If Nick Faldo has nothing nice to say, he’s probably talking about LIV Golf, having most recently predicted an impending demise for the PGA Tour’s rival.
There are a lot of questions about the future of golf in the wake of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour merging with LIV’s backer, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF). As Faldo previewed this week’s British Masters, which he’s hosting at The Belfry, the six-time major champion eventually discussed LIV. And when asked whether LIV would continue once the PGA Tour’s partnership with PIF is implemented, Faldo didn’t hold back.
“I don’t think so because nobody’s really interested,” Faldo said when asked if he expects LIV to continue. “They’re not going to get the sponsorship that they want. They call it a team [event] and it’s not because it’s stroke play. You see your mates on the putting green and say, ‘Play well,’ and you see them in the scorer’s tent and say, ‘What did you shoot?’ That’s it. A team is out there helping, shoulder to shoulder. That’s a true team.
“You have the ultimate team event, the Ryder Cup; you know the passion and the atmosphere of that,” the retired CBS analyst continued. “They’re not playing with the same passion and atmosphere as the Ryder Cup.”
These aren’t new criticisms. Since its launch, LIV detractors have been questioning the interest and the advertised team aspect. Faldo did, however, state he believes professional golf will ultimately benefit from the financial support it will receive from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
“When the dust settles, whether it takes six months, a year, whatever, my goodness, pro golf is in an overall better position financially than we were back in the day,” Faldo admitted.
While the looming financial benefits are hard to ignore, so are the hypocrisies of the PGA Tour partnering with PIF after they spent over a year blasting LIV’s ties to a Saudi government with shameful human rights abuses.
[ESPN]
