By Mark Halpern
Over the last six months, we have been hearing about a Saudi-based professional golf tour, which has finally come to fruition. The LVI Golf Tour will get its official TEE OFF in London on June 9th, right before the U.S. Open. The commissioner of the PGA has been very open and critical of a new tour and, after much debate, has said, “If you want to play on that tour, you can not play in the PGA tour.” We can only guess whether this statement will hold for a year from now. When I first heard about another Golf tour being formed, I didn’t have feelings against it or for it, funny enough. When it was announced on ESPN that the LVI tour was going ahead, I thought of a quote from Happy Gilmore “Gold Jacket, Green Jacket, who cares.” We don’t know the color of the Jacket that is like the Masters (It’s Green), but time will tell.
The league was formed with two tremendous PGA tour players backing it. Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson have been all for another league/tour globally. Mickelson has taken much flack because of his views towards another league and has lost sponsorships. He has been uninvited to play in any PGA courses or tournaments since he has been publicly favored in the other league. Mickelson is one of the greatest golfers ever to play the sport. He has won countless tournaments and has been active in charities and other humanitarian efforts in the golf world and the medical field. Mickelson was not doing any harm by speaking for the idea of another league, but, to some people, actions speak more than words.
Since the idea of another tour has been tossed around and with players like Norman and Mickelson recruiting, there have been a lot of players wanting to move from PGA to LVI. The list of players is now up to 46, with some substantial noticeable names already committing to leave the PGA tour to Join the LVI tour. I will not name everyone but give you a sample of who has committed to playing in the newly formed LVI tour. The players joining are Dustin Johnson, Chase Kopeka, Kevin Na, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Andy Ogletree, Phil Mickelson, and Bryson DeChambeau are just some of the notable names. Rory Mcllory has said to be interested but has not committed to moving leagues yet.
Each day, we learn about other PGA golfers who are committing to playing on this new tour. Seasoned PGA tour member Tiger Woods has not spoken on the fact if he has been invited and would he even consider leaving. Considering where he ranks in the PGA all-time records, I don’t see him jumping ship. With the first event from LVI to debut today, tee times pairings will be released first in the morning and begin around 10 am. We will all get a first-hand look at what this relativity new Business Venture was to create an opportunity for other players on that side of the world.
This creation of a new Tour has a lot of new incomers moving on, but as I always say, a fresh start can get you into the right frame of mind, claim a spot, and get started with a fresh start, and that is how the old man sees it
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