Professional golf is like tennis, figure skating or bowling:
It is sporting’s version of a high-wire act.
If you
play well, you win money. If you play exceptionally well, you win even more
money. If you win a tournament, you win a lot of money. If you play golf so
poorly that you have to go home after only two rounds of play, it costs you
money. Your travel, food and entry fees are all on you.
For
that reason, finding sponsorship is as important for golfers as it is for
racing teams. The mid-pack players who don’t usually play among the leaders can
continue to play each week with help from sponsors. There is no golf tournament
or even a golf tour without the players who finish in the middle of the pack or
lower. The stars have to beat someone to win, don’t they?
Professional
golfers are accustomed to the high-wire lifestyle. These elite athletes play
with the pressure that comes from the play good-or-go-home reality that the
game provides.
For
that reason, the new professional golf tour, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia,
probably looks attractive to some touring pros. The new tour offers huge
purses. The Saudis have extended big-dollar offers to the game’s top players;
bonus pay on top of tournament winnings that could set some golfers for life.
The new tour is offering the throw money around like kids throw sand at the
beach.
The
cash has attracted attention. Greg Norman, once among the world’s best players
and now a tremendous businessman, is the spokesman for the new tour. Phil Mickelson,
who is among the game’s most popular figures, has indicated an interest in
playing on the new tour, although he has seemingly waffled on the idea. Norman
and Michelson are part of the old guard. A few younger players have indicated
they will play on the new tour. Tiger Woods, who remains golf’s most popular
figure, declined to jump ship. Jack Nicholas declined an invitation to serve as
an administrator for the new tour.
Norman
has been exceptionally critical of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA)
tour since the Saudi-back group was announced. The PGA will not allow players
on the new tour to participate in PGA events. Players have requested waivers
but none have been granted.
So far,
lots of noise with no real discussion of the actual point.
Saudi
Arabia is using international sports to get itself a better reputation among
the family of world nations. The Kingdom hosts Formula One auto races and is
active on the great stage provided by international soccer. While the Kingdom’s
rulers feel free to murder some journalists, sports reporters are
welcomed. Human rights is a subject sports reporters seldom worry about and
those rights are an issue in Saudi Arabia. It is the Saudis’ idea that those
issues might be covered over with the veneer of sporting competition.
Norman
has been asked about the human rights issue and the murder of a reporter by his
employers. He does his best to blow those questions off, saying his only
interest is in the future of golf.
So,
basically, professional golfers have a choice. They can follow likeable fellows
like Greg Norman and Phil Michelson and play on a tour backed by a Kingdom that
represses women and murders reporters. Or professional golfers can play golf in
the rest of the world.
It is
true that the rest of the world is not perfect. There are problems everywhere
you look.
Golf isn’t perfect,
either, although it is a dynamic sport and has usually changed for the better.
Most professional tournaments in the United States benefit local charities. The
growth of the women’s professional tour (the LPGA) over the last decade and a
half is a terrific indicator that the game’s popularity is growing.
Greg Norman’s idea that
golf can be used to wallpaper over repression and murder doesn’t ring true here.
There is no reason to believe that Norman supports the repression of women’s
rights and the murder of journalists. But he’s taking money from people who do.
Speedylee supports the
PGA and LPGA tours and their tightropes. The best players make the most money,
the women’s game is growing and the reporters are not getting killed.
Thanks for reading.
