It’s a party week in Phoenix and Vegas, but the road connecting the two isn’t a joyous ride. In this edition of the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav, the writers discuss why any path back to the PGA Tour is complicated for LIV guys. #GolfChannel #GolfChannelPodcast #pgatour
00:00: Which event are you most looking forward to this week?
03:30: Our history covering Phoenix
09:30: LIV ratings, and what they mean
13:30: Joaquin Niemann’s major gripe – fair or foul?
21:00: Why the road back to the PGA Tour is so complicated for LIV guys
32:00: What’s on the grill for Super Bowl
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Complications of the LIV road back to the PGA Tour | Golf Channel Podcast | Golf Channel
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Hello and welcome into this edition of the Golf Channel podcast with Rex and lav it’s a busy week not just in golf but in sports in general of course with the Super Bowl going on in Las Vegas PJ tour of course has its own Super Bowl party in Phoenix biggest crowds of the
Year Liv has its own party as well in Vegas the second event of its season the tournament ends on Saturday in Sin City so it’s not to conflict with the big game wrecks first of all how are you second of all which event are you most looking forward to seeing this week uh
Well I’ll be flying during the Super Bowl so I won’t be watching that which is kind of sad going up to Connecticut for the week so uh uh that’s not entirely true I think when I land I’ll be able to watch probably the second half get to see the cool commercials I
Guess uh probably Scottdale but I mean it’s a it’s a close one in onea I would say just because when I first saw the Liv schedule that they were going to be in Las Vegas the week of the Super Bowl I kind of rolled my eyes along with a lot
Of folks simply because it didn’t make a lot of sense the Super Bowl has a tendency to suck all of the air out of the room and if what you’re trying to do is gner attention which is what I would think Liv goof is trying to do I
Wouldn’t think the Super Bowl in Las Vegas would be the place to do that that being said I was talking with a a writer from San Francisco last week when I was at Pebble Beach who’s who was going to the Super Bowl obviously Ron cek yes and
He was telling me that he was probably going to go out to the live event on Thursday and or Friday and he goes because I didn’t realiz this I’ve never covered Super Bowl but he said there there aren’t any press conferences for the Super Bowl on Friday like they’re
Done by essentially Wednesday and so he goes I’m gonna be there anyway there’s not going to be any Super Bowl stuff for me to write so if they get that sort of I don’t even know what you would call it sort of carryover attention I think it’s
Probably a good move I still think you’re logistically you put such a burden on the entire tour your entire traveling circus but if you if you can capitalize at all on the Extravaganza that is the Super Bowl in Las Vegas then it’s probably a good move yeah it’s a
Little bit of a strange strategy when you look at the first two events that live has rolled out last week in myoba it was directly conflicting with the PJ tours uh signature event at Pebble Beach a $20 million purse obviously that worked out well for Liv and we’ll get
Out we’ll get to that in a minute because of the the Sunday wash out no football uh they basically had the sports calendar to themselves and now the PJ tour’s biggest party going on in Phoenix the biggest event in all of sports an event that obviously draws 100
Million eyeballs on Sunday although it’s not going head-to-head you are at least dividing some of the attention in the exact same city for me at least this week Rex I’m I’m I’m I would say predominantly focused on Phoenix a lot of talk about the quality of winners
Thus far on the PJ tour Windham Clark is actually the only player ranked inside the top 50 who has gotten a w on tour this year the chances are are pretty good that that’s going to change this week Scotty sheffler going for the three Pat Uh Justin Thomas a great course fit
Obviously he he appears to be well on his way uh to to returning to the form that he’s shown over the past decade not necessarily that he showed in 2023 you also have Sam Burns Max hom Jordan spe in the field two players we do not have
In the field Victor hin in xand choffle uh Victor has been a slow start to 2024 for the fs Cup champion and Xander choffle uh is is nursing a little bit of a wrist issue personally I I I really like this event I didn’t love covering
It and you and I can go through our experiences with that so why so it’s it’s it’s funny so I I I covered it I covered it once and I vowed I would probably never do it again and yet on the other side of the coin if my golf
Friends tell me like I I would say absolutely bucket list item have to go at least once to see the Mayhem in a working capacity it’s it’s tough there’s there’s people everywhere it’s distracting uh Sunday is is is horrible because you want to watch the big game
If you’re if you’re a football fan and they end early I mean they’re over by plenty of time for the game right ends at 6 it ends at 6 for a reason because then it’s it’s supposed to be the the the warmup to the big game there’s
Almost always a playoff it seems like and so that’s spilling over into it as well but I do think if you’re a golf fan I wouldn’t go on Sunday I would go on Saturday and have the time of my life I would tell every fan to go but in a
Working capacity completely Stone sober like kind of stinks kind of stinks uh I don’t I went out there once and it’s been two or three years and it it was kind of a weird deal because we were actually doing golf today from the the set on 16 and so I didn’t I didn’t
Get that experience that you got I didn’t have to fight with crowds on Saturday and Sunday we were out of there by Friday afternoon uh I will say and I think I I’ve mentioned this before I understand now why game day on ESPN is such a good show week in and week out
Like because the formula is if you’ve got 30,000 people screaming at you it’s not real difficult to get worked up and to try to create good content and good TV whatever the case may be it was a lot of fun to be in the middle of that that
Being said I was really happy to get on the plane on Friday night and get out of town and I’m sure that’s the way everyone feels whether if you are getting out of town on Friday or Sunday just depending on how your week went you you’re probably really really happy to
Be leaving simply because I I don’t think you could do this anywhere else on tour and I think we’ve talked about this before about the idea that other tournaments have tried to replicate this they tried to do it down in South Florida PJ National often imitated never
Duplicated and it’s not and and I get why tournament directors would look at that and be like yes give me that last four hole stretch and let me turn a golf tournament into a big party I I totally understand the concept it works here for a couple of different reasons they have
Cultivated this for decades and I will give the tournament credit because my guess along the way I can only imagine some of the awkward conversations they’ve had to have with the PGA Tour because the PGA Tour wanted it wanted to dial down because that’s what the PGA
Tour does it’s the no fun Le sometimes they did away with the caddy Races they did remember one year Ryan pmer was throwing golf balls with $20 bills wrapped wrapped around them and they didn’t like that and over the years I can only imagine every every year it’s just
Gonna be a fight the tour is gonna be like no you can’t do that like no we can’t this Joel remember Joel Damon and Harry higs got fine for their antic on the on the 16 couple years ago and it’s ridiculous in retrospect because now the PGA Tour will use it as
Promotional material now I think it’s funny when I see a commercial where the PGA Tour is actually using the cadd races and in promotional material because you’re like you outlawed these things because you were worried that someone was going to fall down and get hurt and that’s what I mean when I say
The no funly I don’t think any other tournament would ever go to the mat and fight probably the way like that would be the cool story I’d like to read can you get on that because I’d love to read sort of the history of how the people’s open became that outdoor cocktail party
Because it started pretty good but it it got to this as a sort of this wild evolution of this creature that the tour probably didn’t like but they put up with it long enough and now they realize that we could probably make the most of it and I think it’s a 25 year
Anniversary of Tiger’s Ace is that right may have that 25 27 years whatever the case may be it’s somewhere 27’s not a great anniversary 25 is no it really isn’t uh but that’s but that kind of took the the hole to another level and
And and like there’s a it’s a it’s a CA humanity and I always say like for for 14 holes you can go play golf in relative anonymity and for the last hour hour 15 it’s just it’s just sheer Mayhem and you’re just playing amid this den of
Of white noise and I’ve talked to a number of players about this they actually prefer the setting where you you you do have I think it’s 20,000 people who are on the 16th ohle right like they’re they’re shouting at you they’re clapping they’re booing whatever the case may be
That is actually better and and not as distracting as let’s say you have 500 fans out there and you have two or three idiots who shout something at inopportune times and kind of the rabit ear go up and you hear that and that can be a little that can get players a
Little bit miffed this at least is just a constant drone of of noise it may be it may be unpleasant noise it may be it may be booze it may be Jers maybe be cheers whatever the case may be but it gets the adrenaline going but it’s not necessarily distracting and so that’s
Why I think you actually see players turn up again and again we did our golf table gol today round table on Tuesday uh and aan asked about you know kind of player response to this tournament like this is not a designated event anymore you know there’s no obligations for
These guys to tune up obviously this is a busy first five six weeks to pach T schedule especially with Riviera on the back end of this there’s nothing keeping these guys from skipping this event and yet they still show up so I think that’s the biggest indication at all that they
Like the theater uh the younger players have embraced kind of the the party Vibe and the party ethos and they have no problem with it then again I don’t think it works basically any other time of year like you you you know what you’re getting players sign up for it and they
They know exactly what they’re going to get well that that’s the interesting way to take this conversation right because that’s what if we transition now to Las Vegas and what Liv would want they would want that every single week and some places it seems like they’ve been pretty
Successful at creating that by all accounts Adelaide last year in Australia was pretty much off the charts like it was this big party that that they want um I was at Miami last year and I I will tell you that Friday was better than Friday in in Orlando last year like
Friday in Orlando was kind of ho hum and boring and not much to it I think they’re heading in that direction but to your point it’s so hard to do that every single week what they’ve created in Scottsdale I I I think you’re right often IM imitated rarely duplicated
Because it you just can’t overnight create this you can build the grand stands for 20,000 people that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to come like I would be curious imagine what they could do if they really wanted to at 17 at TPC s for The Players Championship like it’s already a Cool
Vibe like I think we talk about this every year about sitting on the side of the Hill for an afternoon with your buddies having a couple beers making some bets about who’s hitting the green and who’s not hitting the green that would be fun imagine if they wanted to
Take that one to the next level because they could they have the real estate they have the interest like they they it’s it’s clearly it has the potential to be the big party they don’t want it to do that so I I guess my question
Would be how do you take that formula if you’re either the PGA Tour or live golf and successfully move that from tournament to tournament to tournament I think you’re right I don’t think you can do it I don’t think most players would want to do it every single week to be
Honest with you now Liv is Liv does have a party hole this week uh in Vegas and they’ve kind of adopted that a couple of times that’s not I guess too dissimilar to what the PJ tour does you don’t have it every single week but you know you
Think about the the the the wrinkle at the Canadian open you have the bear trap at the at the I guess it’s now called the cogniz classic uh you have this you know this the snake pit and some of the grand stands around at inisbrook as well
Like it’s it’s not necessarily the 16th whole vibe where you have 20,000 people all Inc cased and they’re making noise the entire time but you do have a quote unquote party hole at a lot of setups I think Liv would be actually smart to lean into that when it comes I think Rex
To a to a bigger discussion about Liv golf I think this is going to be a better comparison for what sort of inroads Liv golf has made now in this John ROM era if you look at the TV ratings uh from Sunday they had significantly higher viewership for Liv
Myoba than a year ago and in fact it was his largest audience yet for Liv Golf and yet it was still just 432,000 people tuning in on the CW without any PJ tour competition without any football uh this time of year for the sake of comparison that 432,000 for
Live Pebble Beach got 1.9 million on Sunday for what ended up being uh the final round of the Pebble Beach on Saturday proam on Saturday yeah and so I don’t think the P tour is yet feeling like a huge threat from Liv golf that they’re going to be siphoning off some
Viewers when it did come to a little bit of news on the live front we we actually neglected to talk about this in the recap pod but right before Walky nean gave his post- round interview on Sunday the first thing out of his mouth was but
I’m not in the majors kind of kind of woing that you know he just beat John ROM head-to-head he he just uh beat Sergio Garcia head-to-head in the playoff and yet he wasn’t in the majors of course that’s not necessarily true Wy miman is in uh the Open Championship by
Virtue of his win at the Australian Open he he’s he could still receive an invitation to the Masters he’s the best player from Latin America even though uh Augusta National Golf Club hasn’t necessarily pandered uh to the live folks over the past couple years he could still stay inside the top 100 in
The world ranking that should have make him exempt for the PJ Championship or even if he doesn’t as we saw last year with the case of Paul Casey uh walk nean could still receive an invitation from the PJ folks as well and when it comes to the US Open if you’re
Not inside the top 60 in the world you can qualify just like all the other schemers and dreamers Rex we’ve talked at large and numerous times in this podcast about live qualification for Majors decisions have consequences but now the landscape has changed where do
You fall on this is it fair or foul for walk Neiman to be griping about his major status uh right now it’s foul simply because we we’ve got some real estate you’re right you don’t know what the folks at austa National are going to do they could
Offer him an invitation and look they probably aren’t going to do it given where we are in the game right now but you don’t know I mean look I think John ROM probably addressed this last week that his decision was based largely on the idea that winning the Masters last
Year sort of gave him this Runway which sort of pushed him over the top right like the the whole point of this is if you have that window where you can take take the money however much money John ROM because I I hate citing those reports because I’m always dubious
Because someone had a reason for letting that information get out so whatever money he took he did it contingent on the idea that I’m qualified for the majors I think I read that this morning too 2031 if I’m not mistaken or at least do you can play the Masters forever and
So yes that makes the runway so much longer that’s why it was such a a much more difficult conversation for the liks of wae Neeman and Taylor gu and everyone else we can have this conversation about chose to take the money knowing that you weren’t qualified for the majors you
Chose to take the money with the idea that okay Liv goof and Greg Norman are telling me that we’re going to get world ranking points I think everyone who had even a moom of interest in this story and a modicum of understanding and how this worked would have told you that
Yeah that’s that’s not going to happen at least no time soon like maybe we get to the point where you do get world ranking points but you chose to believe that when deep down inside you probably knew it wasn’t true so this in my mind is there are consequences however much
Money while nean got paid these are the consequences to that do I like the idea of someone who is clearly a top 50 player if not a top 30 player in the world not being in the major championships of course I don’t like we can talk at nauseum about the idea that
Bringing the game back together is best for everyone involved we had we had this this conversation in the post uh pod last week just about the idea that I don’t care how they come together but we can all agree that having half the best players in the world at Pebble
And half of them in Mexico is bad for the game not having a player like w Neiman is bad in a major championship is bad for the game we’re GNA talk about the road back for the players in in just a minute just but just to button this up
And and Carlos Ortiz match my energy on that at all you you just totally fell flat you had no energy at all on that one no thank you Colt no uh Carlos at cnos podcast and basically suggested that they were told that they’d be getting World R world ranking points and
So players of Carlos Ortiz’s ilk of walki Neiman’s ilk they were either clearly lied to or or misled heading into their decision Norman told them we we can’t suspend you obviously that did not happen uh they told you you get world ranking points that obviously has
That happened if they were naive to the inherent risks and they did not factor that in of their calculation like I really don’t feel badly for them when it comes to players on live not receiving world ranking points at at this moment I’m I’m kind of fine with it like it’s it’s
A handpick league there’s few relegation opportunities you’re playing the same limited opponents um as we talked about yesterday there’s there’s kind of these two competitions at once and I think that could have a little bit uh with the with the strop play competition the team competition I think that could have a
Little bit of a bearing on what happens as well but I but I’ve said all along and I’ve been consistent on this I do think that the majors should be flexible and and reward the top performers in in this league just like they do for the Japan tour the austral Asian tour uh
There’s there’s order of merits uh whatever the case may be on these various tours that are recognized by the owg I I think it just it just makes sense that when you know that you have worldclass players who have who have chosen a different route just be a
Little bit flexible I don’t know if you give them five I don’t know if you give them one I don’t know if you give him three but I would like to see some reward for the top performers at a certain cut off uh receive entry into the major championships unfortunately least for
2024 that doesn’t appear to be the case uh Fred Ridley did not change the qualification criteria for the Masters uh US Open uh and the Open Championship said to be still be reviewing it the PGA kind of always goes unofficially with the top 100 in the world but Seth W the
CEO of the PJ of America has been pretty outspoken against Liv And so unfortunately for 2024 they did invite Casey last year but they but they but they have made an exception that’s why I still I still wouldn’t rule out the possibility that walki Neiman doesn’t play in all four majors it may
It may be it may be harried he may he may have to go through qualifying for the US Open but I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities that given given Augusta Nationals uh uh belief in growing the game the Latin americ amateur Championship which W Neeman
Either won or he was is a consistently High finisher app but he always played in it like he’s the best player from Latin America if you want to extend the reach of the Masters Tournament it it probably makes sense to give him an invitation but it would be a stark
Departure from all their public statements as it relates to their position on live you’re kind of playing both shy on this one aren’t you you say in one breath that yes there should be consequences for joining Li Golf and and doing what you did because no I’m saying
No I’m saying from world ranking back so which which is it no I’m saying I’m saying from a world ranking perspective I’m fine without with them not receiving world ranking points but I do believe there’s enough good players in this league that they should be that the majors should reward the top performers
Just like they do for other tours around the world uh and the way you’ve done it and we’ve talked about this before is the easiest pathway and I don’t know what the magic number is either top five top three whatever the case may be I would tend to agree with that but again
This kind of goes against the notion that we both just made that there needs to be consequences and if you were a guy like Wen or Taylor gu or anyone that didn’t have that Runway that a John ROM had when it came to the major championships you probably needed to
Come to grips with the idea that I might be done in the majors that’s why you got paid all that money that’s why there was a premium on you signing in this league it wasn’t out of the goodness of their heart that they gave you all that money
It was because they knew you were giving something up one other point rex that you brought up a couple of minutes ago as it relates to the road back potentially for Live players onto the PJ tour if they can some if they can strike a deal with the
Saudi public investment fund and on and on Tuesday in Phoenix Justin Thomas kind of backed up what Ricky Fowler had said last week to you and others at Pebble Beach that a handful of Live players if they were welcomed back to the PJ tour would make the PJ tour better but
Letting them back without punishment was not necessarily something that he was interested in and JT said quote I would have a hard time with it and I think a lot of guys would have a hard time with it royes bring him back JT and Ricky say
There has to be some sort of punishment what do you think uh this is probably one of the biggest sticking points in the negotiations period like we can we can sort of and we’ve done this before where we break down the actual details of what this potential
Deal between the PGA Tour and the piff might look like this is a m multi-billion dollar deal with a lot of moving Parts very very complicated by all accounts the sticking point the thing that’s going to either let this happen or keep it from happening is how
Will you create this Avenue and I can tell you from both sides perspective one from the Live players perspective they don’t have a lot of interest in paying their pound of Flesh whatever it is they decide that’s going to be whether that’s some sort of fine whether it’s some sort of
Suspension they they don’t have a lot of interest actually most of them I talk to don’t have a lot of interest in coming back playing a PJ tour full PG schedule John John ROM does he said there’s a handful of events he said this on he said there’s a handful of events he
Didn’t say there 15 events well yeah I mean he yeah there’s he wants he wants to pick four to six events on the PJ Tour on this four in addition to playing the live golf schedule yeah he’s not he’s not looking to play 30 times a year
They’re not going they’re not going full Patrick Reed here and and Brooks kka said the same thing last year I think Dustin Johnson has said the same thing now now on the other side of this when Rory made those comments last week I think it rippled across the tour like I
Don’t know how many text messages I got from players with just wide open you know the round face Wide Open Eye emojis like what’s happening like when did this become a thing head blown because it’s going to be a sticking point with the players and Jay Monahan and the tour has
Almost backed themselves into a corner by doing this the way they have done it and he had to after June 6th there was going to be a rebellion if he did not get everybody in on the same page he had to do the framework agreement in secrecy
He probably knew there was going to be a lot of push back and as a result of that now the players have the majority voice in whichever direction the PGA tour goes that being said the players are not going to be happy allowing those players to come back with without any kind of
Penance whatever that might be and look we can sit here and go through it one of the one good ones I heard was don’t even do a fine don’t do a suspension allow them to come back and they can play as many or as few events as they like but
For every one event that they want to play they have to add another event to their schedule that they’ve never played before whether if that’s and again I hate picking on tournaments but that could be the John Deere classic the cognizant classic whatever the case may be where sure Dustin Johnson you can
Come back but you’re going to do this at the benefit of the entire tour what about the possibility of just having them back on sponsor exemptions they’re limited to you know right now A N A non- mum gets a maximum of seven sponsor exemptions per year I think that
Would satiate all these live guys who who kind of want to pick and choose which ones they want it’d be obvious if you’re the PJ tour which ones you would want the Brooks The Bryson the DJs the John ROM the cam smiths in those particular Fields I think that’s
Probably a good option that way you’re not kind of opening the Gateway for everybody but basically the ones who had factored heavily in the PIP over the past couple years and you could point to them being pretty consistent consistent needle movers I’m definitely torn WX on
On on on what to do here and if I were a top player what I would want because there are two conflicting thoughts because if you do want the tour to be as strong as possible then these players do have to come back right you do have to
Welcome them back but the holdup is is that you don’t want these players to come back who who got paid and come back completely scot-free you know it it definitely feels like there’s some sort of of jealousy or bitterness or resentment if that were the case that
That that these players went to live got paid excess of $100 million they willfully joined a tour that was designed to destroy these PJ tour players place of employment like I I totally get that but but the converse to that is that it’s not like the PJ
Tour players who stayed have been have been impoverished by this golf Civil War like they’re playing for for more money than they ever have before Victor havin the fighs Cup champion he made $36 million on the golf course last year uh the the players now after this new deal
With the Strategic Sports Group are now Equity holders in the tour and stand to be you know kind of stand to be made whole that way like I I don’t think the PJ tour players are worse off and so part of me says get over it welcome back
If you’re so determined to make this great product and obviously Now with an Investment Group in that you know bring them kind of hold your nose and bring them back but I could also see the other side that’s saying like you you guys try to destroy us and I were just welcome
Welcoming you back like I don’t I don’t have a good feeling of that on on February 7th yeah because you’re really good sort of dictating well you just need to make this happen and I think we can all agree at at this point like yeah yes the game
Is going to be better off when it’s United and I I continue to believe 100% that we will get to that point whatever it’s going to look like but put yourself in either Jay Monahan shoes or Roy maroy shoes whoever is going to be making the
Decisions on this you tell me how he Neo he navigates that like it’s really really hard based on what we know I mean you’ve talked to enough players too you know there is a level of vitral out there among PGA Tour players who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour that you’re
Going to have a hard time selling them on this now one of the arguments that you just pointed out is that the rising tide Has Lifted all boats and you can definitely see you can make that argument you can put it on a Blackboard be like look you made this much last
Year and it would have been this much had Liv golf not existed like we can quantify that there’s hurt feelings there’s there’s sort of grievances involved here there’s friendships that aren’t friendships anymore it’s going to be tough to navigate that I I wouldn’t want that job at all I mean that’s
Essentially going to be the toughest part of this because there is no easy answer the rest of the things we can sit here and come up with easy answers like how do the players remain loyal to the PGA Tour how do they get compensated well we know that now it’s called equity
And everyone’s going to get their piece of the pie whatever that might be and you know what is it all going to look like well now we have an idea with SSG involved and if piff is here and PGA Tour entertainment and a global tour we’ve talked about that before as well
The one thing we can’t talk our way around or create an easy Avenue to is how what this pathway is going to look like I wrote about this last spring like go back to last spring at at the cognizant which was the Huna classic then like that was the story I was
Writing then and how delicate and difficult it was going to be we’re still talking about this in circles a year later it’s not going away and I think it’s just such an interesting wrinkle now too Rex with with SSG coming into the fold if if they now have the
Imperative to make the P tour as good as possible and to now get a return on the investment do they put their thumb on the scale and say welcome them back because this is what’s going to help the PJ tour become more profitable in the future I just think it’s a very
Interesting wrinkle uh to keep in mind sausage figer go ahead when Rory says what he says last week to your point what you just addressed do you get the feeling that that’s SSG talking good I mean it feels like it and look I we can
Connect Dots here and I again I go back to the idea that like some people aren’t going to like he has he has a business relationship relationship with fway sports and that’s that’s who’s leading the Strategic Sports Group and you can sit here and say I and I I think I
Mentioned this last week that when when he was speaking last week I thought he was speaking as a player a former policy board member whatever the case may be as I sort of digested what he said I think he was talking as a business person that has a financial interest in making sure
That this deal comes to pass and by this deal I mean that piff SSG and the PGA Tour all end up under the same roof whatever that looks like I find that fascinating yeah Rory I I would say he’s I would say he’s a very good listener you know he he
Over the past year or so he’s listened to all sides he’s listened to Johan rert he’s listened to uh yaser Al rayan when they met uh in Abu Dhabi a couple years ago uh he clearly has been a part of these board discussions over the past
Year that’s why he that’s why his his thinking tends to change so often because he is taking in input from all sides I’m with you it would not surprise me at all uh if that’s kind of the talking point and the line of thinking from your SSG folks as well we will get
Answers Rex next week at the Genesis Invitational from Tiger Woods perhaps the most influential board member uh on the PJ tour policy board we didn’t mention the Tweet you got to bring up the Tweet or they I mean it’s clearly his his new appar line that’s coming out on a
Formally known as Twitter supposed to be unveiled on Monday I would anticipate a press conference at Riviera on Tuesday or Wednesday it’ll be interesting to hear what Tiger’s wearing or see what Tiger’s wearing it’ll be interesting to to hear what tiger is saying uh in
Regards to the future of the PJ tour and it will obviously as always be interested to see how he is playing with the Masters now just two months away I will be in Rivier I’ll be dusting off uh the luggage if not covered a PG Tour
Event uh in in so long so I’m looking forward to getting out there you and I will be doing the podcast most likely on Monday I’m guessing we’ll let the Super Bowl breathe we don’t we don’t want to we don’t want to conflict with the Super
Bowl you know we don’t we don’t want to take eyeballs we don’t want to take uh we don’t want to take listens away from Jim nans and Tony Roma we know how much of a threat we could potentially posee to the broadcast what it is so we we’ll
Just we’ll just give it some time to breathe and we will go on with the recap uh on Monday before we get out of here Rex uh I know you will not be home for the Super Bowl are you firing up anything on the grill at least the day
Before uh I’m going to do something next day or two before I get back on the road as you pointed out um won’t be here Sunday so I won’t have a big day so whatever I do is going to be boring so I’ll leave this a lot my time to you
What what do you got planned for the big day so uh it’s actually going to be a little bit hectic uh my wife has has has crammed uh Super Bowl weekend schedule uh just just to the gills you we got a flag football game on Saturday there a birthday party she’s going to
Some gallentine thing Saturday night and then Sunday I’m actually playing in a Super Bowl scramble uh at Marsh Landing my club on Sunday morning so that’s actually going to be cutting into my barbecue time and so I’ve been doing all sorts of research on kind of smoking Foods ahead of time
Uh then holding them in the fridge and then kind of reheating methods and so uh we are having a party on Sunday for the Super Bowl it’s a little bit weird with with young kids because you you really can’t stay for the entire game so it’s
Probably just G be a first half type of thing so I’m doing uh smoked and then fried chicken wings which I believe we talked about in the podcast a couple of weeks ago and for the first time uh I know you’re a big fan of I’m doing pork
Belly burnt ends and so I’m gonna SM before I’ve never done them before I’m gonna smoke them I’m going to hold them I’m going to cube them and then I’m going to fry them and sauce them after word and then I’m hoping everyone else brings other sorts of delicious things
If you have any tips share them now with with the people at home uh I Cube them beforehand but I’ve seen it done both ways where you do them after the fact so I Cube them before I smoked them and then uh I think I did fry them last time it it creates
Actually I think my youngest son fried them for the first time just because we wanted to get an idea they are delicious however it is you do them they’re really really heavy like I discovered it’s not really a meal it’s more like an appetizer where you which is what we’re
Kinding to do we’re trying to just do finger foods you know you grab a couple Wings you grab a couple pork belly burn ends you do some buffalo chicken dip whatever else uh the the guys bring but yeah you can’t sit there and just put down an entire platum because you you’ll
You’ll need to be wheeled out of the place like and there’s different kinds of sauces that I found uh the one from Over the fire cooking Derek he he does a really good job with his and it’s it’s again it’s kind of heavy and it’s it’s
On the sweet side and savory side which fits perfectly with with that type of meat but yeah it’s heavy but it’s delicious pick to win Chiefs Niners who is it uh pick to win I’m going to go with the ners but I think that’s just me wanting
There to be parody in every sport I I just Pine for parody I don’t even know I have no dog in the fight like I don’t really care about either one of these teams uh Joe uh thuny the offensive lineman for the Chiefs uh being out with the Toren
Pectoral muscle I do think that is a big deal when you look at the The Playmakers that the Niners have on both sides of the ball uh but I think with two weeks to prepare I’m still going with the Chiefs Andy Reid is an offensive genius Steve spagnol the defensive coordinator
For the the Chiefs uh Brock py has started very slow the last two games for the ners they they’ve escaped with wins both times obviously but I do think the two weeks to game plan they can put a c a clamp on them I do think the Chiefs
Will win I think the Chiefs are underdogs I think they’re two two or three-point underdogs and Patrick Mahomes uh on the trajectory to become the goat in NFL history he is not an underdog by any metric uh this is the podcast you wanted to do isn’t it like we just wasted the first
30 minutes because you finally got to the podcast that you wanted to do to give all of your Super Bowl hot takes uh no the podcast I want to do which which we will do in early September is the fantasy football podcast that’s where that’s that’s where I really shine after
After a couple months of research I won two championships this year like I’m riding High that’s all that’s all the Super Bowl takes I have I’m actually worried about my 5 a.m flight making sure I can catch that on Monday morning I was about to say You’re really out of
Practice do you even know how to get to the airport like you’re probably going to need a reminder straight shot straight shot park park on site Jack airport is super easy to get out of uh I do have uh some new gortex shoes that I’ll be debuting I can talk about them
On the podcast next week I was sick of getting head colds after you know trudging around the the The Dewy grass in the early mornings that’s particularly Apparent at Rivier where the temperatures are always like upper 40 in the morning Burns off and gets you mid-60s uh during the day uh but I’m
Sick of having wet and cold feet and so that will not be an issue in 2024 I look forward to showing those off on next week’s podcast video all right but that’s going to do it for this Edition the Golf Channel podcast with Rex and lab busy weekend golf that’s why you can
Go to nbcsports.com golf for all the latest news notes uh and features keep in mind PJ tour and live golf both start on Thursday live ends on Saturday Phoenix Open of course ends on Sunday we’ll be back next week for a recap pod as well as a preview of
Tiger Woods return to competition in 2024 at Riviera we’ll talk to you guys in a couple days enjoy the golf and the Super Bowl
39 Comments
Breaking News! LIV Golf has announced they will be going to 4 rounds-72 holes.
All the snide comments and jokes would be over. Nobody would be laughing.
Allow them the Owgr points or I'm telling you this is what will happen. People are making a huge, huge, huge mistake by not having the discernment to realize LIV could/would do this. It's has always been their back-up plan, their ace in the hole, but they are doing all they can not to play it. I would be bad for the PGA TOUR.
What if the LIV don't want back on the Tour? What if the just want to be eligible for the majors?
The issue I have with the PGA players and majority of media is that everyone assumes that the PGA Tour is the best league and the league everyone wants to be in. If that was the case, LIV would have died already, and guys would be begging for their cards back…
Stick to golf conversation; I couldn’t care less about what you’re cooking or doing on Sunday; also if I want football analysis, I’ll listen to a football podcast; please stick to golf
LAV represents the PGAT thinking from the start….ban LIV players for life….really dumb. The fact is that PGAT cannot survive for long without the LIV players. Some of the elite tour members want to continue the LIV ban…so they can have less competition. They should not be making dumb business decisions…They have Monahan to do that.
PIF should sue the corrupt OWGR board asap….the collusion/conspiracy with the PGAT will easily be proven on discovery. The OWGR are now a joke..because of the board's corruption
So the PGA players demand reparations from LIV players. Good luck with that.
The road back for LIV guys to the PGA Tour? It's simple, they qualify just like everyone else does, Korn Ferry Tour, and Q-School. That's their road back.
I understand that these US TV guys are scared to lose their standing in the golf world. However, change is happening the momentum is towards a global Tour with global audience. Talking about US Tour and LIV from an US centric view misses the point. It is a global game – in contrast to the Super Bowl which is also predominantly viewed and cared about by US spectators. Assessing LIV from a purely US biased view is the first mistake.
Go LIV GOL LAS VEGAS !!!
A large amount of people watch LIV on the app. And JT has enough to worry about with his own game before he wories about others. Make a cut in a Major
Any player who joined LIV, should have read the OWGR policies on qualification for ranking points. The rules were clear than as they are now and have been fully visible for those that did their homework.
I am truly frustrated by the continuing discussion on why LIV players do not get ranking points….. it’s been transparent for years. To those that care… READ THE F***ing GUIDELINES,
Great pod as always guys… 👌
"equity holders in the tour…" what would that be worth? The recent deal with SSG puts the tour value at roughly $12B so that would be a sizeable amount for the first 50 players. But then how does that work for future players? If I was a pga tour player I wouldn't be pinning a lot on the equity thing.
Idea for an addition to the pod each week…. Nominate someone from the golfing ecosystem who should be thrown on the grill? (It can’t be Phil or Greg every week 😉)
Rex & Lav I prefer Hog & Ryan lol
I've been a huge follower of pro golf for years and I couldn't care less about it at this point. Scumbag Saudis buying the game is the end of the line for me.
Road back easy . Make pip /LIV pay pga damages to get their players reinstated.
Why wanting to create a World Tour is trying to “destroy” PGA Tour? I reckon you got that one way wrong Lav. Both concepts can easily coexist
Only those with a bias towards PGA Tour think that punishing LIV players with not awarding OWGR points is Ok. Let’s be fair, Rex. OWGR points are being used as a weapon for preventing players from going to LIV. Imagine that was not the case, way more would have been gone by now. Why players need to be punished for not playing at PGA Tour, PGAT is just another golf tour like many others in the world.
If Niemann wants to be in the US Open, he is free to enter and qualify. He'd probably be exempt from local qualifying. More accomplished players than him have gone that route. If Niemann doesn't try to qualify, he really doesn't care that much.
I am missing Ludvig Åberg at Phoenix! But I am swedish sooo🙃
The understanding with the owgr is you have to wait 18 months or so, which is silly. Logically looking around at many of the tours that get owgr points, everyone would think LIv would get the points. Consider leagues get points with significantly less talent, they often play 54 holes, or have smaller fields. This includes the pga tour.
LIv now has relegation. It more than deserves points by now.
The reasons they don’t get points have nothing to do with having to wait or there being an actual problem. They simply don’t want to give them the points they deserve.
LIv not getting points at this point is inexcusable.
Dunlap finishing DFL in a no cut event going up in OWGR whilst Neimann wins and drops in OWGR. That's what ls not good for game . They are a joke and discredit players ability be that no1 or no100
Anyone of top LIV players can get their tour card back fairly easily via DPWT thx to 10 cards on offer . Especially if they have access to majors which all count to DPWT standings .
Looking forward to the Gore Tex review! LIV players poorly advised if not know consequences. Hard to feel sorry for multimillionaires.
You wonder how LIV players can return to PGAT? I give you the strategic alliance
Id Liv golf was on CBD and NBC, PGS viewers would plummet considering its only 60 and 70 year d that watch PGA anyways.
Y’all keep assuming that these guys want back on the PGAT. I don’t think they do.
You guys know damn well that the top 5 at min of The Liv should qualify for majors! Get your head out of your asses
LIV players deserve ranking points, the ONLY reason is because the PGA controls the points system.
"whatever the case may be" has infected this podcast. 😮 Are there any alternatives?
Hey hack and smack the LIV. Players don’t want to come back to the new JV’s league called the pga ,why would they ,have you noticed that LIV smile they all have and why do they want to with haters and hackers.You guys should look for employment as the pga is so last yr.LIV is one huge happy family and you can’t touch that.Their doing exactly what matters in life.Enjoying their families and real time with their children and still play world class golf with the best in the world.❤
Hank Haney was correct when he named the golf channel the “corrupt golf media”. You people are pathetic in thinking that LIV players would pay the pga to come back. The very fact that the pga was ripping off all the players in the first place is what led them to leave the tour in the first place.
PGA needs PIF money cause with their deal they can only reward the same players they rewarded a few months ago with the PIP money! PIF doesn't need the PGA…have more than enough money to get 4 more top players and break PGA's back for good. A year or 2 without LIV players in the Majors and they will fade in importance and become just another few PGA Elevated Events…and more or less as irrelevant as the OWGR is already! And just so by the way…can understand why Spieth and JT want the LIV out of PGA…they might then have a chance to have better finishes again with the better players not allowed to play 😉 15 Major winners with 22 Major titles between the top 52 OWGR ranked players on PGA…Liv has 14 Major Winners with 27 Major titles between them among their 52 players…so LIV is more than okay, having a strong field each and every event…unlike the PGA.
What makes anybody think these guys want to come back to the PGAT. The PGAT for now is nothing but a big fucking mess. Instead of worrying about how the LIV players get back to the PGAT, the PGAT should be worrying about other top players leaving for LIV.
I love catching all the Lebetard show references 😂😅
Only a handful of LIV players (BK, DJ, Bryson, Phil, Rahm and Cam Smith) got over $100 million signing bonus. Most of the other 40+ LIV golfers got much less.
LAV thinks its ok for OWGR to be corrupt…their charter is to rank all tour pros…..shows what a fool LAV is
Punishment for LIV players? WHY? LIV players will not return if there is a penalty.
The PGA Tour needs the LIV players more than the LIV players need the PGA