Tag: Chris Stroud

Rank-and-file players hire lawyer to demand information from PGA Tour on outside investors

One of the 21 players has already removed his name from the list.

A handful of former and current PGA Tour players are so fed up with leadership they’ve hired a law firm to try and get some answers.

Susman Godfrey, the firm representing 21 players, recently sent a letter to the PGA Tour Policy Board demanding “full disclosure of the details and analyses of any proposals by prospective capital partners, which should be shared promptly with all Tour players.”

The players, who are all rank-and-file members at best, also demand a meeting with the independent directors on the Policy Board to discuss the process of selecting outside investors and what conflicts of interest may be present.

“The PGA Tour players who have been kept in the dark about this process are the lifeblood of the Tour,” the letter claims. “They deserve to know what is happening.”

No Laying Up’s Tron Carter shared the letter, dated Dec. 10, on social media Tuesday morning. The demands came the same night the Tour announced it had “unanimously selected an outside investment group to further negotiate with” and that talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would continue, as well.

The firm sent the following statement to Golfweek: “The PGA Players we represent want transparency from the PGA Tour Policy Board before it makes any decisions impacting the permanent structure, economics, or competitive rules of the PGA Tour. Only with additional information can the PGA Players ensure that the right decisions are made for the right reasons and that no players are left behind.  Our clients know their sentiments and goals are shared widely by most PGA Players.”

Tiger Woods, one of the player directors, was adamant a few weeks back that the dealings in the dark with potential investors had to end. Player directors, who are voted on by the membership, have been sending updates since the shocking June 6 framework agreement with the PIF was announced. So why is this group of players so special that they deserve a meeting and privileged information?

Lynch: Jon Rahm’s greed isn’t the PGA Tour’s biggest problem, it’s the guys who want Saudi-sized money for staying

After the way the framework agreement was handled and announced, players have voiced their displeasure with and lack of trust in the Tour’s leadership. But let’s look at their careers by the numbers.

Player Current OWGR ranking Best OWGR ranking Best FedEx Cup finish Cuts made Wins on Tour
Ryan Brehm 547 220 (2017) 128 (2022) 53/118 1
Wesley Bryan 704 36 (2017) 41 (2017) 59/113 1
MJ Daffue 249 141 (2023) 118 (2023) 29/49 0
Dylan Frittelli 409 44 (2018) 58 (2020) 78/152 1
Tommy Gainey 729 84 (2011) 62 (2011) 96/236 1
Brent Grant 440 320 (2022) 166 (2023) 12/37x 0
Lanto Griffin 307 49 (2021) 18 (2020) 79/126 1
James Hahn 316 52 (2016) 39 (2016) 150/262 2
Scott Harrington 664 185 (2020) 98 (2020) 36/87 0
Andrew Landry 740 37 (2018) 66 (2018) 76/160 2
Nate Lashley 186 70 (2020) 57 (2019) 79/141 1
Brandon Matthews 764 220 (2022) 192 (2023) 7/33x 0
William McGirt 553 24 (2016) 38 (2016) 166/277 1
Grayson Murray 134 85 (2017) 66 (2017) 58/128 1
Scott Piercy 305 25 (2016) 22 (2015) 249/396 4
Chez Reavie 111 8 (2019) 26 (2019) 244/397 3
Chris Stroud 638 74 (2014) 43 (2013) 208/402 1
Callum Tarren 153 141 (2023) 91 (2023) 27/62 0
D.J. Trahan 1,285 62 (2008) 24 (2008) 188/368 2
Richy Werenski 501 101 (2021) 39 (2020) 101/197 1
Danny Willett 182 9 (2017) 85 (2019, 2023) 79/135 1

Of the 21 players, just five are within the top 200 of the OWGR: Chez Reavie (111), Grayson Murray (134), Callum Tarren (153), Danny Willett (182) and Nate Lashley (186).

Ten players are ranked outside the top 500 in the world: Richy Werenski (501), Ryan Brehm (547), William McGirt (553), Chris Stroud (638), Scott Harrington (664), Wesley Bryan (704), Tommy Gainey (729), Andrew Landry (740), Brandon Matthews (764), D.J. Trahan (1,285). Seven of the 21 have never cracked the top 100.

Last season was the first on Tour for MJ Daffue, Brent Grant and Matthews, and each had seasons that left something to be desired. Stroud bad-mouthed the Tour last week before he flopped in the first round at the LIV Golf Promotions event.

The letter was mocked on social media by fans and golf media alike, and within seven hours of the letter going public, Bryan said he’s removed his name from the list of players.

We don’t know what the PGA Tour will look like in the near future, but we do know the Tour these players once knew will no longer exist. Instead of biting that hand that’s fed them for years, maybe it’s time for the journeyman to either venture on or plot a new course in the evolving game.

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Former NCAA champ, PGA Tour pro among 29 players to advance into second round of LIV Golf Promotions event

The inaugural LIV Golf Promotions event is underway.

As if there hasn’t been enough LIV Golf news the past 24 hours, the LIV Golf Promotions event teed off Friday in Abu Dhabi, where three spots are up for grabs for the 2024 season.

And after the first round, there are 42 players battling it out for those spots.

Twenty-nine players advanced after the first 18-hole round, with Kerry Mountcastle leading the pack after an 8-under 64 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The cut, which was top-20 and ties, came at 2-under 70, and included players like Braden Thornberry, the 2017 NCAA individual champion, and Martin Trainer, who has 131 starts on the PGA Tour.

In addition to the 29 players who advanced from the first round, the 13 exempt players into the second round will join the competition come Saturday, where scores will reset. The top 20 players (no ties) after Saturday’s 18-hole round will advance to Sunday’s 36-hole final, with the top three earning status for the 2024 LIV Golf season.

Some of those golfers to miss the cut include Chris Stroud, who voiced his displeasure with the PGA Tour last week. He bogeyed two of his last three holes to miss by one. Jeff Overton, Turk Pettit and Jazz Jannewattananond are others who are also heading home empty handed.

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Woodard: Middling veteran pro calling out PGA Tour after entering LIV Golf event sure seems out of touch

To make that kind of money for those performances, and then to call foul on the Tour is quite the bold move.

Chris Stroud voiced his displeasure with the PGA Tour this week after the veteran player entered the field for the upcoming LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi, Dec. 8-10, that will grant three players access to the upstart circuit in 2024.

“I’ve been frustrated with what the Tour’s done for years, since I was on the (Player Advisory Council). The Tour doesn’t care about you if you’re not in the top 30 and I learned quickly that I needed to take care of myself,” Stroud told Golf Channel on Thursday. “The Tour has built this bad culture. I love (commissioner Jay Monahan), but the Tour has never tried to give back to the players, we’ve never had a voice. So, Jay has had a free hand to do whatever he wants.”

“I believe (Monahan) and a lot of people at the Tour genuinely care about us,” Stroud continued by contradicting himself, “but the system has never been set up to help the players. The Tour has taken all this extra money and not spread it out properly. I’ve talked to so many players about this and the answer is always, we need to be unionized.”

“Never been set up to help the players?”

“Never tried to give back to the players?”

Stroud played the 2022-23 PGA Tour season on a major medical extension and missed 14 cuts, made just eight and still took home $449,238 in prize money. He’s finished inside the top 100 in FedEx Cup standings just four times (most recently in 2017) and over 402 starts and 15 seasons has missed 44 percent of hits cuts (175).

In the process, he has earned $13,360,657.

Even before an ailing back hampered his last few seasons, Stroud has been, by the numbers, an average-at-best PGA Tour player and still was given a chance to compete for millions of dollars year in and year out against the game’s best. Sure, some expenses must be paid, but to make that kind of money for those kinds of performances, and then to turn and call foul on the Tour is quite the bold move.

Stroud is also unhappy with the Tour’s 2024 schedule and signature-event format that will reward the game’s best players from the previous season, as the top 50 from 2023’s FedEx Cup standings are all guaranteed spots in the big-money events. It’s worth noting Stroud’s lone win on Tour came at the 2017 Barracuda Championship, an opposite-field event for players who didn’t qualify for that week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. And he still doesn’t think the Tour helps players.

Maybe Stroud is right and the Tour has dropped the ball over the last few years with regard to elevated events and how they handled the challenge posed by LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Maybe Nate Lashley was also right for recently calling out the Player Impact Program payments.

Or maybe they can meet in the middle and realize being a professional golfer is an earned privilege, not a right, and if they want to reap the rewards the game provides, they just need to play better.

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Trip to island paradise leaves players shaken, pondering changes due to COVID-19

Social distancing? A dismissed exercise. Masks? About a ratio of 1 to 10 against. It’s as if the coronavirus never reached Sea Island.

Driving onto this island heaven in Lowcountry ahead of the RBC Heritage was a jolt to your quarantine senses.

Restaurants were teeming inside and out, bicyclists were swarming dedicated paths and side streets, hotels were running at or near capacity judging from the overflow parking lots, and Mom-and-Pop shops were bustling.

Upon further exploration, one came to see the famed Harbour Town Lighthouse casting a shadow over a populous marina and the numerous beaches packed beach towel to beach towel.

Social distancing? A dismissed exercise. Masks? About a ratio of 1 to 10 against.

It’s as if the coronavirus never reached these shores.

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Joel Dahmen said it was “wild out there,” and that was before the weekend crowds arrived. Justin Thomas said “they’re seeming to not take it very seriously. It’s an absolute zoo around here. There’s people everywhere.”

The congested landscape – it was more crowded than the top of the leaderboard as the players teed up another rousing tournament – was an eye-opener for players and all the others inside the “bubble” of safety the PGA Tour developed in consultation with infectious disease experts to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

Then Nick Watney tested positive for the virus on Friday and alarm bells went off.

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After waking that day and having a few symptoms consistent with the virus, Watney, who ventured outside his rental home only to go to the course and once to the grocery store (and he was wearing a mask), met a physician and took another COVID-19 test.

Awaiting the result, he went to the course to get ready for his 12:21 p.m. tee time, as is allowed. Shortly into his warmup, however, he got word of his positive test. He and his caddie left the course and began to self-isolate.

But Watney, who is feeling better, had come into close contact with 11 people and the PGA Tour tested each of them – including his two playing partners from the first round. All 11 tested negative on an initial test and awaiting results on a secondary test.

Eamon Lynch: PGA Tour needs luck, work to dodge coronavirus threat

Still, many players questioned why Watney was allowed on the course to await his test result despite having symptoms. As the Tour goes forward – it next heads to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship, the safety plan could be amended, which is what Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said would be the case if need be.

Other subtle changes will definitely be made. While players weren’t naïve to think they’d escape the virus when play resumed, seeing the bustling island and hearing about the first positive test since the Tour returned got their attention. And got them hoping next week’s landscape won’t be the same.

RBC Heritage
A bottle hand sanitizer at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. Photo by Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

“It definitely got me thinking about kind of everything that I’ve done this week,” Webb Simpson said. “I’ve tried to be really careful, but I could probably be more careful. I hadn’t really gone out to dinner. I’ve gotten takeout every night. But in terms of even wearing the mask, any time I’m out of my comfort zone away from the golf course, I think it’s smart.

“And really, the six-foot rule I’ve been good about, but I probably could be better. So it definitely got me thinking.”

Added Ryan Palmer: “Everything you do, you’ve got to pay attention.”

This week, takeout and delivery were the top 2 choices for most of the players when dinner rolled around. A few players had their own chefs. Many cooked up their dishes themselves. Expect that approach to continue.

“We need to be more careful,” said Vaughn Taylor, who played with Watney in the first round. “I felt like coming in the last week everyone was super careful, and then we got here, and the vibe on the island is a little more relaxed. I feel like we might have gotten a little more relaxed too, complacent with being careful.

Leaderboard | Photos | Winner’s bag | Money list

“Everyone has kind of ratcheted it up a little bit. Not hanging out with too many people, hanging with too many guys, stay out of restaurants and bars and those things. I think, if we do that, we should be safe. We’ve all got to keep that in the back of our mind and just be smart.

“It would be nice if we just had the ability to get tested whenever we like. Some guys want to get tested more. Some guys are comfortable with the way it is. I think it’s still a learning curve. I feel good that the Tour is going to get everything worked out.”

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