With a signature event coming this week and a major championship after that, now felt like the right time to do one of our once-quarterly Q&A sessions. Thanks as always for the great questions. Let’s dive in…
Thoughts in Phils comments? Why would he say that when we can speculate with almost certainty that people like Rahm, Koepka, Dechambeau, etc. are not going to boycott majors? —@DCDIMEz
It’s a great question. For those who don’t live on X (what’s that like?), he’s referring to a since-deleted tweet from Lefty that seemed to suggest (threat?) that LIV players might boycott major championships if rules aren’t changed.
I see the point he’s trying to make—that the current path is unsustainable, and that there needs to be a direct pathway from LIV Golf into the major championships. I will add that mere hours after this tweet was sent-then-deleted, Talor Gooch received a special invitation into the PGA Championship. Fellow LIV player Joaquin Niemann also received an invitation into the PGA in addition to the special exemption he got into the Masters tournament. As such, I’d argue the majors are actually doing what they need to do to stay above the Battle of the Tours. There are only a few LIV players who aren’t already into the majors that people would notice not being there, and Gooch and Niemann are first and second on that list. There will be more of those players as major exemptions earned in the pre-LIV days expire—guys like Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson will see some exemptions dry up in coming years. But each major reserves the right to simply invite players they feel should be there. Perhaps that’s a way they can get around the LIV problem: simply set aside a few more spots for special exemptions.
As for Mickelson’s comments, I have to think he’s firing from the hip. I cannot fathom Brooks Koepka or Jon Rahm not playing the major championships in solidarity with their less-accomplished peers. I’d bet that Koepka and Rahm would rather play the majors and no LIV events than vice versa. One part of his answer is particularly interesting: that more great players will join LIV after this season. That’s because a lot of the initial LIV contracts were three years in length, and this is Year 3. At the end of this year there will be significant turnover and LIV roster spots will open. And so long as they’re playing all no-cut events for a gazillion dollars, there will be plenty of interested players.
If Gooch wasn’t as vocal as he was, would he still have gotten invited to PGA? —@TheScreaminEag
Yes. He got this invite despite his blabbering, not because of it. This guy was the player of the year on the second best tour in the world last year. That’s why he got the invite. The PGA of America has also been more Switzerland than anything these last couple years. They permitted a LIV golfer in Brooks Koepka to play on the Ryder Cup team. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are still eligible for the Ryder Cup so long as they maintain their DP World Tour membership. They’ve played it down the middle insofar as that’s possible.
What would you want Brandel to say if he’s leading the coverage as Brooks finishes a dominant Sunday at Pinehurst to win his 7th, yes 7th, major. Ignore LIV? Lean into it? —@TheStroker83
A little surprising to see NBC go with the four-man booth for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Here’s the full squad.
It’s not that Chamblee isn’t good in the booth. He’s extremely prepared and well-researched every time he goes on air. And his insights and delivery are very polished. It’s just that he’s been such a fervent anti-LIV voice throughout the last couple years—which, of course, is fine and good in the right context. It makes for great television when someone feels as passionately as Chamblee does against something and is willing to unapologetically stand for what they believe. But he is perhaps the face of the anti-LIV sentiment in world golf and I’m surprised NBC would put such a polarizing character in the main booth for the United States Open. There is a very real possibility that a LIV player wins that tournament. Surely Chamblee will be on strict orders to avoid pontificating or mentioning MBS in any way, but will he be able to mask his disdain for LIV Golf for four whole days on national television?
NBC’s clearly not in a great spot when it comes to that lead analyst chair. It’s been a rotating cast of characters since they opted not to renew Paul Azinger’s contract—Chamblee, Notah Begay III, Luke Donald and Kevin Kisner have all sat in—but no one’s put a firm claim on the job. Will it impact ratings? Probably
