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. I’m not sure what to think about it, since the rulings that came out were corporate legal. My guess is that Shriners Children’s Hospital either didn’t see a return on its investment, was asked to make a larger investment that it wasn’t comfortable with, or—least likely—was asked not to return. Whatever the case, it’s another sign that the Tour is going through some turmoil as it navigates a new sponsorship landscape.
John Schwarb: NEUTRAL. Sponsor shuffles happen during the Tour; Before Shriners Hospital came on board in 2008, the Vegas facility had three sponsors in a six-year period, including one year without a sponsor. But how do you not look at these announcements with extra skepticism now that there is a split in the field of professional golf?