Tag: LIV Golf Series

Why is there a DeLorean time machine styled from ‘Back to the Future’ at LIV Golf’s event at Trump Bedminster?

There’s some unique history at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — When you talk through the fan village at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster for this week’s LIV Golf event, you see everything from various food trucks and golf activities to a merchandise tent and … a DeLorean time machine?

A car styled after the DeLorean DMC-12 made famous by the “Back to the Future” movie franchise might appear to be out of place, but it’s actually right at home. The DeLorean has a unique tie to the course that’s playing host to the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded series, seeing as the property used to be the home of the vehicle’s namesake.

Before he was President of the United States, Donald Trump bought the 500-plus acre former estate of automaker John Z. DeLorean in 2002, which at the time was a golf course construction project on the verge of collapse. Trump kept the same plans for the golf course and was purely the money man to lift the project back on its feet, paying $35 million for the property.

“Those people had a great vision but didn’t quite have the funding,” he said at the time.

More from NewJerseyHills.com:

DeLorean and his former wife, model/actress Cristina Ferrare, bought the property in 1981, just as the former General Motors wunderkind was launching the manufacture of his distinctive stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors.

As history now knows, the DeLorean Motor Company failed, and DeLorean was charged with cocaine trafficking in an attempt to raise money for his car company.

Although DeLorean was eventually acquitted, the ordeal cost him his marriage and his financial stability. For years before the bankruptcy, he battled with creditors to avoid foreclosure on the estate.

According to NJ.com, DeLorean’s mansion was renovated as the clubhouse, with the garage as the golf shop. There’s a helipad just off the 15th fairway, a pool, cottages for guests – not to mention Trump’s private residence – as well as a handful of goats for tax purposes.

The 36-hole golf club was designed by Tom Fazio and Tom Fazio II and opened in 2004. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and Jared Kushner were married here in 2009. The property was approved in 2015 to also have a plot for a family cemetery, and Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana, reportedly was buried there after her recent death.

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‘Haters are gonna hate’: Graeme McDowell slows down angry Twitter fingers as confidence in LIV Golf grows

“I’m not disciplined enough to stay off my social media,” McDowell said of his responses to LIV’s online backlash.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — You know those signs in warehouses that say, It’s been (X-number) of days since last accident/mistake? Graeme McDowell needs one of those for his Twitter outbursts.

It’s been nine days since the 43-year-old clapped back at someone throwing shade his way on the social media platform — where he said he’d give a heckler 10 shots a side on their home course — which may be a record given his recent history on the platform the last few months since joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

The Northern Irishman just can’t help himself sometimes.

“Yeah, it still bothers me because I’m not disciplined enough to stay off my social media,” McDowell said of the backlash he and his colleagues have faced for joining the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded series. “Haters are gonna hate. Keyboard warriors are always going to be there and that is what it is. I’m not used to it. And like I said, I haven’t done a good job staying away from it.”

McDowell praised his wife, Kristin, for being his rock over the last few months. She reads every article written about LIV and her husband, but she doesn’t always pass that info along, which he says is for the best.

“I care more about what (the media) think than I care about what the Twitter world thinks, because I know they’re a bunch of idiots,” McDowell explained. “But I know the people writing up on me are a bunch of smart people at times, so that stuff hurts more. But again, it’s only opinion sometimes. It’s not facts. It’s just opinion.”

“It’s been hard. It’s been a hard couple months, but I really believed in London I was in the right place,” McDowell said despite the shellacking he and others have taken for joining the controversial series backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. “That opinion has only strengthened now the last six weeks.”

The 2010 U.S. Open champion said his confidence in LIV grew at the first event in London because of the staging and the way LIV took care of the players. That confidence is only growing the more players that join the series.

“We’re kind of brothers in arms, if you like, because of the negativity that’s come out against us all,” said McDowell. “Everyone’s experienced that in their own way and it brings us all closer together.”

“But I’m getting better. I’m coming through,” he said of his newfound outlook on the situation. “I’m very happy where I am. I think this tour is only going to go from strength to strength.”

But we can still expect him to put some haters in their place from time to time, right?

“No, I’m done.”

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Forbes list of 2022 highest-paid golfers in the world features seven LIV Golf players

Forbes reported that LIV boosted the earnings of the 10 highest-paid golfers by an estimated $370 million since May.

They say money talks, which in part explains LIV Golf’s “Golf, but Louder” motto.

According to a report from Forbes on the highest-paid golfers in the world for 2022, the upstart series led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Invest Fund, “has boosted the earnings of the ten highest-paid golfers by an estimated $370 million since May, bringing their combined haul to a record $650 million.”

Let that sink in for a second.

Seven of the world’s top 10 highest-paid golfers now play for LIV Golf, leaving just Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth as the outliers. Check out each player’s on-course and off-course earnings over the last year below (all figures courtesy of Forbes).

Phil Mickelson explains video with gorillas that took social media by storm ahead of LIV Golf Bedminster

Mickelson and wife, Amy, recently visited Rwanda before visiting Tanzania.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — If you didn’t see the Phil Mickelson and gorillas video, where have you been?

The clip came from a LIV Golf video announcing their latest addition to the broadcast, fan-favorite analyst David Feherty, who made his debut at this week’s event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. After the first round on Friday, a frustrated Mickelson spoke with the media about his recent struggles with his game, saying, “I don’t feel lost. I don’t feel like I’m hitting terrible shots, but I’m just not scoring.”

The 52-year-old also dished on the viral video that took social media by storm. Eight months ago Mickelson and his wife, Amy, planned a trip for her 50th birthday, which was the end of May. They ended up spending a few days in Rwanda before visiting Tanzania.

“It looked like it was a preserve, but one day out of a month the gorillas come out of a jungle. There’s like a wall there and they come out of the jungle and eat some of the eucalyptus trees for the salt and the stem, and we were lucky enough to see them on that day because we had a much better view of the entire family,” explained Mickelson. “Amy is all excited because a little baby gorilla came up to her and kind of bumped into her. She seems to have that effect on all animals. They all come to her. But it was a really special trip for us.”

That led Henrik Stenson, who joined Mickelson, Charles Howell III and Patrick Reed for the interview, to ask the important question: Did the gorilla bring a birthday present for her?

“They sang happy birthday for her,” Mickelson said with a smile.

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Photos: LIV Golf Invitational Series at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster

Take a scroll through the best photos of the week from Trump Bedminster.

After the new Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series made its debut earlier this summer in London, the startup circuit went west to Portland and has since made its way back east to New Jersey.

LIV Golf Bedminster teed off on Friday at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster with four new players in Henrik Stenson, Charles Howell III, Paul Casey and Jason Kokrak. Trump Bedminster plays to a par 71 at 7,591 yards. The event features 54-holes of shotgun start play with no cut and 12 teams and 48 individuals competing for millions of dollars in prize money.

Check out the best photos of the week from LIV Golf Bedminster.

Photos: LIV Golf Portland

‘Nice to be out there playing golf’: After losing his Ryder Cup captaincy, Henrik Stenson tied for lead with Patrick Reed at LIV Golf Bedminster

“It was actually really fun,” added fellow LIV rookie Charles Howell III.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Henrik Stenson could get used to this whole LIV Golf thing.

In his debut with the upstart series led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the 46-year-old Swede sits tied for first with Patrick Reed after the pair each shot opening rounds of 7-under 64 at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. After a hectic couple weeks where the five-time member of Team Europe lost his Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2023 matches in Italy, Stenson is happy to be back to business on the course.

“It’s nice to be out there playing golf, and yeah, of course it’s been a busy couple of weeks and not the most fun, but we keep our head down and focus on the golf,” Stenson said after the first round on Friday. ” Just very pleased to have the ability to go out there and do that and play such a solid round. It’s the best I’ve played all year, and yeah, I’ll take a lot of credit from that.”

Stenson’s first impressions for the series lived up to the expectations he had set coming in to the week, adding with a smile, “If I continue to shoot 7-under it’s going to be a good one.”

OPINION: Stenson is another dishonest LIV player, but Europe knew he was a risky Ryder Cup gamble

Fellow rookie Charles Howell III couldn’t help but agree.

“Well, all the feedback I had got from multiple players, managers, etc., was just this, it was fun, the music playing, I really liked that,” said Howell, who sits T-6 and 3 under. “I play a lot of professional events, never played with that. It was actually really fun.

MORE: Stenson holds out hope for Ryder Cup

“It was relaxed, but the golf course is challenging and tough. It’s not exactly relaxing for us standing up here,” he quipped to the media, “but no, listen, it was wonderful. Once we started it was a golf tournament again on a hard golf course.”

Two other players made their debut this week in New Jersey, with Jason Kokrak T-10 at 2 under and Paul Casey a bit further back 1 over, T-31.

Phachara Khongwatmai is third at 5 under, followed by Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz, who are T-4 at 4 under. On the team leaderboard, Johnson’s 4 Aces hold a slim, one-shot lead over Lee Westwood’s Majesticks at 11 under, with Kevin Na’s Iron Heads five shots back at 6 under.

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Lively crowd at LIV Golf Bedminster doesn’t care about Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia connections

“The Saudi Arabia thing I can deal with … if it was China or something like that, no way. I wouldn’t be here.”

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — An already lively crowd erupted with applause and chants of “Four more years!” and “Let’s go Brandon!” when former President of the United States Donald Trump made an appearance at the first tee before Friday’s shotgun start of the LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

“What’s (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay Monahan doing right now? Crying!” yelled another fan.

The former president has faced a great deal of criticism for hosting the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-backed series, especially from a group of 9/11 families, who held an emotional protest Friday morning before the round began. For all the outside noise, the vibe around the grounds is similar to that of the last LIV event in Portland in that fans are pushing aside the controversy and embracing the golf.

“My first message to my brother was, ‘I think I’d rather watch it on TV,’” said Bob Teed, a local New Jersey resident with a laugh. “I had never seen a PGA tournament before. I golf a couple times a week and there’s nothing in this area that I could go to, and this was probably the closest I was ever gonna get.”

Teed’s comments point to part of the genius in LIV Golf’s plan to hold events not only opposite weaker PGA Tour stops, but in regions of the country that love golf and are starved for tournaments, like Portland, Chicago, Boston and Miami.

“I hate to talk politics and stuff like that, but they could say the same thing about China,” Teed said in reference to the 9/11 families criticizing Trump for hosting the Saudi-funded series. “This actually opens the game up to more people who can’t get out and see it.”

Dave Teed, a local firefighter who came to the event with Bob, said the Saudi association does bother him a little bit, but if China were the ones supporting LIV, “I wouldn’t be here.”

Dave cited President Joe Biden and his son Hunter and their connection to China as the reason for his stance. When asked if the same could be said for former President Trump and Jared Kushner’s connection to Saudi Arabia, he said, “I don’t know that much about that to be honest with you.”

“I just read a little bit about the connection with the golf tournament, the golfers and things like that, which does bother me a little bit because the PGA got these guys to where they’re at today,” Dave explained. “But it’s still fun to come out here, see the players, it’s local, which is great, which brings the money into the local economy. I think it’s a good deal. The Saudi Arabia thing I can deal with, but like I said, if it was China or something like that, no way. I wouldn’t be here.”

LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

Michael and Richard Adams weren’t sure what to expect when they showed up on Friday after making the two-hour trip from Chester County, Pennsylvania, but they bought in to the atmosphere right away.

“As soon as we got here, we felt like it was a fun atmosphere,” said Michael.

“We like the crowd because it’s not overbearing,” added Richard.

The pair admitted their bias towards former President Trump, and when asked if they had any reservations about coming to the event due to the Saudi Arabia connection, the answer was an emphatic no.

“(America) has done a lot worse than they have,” explained Richard.

Fellow Pennsylvania natives Bertus Wessels and Eric Mahoney made the trip from Philadelphia and both compared LIV to the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open, a fan-favorite event every year on the schedule.

“It’s definitely different than anything I’ve ever been to,” Wessels said. “I’ve been to other PGA tour events and it seems way less stressful and players seem to talk to each other. I mean, there’s music playing everywhere, they’ve got people skydiving, so it’s totally different, but I think good.”

“I watched the first two on YouTube. It’s difficult to watch and keep up,” explained Mahoney. “As Bertus said, it almost reminds me of the WM Phoenix Open. So it’s different, but it’s pretty cool.”

Much like their fellow Pennsylvanians, the Kingdom’s connection to LIV wasn’t an issue.

“(Saudi Arabia is) involved in other stuff, too. People just don’t want to see what they don’t want to see,” said Wessels.

“It’s golf,” added Mahoney.

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LIV Golf announces two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson as new player during Trump Bedminster stream

Reports broke Wednesday night that Watson would be joining the new series.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — LIV Golf now has a sixth Masters champion on its roster of talent.

After reports broke Wednesday night, the upstart series led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced Bubba Watson as its newest player on Friday during its first-round stream of the LIV Golf Invitational Series at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

Watson has missed significant time this season with a torn meniscus, and hasn’t earned a win since the 2018 Travelers Championship. The 43-year-old has since fallen to No. 86 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Watson won’t play this year due to his injury and wants “to be 100%” before he joins the league in 2023.

He joins the group of Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia as the green-jacket winners who now play for LIV.

LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

“Yeah, it’s one of those things where I love to travel and I wanted to travel somewhere else. And in Saudi Arabia, they’re trying to change. They started with women’s golf, started supporting the women’s golf and then they started supporting men’s golf,” Watson said to Golf Magic in 2021 regarding the Saudi International event. “Again, you know, the charity dollars is what’s most important, so the more money I can get in my hands, the more I can give away. So it’s an honor and a privilege if they let me go over there and play.”

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Charles Barkley doesn’t receive LIV Golf offer: ‘My number one priority is Turner’

“I wish I could give somebody an answer, but I don’t know anything,” said Barkley.

Fans of “Inside the NBA” on TNT can sleep easy tonight, because it appears Charles Barkley is staying put.

The fan-favorite analyst who had a Hall of Fame career in the NBA had been flirting with the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf series over the last few weeks, but told Dan Patrick last week, “When I leave New Jersey Thursday night, when I leave the golf course, if I don’t have an offer in hand, it’s over.”

“No, they haven’t offered me anything,” Barkley told Golfweek on Thursday afternoon after walking off the 18th green at the LIV Golf pro-am for the circuit’s third event this week at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. “My number one priority is Turner, and I’m not gonna keep Turner in limbo. So that’s my priority.”

“They’ve given me everything I have,” added Barkley.

No stranger to celebrity and pro-am events, Barkley enjoyed his first LIV experience and is curious to see what the crowds are like this week, but he’s unsure if he’ll hang around for the weekend’s competition. He will, however, continue to support LIV and its players, as well as the PGA Tour.

“I’ve got friends on both tours, it was great to see some of my friends I haven’t seen in a minute like Brooks, Bryson, Pat Perez, I wish these guys great success,” Barkley explained. “I’m gonna support LIV, I’m gonna support the PGA Tour. But like I say, as of now, I don’t know anything. I haven’t been asked anything. I wish I could give somebody an answer, but I don’t know anything.”

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‘No other president can hit it like I can’: Bryson DeChambeau details LIV Golf Bedminster pro-am with former President Donald Trump

DeChambeau and Trump have a relationship that goes back a few years.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Bryson DeChambeau and former President of the United States Donald Trump have a relationship that goes back a few years, so it wasn’t surprising to see the two in the same group for Thursday’s LIV Golf Bedminster pro-am.

“He’s actually a really good golfer. He stripes it down the middle of the fairway and has good iron game and putts it pretty well,” said DeChambeau, who also noted he picked up a little course knowledge for Trump. “But it was an honor. I mean, anytime you get to play with a president, whether passed or sitting, it’s just an honor, no matter who it is. Very lucky to have a relationship with him, and he’s always been generous to me.”

The highlight from the round? That’d be Trump saying, “there’s no other president that can hit it like I can.”

“That’s the funny one he talks about all the time. You know, it’s true from what I’ve seen, what I’ve heard, obviously I haven’t played with other presidents, but he’s up there.”

DeChambeau explained how when you have a perfect golf swing, it’s not the most repeatable, but the former president has a “quirky motion” that allows him to be repeatable.

“It’s not understood by me, but it works every time.”

LIV Golf coming to the New York area has caused quite a stir with the public, especially a group of 9/11 families who have spoken out about LIV’s backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Before his round, Trump praised Saudi Arabia for what they’re doing for golf while avoiding a 9/11 question.

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