Am surprised that it's taken about a month for Barry to receive a response to this, but what better day than the kickoff of the LIV golf league.  (LIV is the roman numeral for 54, the number of holes that will be played at each LIV event.  It does not hold any other meaning, such as "May I live?")

Barry's post is totally on the mark but I wanted to wait to see whether this monstrosity would ever see the light of day before commenting.  Now, we can say it has.    I have read a number of articles and have read a much higher number of reader comments on the subject.  It was surprising to me how many reader comments followed the logic of Lee Westwood who said he'd have to be stupid to turn down this kind of money.  Yes, the money is obscene with much of it guaranteed.  To illustrate, the winner of next week's US Open will win roughly the same amount of money as the second place finisher at each LIV event.  LIV winners will receive $4 million or almost twice this amount.  Not hard to understand the motivation behind doing this.

What is harder to understand is, as Barry put it, not only the convenient tone deafness of Greg Norman (the de facto commissioner of this thing) but of the golfers who followed.  Many have been hiding behind the controversial human rights issues exhibited by the Saudi government (who is funding this venture) by claiming anything from ignorance to blindness.  Those willing to speak publicly more or less have said that the atrocities are real, but they're going to do business with them anyway.

This is not the same as a China hosted Olympics.  Most Olympic athletes train practically their entire lives and have no alternative to fall back on, like these golfers have with the PGA, European tour, Korn Ferry tour, etc.

The PGA has already announced a ban of those players who are taking part.  Many preemptively withdrew their PGA membership while others, like Phil, may take this to court.  Three of the 4 majors are not controlled by the PGA and the 4th has said that bans will not apply to the PGA Championship.  So the majors are safe but those events that the players clamor are among their favorites and biggest honor to participate in, like the Ryder Cup and President's Cup, are not.

No matter how bans play out, what should not be restored are the negative legacies and reputations that the LIV players have bestowed upon themselves.  I will not perceive Phil, Dustin, and all of the others the same way ever again and I suspect that many self-respecting individuals feel the same way.  It's funny that when we hear the phrase "he or she sold out", we often think of a musical artist allowing his classic hit to be used in atelevision commercial, or a tremendous actor or actress taking a shitty role that will be widely seen and for which they will be extremely well-compensated.  These examples are nothing in comparison to what's going on in golf.  These LIV players will now be looked at by many as disgraces.  They have quite literally sold their reputations and legacies.  Leaves me to wonder how many are simply too stupid to realize this and how many just don't even care.

BGF, am not sure that something the PGA did, did not do, provides or does not provide, truly caused this.  I think that Saudi Arabia showeed up with a boatload of money in an attempt to "sportswash" itself.  They knew that they had to offer substantially more money to wrestle players away from the PGA.   The PGA undoubtedly will make some change (like cover the income of regular caddies as an example) but this will not speak to why players defected in the first place.  Before the PGA embarks upon widespread major changes, I'd first consider the level of threat this new tour is.  There are no major television contracts to speak of.  Tournaments are a day shorter which means one day less of gate and merchandise revenue per event.  Now, do the Saudis need this additional revenue?  Can they afford these enormous purses, guarantees and bonuses forever?  I don't know.  I don't think anyone outside of the Saudi government truly knows.

One point I am in full agreement with is the potential longevity of this league poses a tremendous threat to the PGA with respect to the recruitment of young players.  The defectors can largely be divided into: a) older players who can't truly compete on the PGA tour week-to-week anymore; b) a few American players in their prime who raised eyebrows; c) foreign players who we are less familiar with, and d) young players.  Some players who are right out of college or who are trying to earn their card will undoubtedly be drawn to make huge bucks rather than grind.  In banning participants, the PGA was smart in saying that any LIV players who are not yet PGA players but would like to one day try to qualify for the PGA Tour are still welcome to attempt this..