Phil Major

Everyone has a price, it has been said, and apparently Saudi Arabia is out to prove that, at least when it comes to male professional golfers.

If you are a fan of professional golf, as I am, then you don’t need an explanation. If you’re not, then you probably do not care much about LIV Golf (or this column).

Prior to the formation of a new professional golf league backed by the Saudi public investment fund, I was unaware such a fund existed, nor that it was being used in support of such things as professional sports, some say to try to help their image, which to say the least is not good.

Most of the 9-11 hijackers, and the mastermind, were Saudis. And they are accused of many more atrocities, including the murder of a journalist whose reporting was critical of them.

A number of top professional golfers have been lured to the new league for big pay outs, led by Greg Norman, the former top player in the world. I was a big fan in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but that image has been tarnished.

I haven’t spent a lot of time on the math, but basically they are being paid enough just to join the league that it more than compensates for any lost revenue opportunities they might have had otherwise while remaining with and competing on the PGA tour.

They still get to compete for huge prizes while not having to travel as much or play nearly as much golf. And with limited fields, three-day tournaments and guaranteed earnings, they’re stacking up chips pretty quickly.

Purely looking at the economics, who can blame them. Lots more money for lots less work. Who wouldn’t be tempted. Nobody’s knocking on my door with such an offer, so I can’t truly understand their point of view.

But what price can you put on the optics?

And the optics are not good. Leading the protests are the families of the 9-11 victims. They’re upset and rightly so.

I’m not sure what sort of coaching these players have been given about facing the media, but it’s not very well done. They stammer and give non-answers and never really address the issues directly. Obviously not much of that money has been spent on public relations.

I’m guessing their contracts have a clause which says it can be voided if they say anything disparaging, so their wishy-washy non-answers probably comply.

They are beginning to see some of the fall out, as the other professional associations have come up with various bans and restrictions that can, and in my opinion should, end their ability to compete for major championships, national teams or year-end tournaments and prizes.

So they have filed a lawsuit, because, that’s always a good way to make friends and influence people. I must assume that the Saudis’ deep pockets can afford plenty of billable hours for high-dollar lawyers. What a waste of money, time and energy.

The results of the first round in court went against them, and the timetable set forth for the rest of the case will stretch this out, maybe for years. The passage of time will make them even more irrelevant, but at least they will have plenty of time to count their coins, and think back about what they gave up.

With seven, eight and nine-figure pay outs, I’m guessing they won’t likely dwell much on regrets, having made those decisions up front.

The next couple years should prove to be interesting, to say the least.