Here in Thailand many of us love our golf and are currently starved of going to see the top stars play here, except once a year when the LPGA tour arrives.

In the good old days, many top players came to compete in the Asian Tour’s Thailand Championship at Amata Springs. 

However due to Covid and low finances, the Asian Tour has had to cancel a vast majority of tournaments over the past two years.

This left many of their players having to earn what they could on the Japanese or Korean tours or here on the All-Thailand Golf tour.

In stepped Greg Norman, who with the backing of Saudi funds, plonked US$300 Million on the table to enable the Asian Tour to run ten major new events a year for the next ten years.

Very Hard to resist!

Their first joint venture was the Saudi International which previously had been a European Tour sanctioned tournament.

Harold Varner III an African American PGA Golfer won the event and pocketed a cool US$1Million plus appearance money for four days work. 

Since 2012 (10 yrs.) on the PGA Tour Harold earnt US$8,8million, but has never won on the tour. 

 

Now we know that the top stars do get appearance money over on the two main tours and the Asian Tour has also paid appearance money in the past.

However, what attracted a lot of top players was the fact that last week’s tournament not only had a prize pot of US$5million, which is high by any standards, but Greg Norman’s appearance fund to attract these players was a mighty US$15 Million.

During last week’s event all players and their agents were approached to join this tour.
Phil Mickelson was offered US$100million!

Also, players like Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter have been offered massive sums to join this new tour. 
They have said that at their stage in their careers it is extremely hard to turn down that sort of money. 

 

They understand the feeling of many about taking money from a country that has significant human rights issues, they see golf as being nonpolitical.

Both may miss out on being a Ryder Cup captain as a result, but at their age, their priorities are to look after their families.

Battle Lines drawn

Meanwhile the battle lines between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour (formerly the European tour) and Saudi Arabia Golf are just beginning, and it may well change the way professional golf is played in the future.

Several PGA Tour stars including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele signed up to compete in the Saudi International this weekend, which was won by PGA Tour player Harold Varner III. 

 

But will the PGA Tour take a stronger action next time that allows them to even play?

 

The mighty PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is now facing pressure from two upstart rival golf leagues, namely the Asia Tour and the Mena Tour.

Saudi Oil money

Saudi Golf and Greg Norman’s new tour will have at the very least the total spend on player fees likely they are north of $100 million — a drop in the bucket for an organization that is partially funded by ARAMCO, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company with reported revenue of $229.9 billion in 2020. 

That figure is sure to increase as the price of Brent Crude has spiked from under $50 a barrel to more than $80.

The presenting sponsor last week was SoftBank, a large Japanese conglomerate with tentacles in every big deal on the planet. Add it up, and the firepower behind this golf event is overwhelming.

When Jay Monahan took over as commissioner of the PGA Tour in January 2017, he could never have envisioned that the PGA Tour would be under siege by not one but two separate groups early in his tenure.

Toss in the fact that the players want their expenses covered when the purses are at all-time highs, with $838 million up for grabs in official prize money and bonuses in 2022. It must make the 51-year-old commissioner shake his head.

Which leaves the Saudis.

The Saudi-backed Asian Tour is fully capitalized, has a prominent face in Hall-of-Famer Greg Norman and has a schedule that will attract players worldwide thanks to lavish appearance money and purses.

The next Asian Tour Saudi backed event is coming to Black Mountain Golf Club Hua Hin in March 2022 with another massive purse.

Wonder who will be in the field? A certain Tiger likes money!!!!!
 

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Most  certainly not!

Seems to have opinions conflicted in the same way as events held in South Africa during the apartheid era.

 

Whether players follow their conscience or the money remains to be seen.

Seems excessive to expect pro-golfers to suddenly become some sort of political activists.

 

Whether they should participate or not is each players personal decision.

 

For perspective: (plenty of other sports ignoring politics/human rights)

Olympics in progress

FIFA World Cup

Formula One

Tennis

 

 

Absolutely. Golf isn't a religion. There are no moral high horses in golf. It is all about the money, take what you can and keep your voting record a secret.

You take Saudi oil. What is the difference.

Thank you for the posting on this development in the game. I had known of this but only in a passing way.

 

I was interested to see the info in the post and digest same. Encouraged too, to look further into the Saudi ingress into the world pro game.

 

I did think that as a reflection of the reality of our world (to some degree) that human rights abuses are not the singular purview of the Saudi's. Lord knows I can think of other nations, many, that are, and have both over centuries and yes recently acted-out with human-rights atrocities equal in any measure to the Saudi's. Not much said when people were being 'renditioned there'?

 

Some might say Israel, Russia (Jews; gays; people of colour; asiatic origin; Muslims, China - Uyghurs, America - black Americans; Chicano; Asian, Brazil Indigenous tribes, Hungary - non-fascists,

The old waring factions that led to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the horrors of Milosevic against the Muslims etc in the 1990's are equal to if not more horrendous than Saudi behaviour, at least in weight of numbers and the compression of time in which said atrocities were carried out. 

My point being that there is no one nation that behaves in lesser ways in 'man's inhumanity to man' to quote Whoopi Goldberg than the Saudi's. But it seems like all peoples we view others through the prism of our own cultural lens and myopia.

I posit no solution in commenting but rather post in a way I hope opens up thought to the ways all cultures have the propensity and history to perpetrate atrocities. Lord knows my nation was so effective in our extermination of the Indigenous folks that out of about 3 million theres only a few hundred thousand left, and the racial war continues there. albeit more gentrified and covert. 

 

The question around complicity, or tacit approval by not registering some form of protest at this new development in world golf, might in some ways be a mute point. Mute because we consume and trade and interact with Saudi money all over the shop, seeing as the Saudis through their vast oil wealth have reached out into the world, and, until the wells and staggering wealth these bring runs dry, they'll continue to influence and impact all our lives. 

I think now of my listening to John Stewart the other day who was talking about staying in contact/dialogue despite the difficulty of that lest homogeneity die.

I refer to the idea of the futility and counter productiveness of isolating those we disagree with as a form of punishment with the notion that this is a means to incentivise change in the them. While I agree moving away from others is a legitimate action, and yes necessary sometimes so is engagement. By this I mean that exposure too and interaction with those who do, sound, look, and act differently to me brings opportunity; opportunity to share, grow, and change. 

As a golfer myself, (perhaps 'hacker' might be more succinct a description of my game) I am happy to see great players, on glorious courses play to their best.

 

The hypocrisy of the west, especially US and UK, reeks. Why should golfers be denied income? They are not campaigning day after day for human rights in Saudi and so aren't hypocrites. 

I read a newspaper article recently about the blatant double standards: it said if a report came out about human rights violations in China, every western newspaper would be screaming about it.....if the same report came out complaining about Saudi, no one would even mention it. A little like the recent Amnesty report accusing Israel of apartheid.....hardly a mention.

Do you think golfers should take Saudi’s money and ignore the political issues?

Yes.

5 minutes ago, connda said:

Do you think golfers should take Saudi’s money and ignore the political issues?

Yes.

 

 

I agree..it should be up to the individual and their own conscience and moral fibre.

Someone want to name a country that doesn't have human rights issues, or abused another countries, no matter how or why.

 

Certainly doesn't include the USA, UK or NATO members ... before anyone suggests any of those.

If they were flogging people and cutting hands off beside the first tee, would you play?

Knowing it's happening out of your sight, would you play?

4 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

Seems to have opinions conflicted in the same way as events held in South Africa during the apartheid era.

 

Whether players follow their conscience or the money remains to be seen.

 

Judging by the players at the first event, many high profile names have already voted with their wallets..

1 hour ago, Tropposurfer said:

Thank you for the posting on this development in the game. I had known of this but only in a passing way.

 

I was interested to see the info in the post and digest same. Encouraged too, to look further into the Saudi ingress into the world pro game.

 

I did think that as a reflection of the reality of our world (to some degree) that human rights abuses are not the singular purview of the Saudi's. Lord knows I can think of other nations, many, that are, and have both over centuries and yes recently acted-out with human-rights atrocities equal in any measure to the Saudi's. Not much said when people were being 'renditioned there'?

 

Some might say Israel, Russia (Jews; gays; people of colour; asiatic origin; Muslims, China - Uyghurs, America - black Americans; Chicano; Asian, Brazil Indigenous tribes, Hungary - non-fascists,

The old waring factions that led to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the horrors of Milosevic against the Muslims etc in the 1990's are equal to if not more horrendous than Saudi behaviour, at least in weight of numbers and the compression of time in which said atrocities were carried out. 

My point being that there is no one nation that behaves in lesser ways in 'man's inhumanity to man' to quote Whoopi Goldberg than the Saudi's. But it seems like all peoples we view others through the prism of our own cultural lens and myopia.

I posit no solution in commenting but rather post in a way I hope opens up thought to the ways all cultures have the propensity and history to perpetrate atrocities. Lord knows my nation was so effective in our extermination of the Indigenous folks that out of about 3 million theres only a few hundred thousand left, and the racial war continues there. albeit more gentrified and covert. 

 

The question around complicity, or tacit approval by not registering some form of protest at this new development in world golf, might in some ways be a mute point. Mute because we consume and trade and interact with Saudi money all over the shop, seeing as the Saudis through their vast oil wealth have reached out into the world, and, until the wells and staggering wealth these bring runs dry, they'll continue to influence and impact all our lives. 

I think now of my listening to John Stewart the other day who was talking about staying in contact/dialogue despite the difficulty of that lest homogeneity die.

I refer to the idea of the futility and counter productiveness of isolating those we disagree with as a form of punishment with the notion that this is a means to incentivise change in the them. While I agree moving away from others is a legitimate action, and yes necessary sometimes so is engagement. By this I mean that exposure too and interaction with those who do, sound, look, and act differently to me brings opportunity; opportunity to share, grow, and change. 

As a golfer myself, (perhaps 'hacker' might be more succinct a description of my game) I am happy to see great players, on glorious courses play to their best.

 

Thoughtful and well-written.

If the new league will be anything like the Saudi event last weekend don't do it, so boring, no atmosphere, course was bland, no trees i can remember, golfers looked bored, only there for money

It is up to each individual. But, I do everything I can to avoid supporting the world's top sponsor of worldwide terror. While in the US, I only buy gas made without Middle Eastern oil. Harder to do that here. Unless someone knows something I don't know, about supply here. It is a small thing. But, small things add up.

 

And I object to their extreme Wahhabi teachings. Just because they have alot of cash, does not mean we should condone their assassinations, repression and their support of terror. 

26 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

It is up to each individual. But, I do everything I can to avoid supporting the world's top sponsor of worldwide terror. While in the US, I only buy gas made without Middle Eastern oil. Harder to do that here. Unless someone knows something I don't know, about supply here. It is a small thing. But, small things add up.

 

And I object to their extreme Wahhabi teachings. Just because they have alot of cash, does not mean we should condone their assassinations, repression and their support of terror. 

And here I left the USA, because I don't support terrorism, (USA, UK, OZ & NATO) invading sovereign countries.  Talk about human rights abuses.  The true terrorist of the world, along with the UN ... IMHO.

 

UN-5 permanent security council members are 5 or the 6 largest arms manufacturers and dealers.   Want to stop terrorism, stop making and selling arms ... nuff said.

 

"At the UN's founding in 1945, the five permanent members of the Security Council were the French Republic, the Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States"

These guys are independent contractors and can play wherever they want (although I heard the PGA guys had to get permission from the PGA).  I'd be curious to know if everyone in the field got appearance money (doubtful).  Wish there was a list of how much was doled out to each player.  Would be quite revealing.   

No Rahm, Hovland, Mcllroy, Speith, Thomas or Koepka - arguably the cream of the crop.

 

15 minutes ago, champers said:

No Rahm, Hovland, Mcllroy, Speith, Thomas or Koepka - arguably the cream of the crop.

 

Big names. Wonder how much of it is ideological? It appears that it not only conflicts with Pebble Beach, but is technically part of the Asian tour. As is typical with the Saudis they are throwing around alot of money, and so is Greg Norman. 

 

The money is reported to start at $2 million and escalate up to $10 million. Those are appearances fees based on the player and his drawing power.

 

https://www.si.com/golf/news/saudi-arabia-event-latest-chapter-in-power-struggle-with-pga-tour-that-has-only-begun

Why not particularly the guys coming to the end of their top career potential and soon moving on to the senior tour.

No chance of getting to Ryder Cups, Presidents Cup etc. No chance of captaining their countries/teams.

 

And the few that will do anything for money.. As for the Saudi's- it's called sportswashing

 

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Big names. Wonder how much of it is ideological? It appears that it not only conflicts with Pebble Beach, but is technically part of the Asian tour. As is typical with the Saudis they are throwing around alot of money, and so is Greg Norman. 

 

The money is reported to start at $2 million and escalate up to $10 million. Those are appearances fees based on the player and his drawing power.

 

https://www.si.com/golf/news/saudi-arabia-event-latest-chapter-in-power-struggle-with-pga-tour-that-has-only-begun

I am sure Mcllroy has said he won't play in Saudi on principle. I don't know about anyone else.

I read that the next event is in Hua Hin. Would anyone pass up the chance to watch big name players because the prize money comes from Saudi?

8 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Want to stop terrorism, stop making and selling arms ... nuff said.

Words fail me..........

IMO it really doesn't matter where golfers make their income, they are not politicians or activists.

In a few decades, oil and gas will be supplanted by renewable energy, and those lush green courses in that region will go back to sand. Might as well take the money while it is there.

The titles and championships are meaningless, there are only four majors that professionals really covet. Who remembers who won the Abu Dabhi tournament of 2018, or cares?

11 hours ago, Lacessit said:

IMO it really doesn't matter where golfers make their income, they are not politicians or activists.

In a few decades, oil and gas will be supplanted by renewable energy, and those lush green courses in that region will go back to sand. Might as well take the money while it is there.

The titles and championships are meaningless, there are only four majors that professionals really covet. Who remembers who won the Abu Dabhi tournament of 2018, or cares?

One can only hope. To say the Saudis and other nations in that region would be completely irrelevant if it were not for their oil and natural gas, would be an understatement. They would be forgotten. And that would be good. Let them practice their oppression, extremism, and medieval nonsense on their own. And without the oil income, it would be harder for the Saudis to continue sponsoring terror, and the world would be free of the influence of serial killers like MBS. Hooray! See ya! 

If to remain viable, an organisation needs funding from a nefarious source, perhaps that organisation should be questioning it's relevance to society. 

I would say doubly so in the case of golf, which is generally associated with the upper echelons of society, which have plenty of money themselves.

On 2/8/2022 at 2:19 AM, webfact said:

Phil Mickelson was offered US$100million!

 

Wow, what a fall from grace.

 

Lefty's stepping back from golf. Sponsors KPMG and Heineken have dropped him.

 

What a putz.

 

https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/33349367/phil-mickelson-offers-apology-super-golf-league-comments-focus-best-interests-golf

For the Saudi Golf League events proposed for the U.S., Trump Properties were said to be eyed for three of the most lucrative events. The PGA has spurned Trump Golf Properties, and the former president does have relations with sword-dance partners the King and Crown Prince.

 

To that end...

 

Jack Nicklaus splits from Donald Trump over Saudi-backed Super Golf League

 

One by one, they keep falling.

 

Add Jack Nicklaus to the growing list of golfers who aren’t supporting the Saudi Arabian-backed Super Golf League as an alternative to the PGA Tour.

 

What’s so special about Nicklaus’ lack of endorsement? Well, he’s a good buddy of Donald Trump, and earlier this week, the Washington Post reported the former president could play host to multiple tournaments for the proposed league, “according to three people familiar with the matter, potentially handing Trump a lucrative business partnership with an oppressive regime he defended as president.”

 

https://www.nj.com/sports/2022/02/jack-nicklaus-splits-from-donald-trump-over-saudi-backed-super-golf-league.html

 

 

 

An there is no truth to the rumor that a 15th club would be allowed in the SGL, as long as it's a bone-saw.

 

 

The Saudi Golf League fallout continues for Lefty...

 

Phil Mickelson Removed As American Express Tournament Host

 

After Phil Mickelson's controversial comments about the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia, a number of sponsors have withdrawn their support of the six-time Major champion, with KPMG, Amstel Light and Workday all recently parting ways with Lefty.

 

Now, it has been announced that the 51-year-old will no longer serve as host of The American Express event in La Quinta, California, with the PGA Tour stating to The Desert Sun that, in addition to Mickelson not returning as host in January 2023, the Mickelson Foundation will also no longer be part of the event either.

 

https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/phil-mickelson-removed-as-american-express-tournament-host

 

 

The PGA doesn't make public any disciplinary actions - shame on them - but some think Mickelson has been given (and he has accepted) a suspension which will free him up in time for the Masters. A tournament where the patrons will likely be removed if they shout "bone-saw" after he bombs one.

 

 

Callaway Golf Agree To 'Pause' Relationship With Mickelson

 

https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/callaway-golf-agree-to-pause-relationship-with-mickelson

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

The Saudi Golf League fallout continues for Lefty...

 

Phil Mickelson Removed As American Express Tournament Host

 

After Phil Mickelson's controversial comments about the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia, a number of sponsors have withdrawn their support of the six-time Major champion, with KPMG, Amstel Light and Workday all recently parting ways with Lefty.

 

Now, it has been announced that the 51-year-old will no longer serve as host of The American Express event in La Quinta, California, with the PGA Tour stating to The Desert Sun that, in addition to Mickelson not returning as host in January 2023, the Mickelson Foundation will also no longer be part of the event either.

 

https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/phil-mickelson-removed-as-american-express-tournament-host

 

 

The PGA doesn't make public any disciplinary actions - shame on them - but some think Mickelson has been given (and he has accepted) a suspension which will free him up in time for the Masters. A tournament where the patrons will likely be removed if they shout "bone-saw" after he bombs one.

 

 

Callaway Golf Agree To 'Pause' Relationship With Mickelson

 

https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/callaway-golf-agree-to-pause-relationship-with-mickelson

He's getting more sanctions than Russia, just for having an opinion, sad days