PGA Stars Seek ‘Some Sort of Unity’ With LIV After Meeting With Tiger Woods
PGA Tour stars, including Tiger Woods, met on Tuesday to grapple with the LIV Golf series, which has attracted tour players by staggering sums, and emerged feeling positive. but don’t want to detail how they plan to fight the start of rebellious golf- up or live peacefully next to it.
The meeting is the latest in a year of occasional rivalry in golf, and it comes just a week after a federal judge ruled that The PGA Tour Could Stop Golfers LIV from the FedEx Cup knockout round, which ends at the end of August.
Ahead of the BMW Championship, PGA Tour players on Wednesday were reluctant to share the specifics of the meeting, held in Wilmington, Del., which attracted Woods, who had flown in from his home in Florida to attend. Rory McIlroy, the world No. 3, described Wednesday’s meeting with reporters as “impactful”.
McIlroy said Woods’ leadership at the meeting was crucial as the players discussed how to improve the PGA Tour and compete with rift in the golf world since the arrival of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational series. (The PGA Tour announced in June that it will suspend player who joined the LIV chain.)
“His role was to navigate us to a place where we all thought we should go,” McIlroy said of Woods’ presence. “He is the hero we all admire. His voice resonated further than anyone else’s in the game of golf. “
While the players were quick to praise Woods, they were annoyed to share any action steps taken from the meeting.
“What is the short term? What is the medium term? What is long term? ‘ said McIlroy. “That’s what we had to figure out.”
Xander Schauffele told reporters Wednesday that he’d like to see a solution that ends in “some kind of unity.”
“It was a really nice meeting. It’s great. It’s interesting. It is new. It’s so fresh,” says Schauffele. “I’m very hopeful with what’s to come.”
Schauffele, the world No. 6, told reporters there was “a bit of code” to keep quiet.
Schauffele said: “I think I would be very unhappy if I saw one of those guys from last night just talking bad about what we talked about. “That will really upset you, and you probably won’t be invited back to the meeting.”
Justin Thomas, the world number seven, told a news conference that the meeting was “productive” and that the players in attendance “just wanted what was best for the tour and wanted what was most profitable. “
“I just hope there is a better product,” says Thomas. “I think that’s the general hope of anything, just trying to improve ourselves, where we’re playing, everything as best we can.”
Thomas said that Woods’ presence made the meeting more believable.
“I think if someone like him is passionate about it, no offense to all of us, but that’s really all that matters,” Thomas said. “If he’s not behind something, well, one, it’s probably not a good idea about improving the game, but, two, it’s not going to work. He needs to be behind something.”
McIlroy says that in addition to dealing with LIV Golf, the PGA Tour will eventually have to deal with a world without Woods on tour.
“Tourism has been an easy job for 20 years,” says McIlroy. “They have a lot of us among them, and we are all great players. But we are not Tiger Woods.”
Added to Tuesday’s drama, Patrick Reed, winner Master’s Degree 2018 Who join LIV Golf in Junefiled a defamation lawsuit against Golf channel and commentator Brandel Chamblee, seeking $750 million in damages.
The lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in Texas, claims that the network and Chamblee conspired with the PGA Tour to smear LIV players “with the intention of destroying them and their families in a way professional and personal” and eliminated LIV Golf as a competitor.
Follow litigationGolf Channel, Chamblee and the PGA Tour have been conspiring since Reed was 23 years old, about nine years ago, to “ruin his reputation, create hatred and hostile work environment towards him, and with the intention of discrediting him. prestige of his name and achievements.”
For Chamblee and Golf Channel, “it doesn’t matter if they ruin someone’s name and life, as long as they make more dollars and profits,” the lawsuit says.
Larry Klayman, Reed’s attorney, said that “we’re confident we’ll win in court,” adding that “it’s a very strong complaint.”
Klayman said in a statement: “Despite Chamblee’s and NBC’s never-ending defamation of Mr. Reed by Chamblee and NBC’s Golf Channel against Mr. Reed, as outlined in the lawsuit is not new, it is with LIV Golf’s joining of LIV Golf. sir, it has reached a new, intolerable height.
Golf Channel and Chamblee’s attorneys could not be reached.
LIV Tour, that is funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has attracted much attention and criticism in recent months. Among those who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf were Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Mickelson caused outrage in February when it was reported that he had said that the LIV series was a “once in a lifetime chance“Even if you call it Saudi Arabia’s record of human rights”bad. “
Mickelson, who is said to have get up to 200 million dollars to sign with the breakaway tour, was one of 11 golfers who defected from the PGA Tour and later filed an antitrust lawsuit earlier this month against the PGA Tour, seeking to challenge the suspension and other measures that were used to discipline players who took part in LIV Golf.