CONTROVERSY at LIV meeting! Pro: "Why are we dousing each other in champagne?!"
Some LIV Golf League pros are reportedly unhappy after Greg Norman and their chief operating officer held a players only meeting in Tucson.
LIV Golf League pros held a 'players only' meeting in Tucson last week, and it appears there are a few signs of discontent.
According to a report by Alan Shipnuck of The FirePit Collective, the players sat down to discuss LIV's progress so far and beyond 2023.
It is said by those behind-the-scenes at LIV Golf they unequivocally view their beta-test LIV Golf Invitational Series in 2022 as a glowing success.
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The Saudi-backed league signed a host of major winners, Ryder Cup stars and highly-touted youngsters.
With no disrespect to LIV, a large part of their 'success' - however you view it - was not by what was happening on the course.
It was about who they would sign from the PGA Tour. Who would jump ship. Who would change their mind. Would they be banned from the majors?
Now, the focus appears to be on truly making the LIV Golf League a success.
According to the report, LIV supremo Yasir Al-Rummayyan - referred to as The Investor - is tasked with helping the Saudis' Public Investment Fund reach $1 trillion in assets by 2025.
To do this, they'll obviously need their franchise model to truly take off. Shipnuck reports that LIV will begin selling their teams next year.
LIV owns 75 per cent of each team, with the remaining equity spread among the players (mainly the team captains).
But back to the topic at hand and apparently the LIV players met with Greg Norman and chief operating officer Gary Davidson over the weekend.
Topics addressed were said to be:
- A new pace-of-play policy
- Drug testing procedures
- The accelerated timeline of LIV Golf
After the meeting Louis Oosthuizen, who lost out to Danny Lee in a playoff in Tucson, reportedly told Shipnuck:
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Just one of these 'controversial' topics apparently relates to the prize purses.
In 2022, LIV paid for all of the expenses, including a private jet to ferry their players to all tournament stops.
There is a travel stipend this year, but after that, the LIV players will have to sort out their own expenses.
It is rumoured that LIV are thinking of ploughing more and more money into the team payouts.
Up to five teams would receive a share of the kitty.
This caused a ripple with one player, who reportedly said:
Another player reportedly added:
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