Tag: Pumpkin Ridge

Hayrides, scripted answers, wild parties and clowns (real ones) — here’s what a week at a LIV Golf event is truly like

Players have joined together and found camaraderie as professional golf’s damned.

The battle royale for supremacy between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has been one of the year’s biggest stories in all of sports, and perhaps the most paramount in professional golf over the past few decades.

Despite covering the upstart entity led by Greg Norman — and financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — since it borrowed the idea from the Premier Golf League, I truly had no idea what to expect when I pulled into Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club for the first day of media access at the LIV Golf Invitational Series event in Portland.

What I learned over the next five days was eye-opening — good and bad. It doesn’t take long to realize there’s a clear market for LIV Golf, it just depends on what you’re looking for in a golf tournament. If you’re an avid fan who loves the game for the history and competition, these events likely won’t be for you. But if you’re a general sports fan who loves festivals and fanfare, it’s possible this will pique your interest.

Here’s what it’s like to spend a week in the life of LIV.

Branden Grace goes low Saturday to win LIV Golf Invitational Series event in Portland

Grace last won at the 2021 Puerto Rico Open and is the second South African to win a LIV Golf event.

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — The second LIV Golf Invitational Series went down to the wire, with Branden Grace coming out on top.

The 34-year-old South African chipped in for birdie on the par-4 16th to take a two-shot lead with two holes to play and rode that margin to victory at 13 under. Grace shot a 7-under 65 in the final round at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside of Portland thanks to just one bogey and eight birdies, including three over the last four holes. Grace, whose last win came on the PGA Tour at the 2021 Puerto Rico Open, followed in the footsteps of fellow countryman Charl Schwartzel, who won the inaugural LIV Golf event outside London last month.

The win earns Grace a whopping $4 million, a third of what he made in his entire PGA Tour career ($12,226,197).

Dustin Johnson and his 4 Aces GC ran away with the team title by seven shots at 23 under. For the team win, Johnson and his teammates Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez will each take home $750,000 each, on top of their individual earnings. Stinger GC came in second at 16 under, with Fireballs GC taking third at 12 under thanks to a birdie on the final hole from Carlos Ortiz.

LIV Golf’s next event is later this month at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

[vertical-gallery id=778280658]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

LIV Golf fans in Portland waited for hours in traffic outside the course before final round

Some fans waited in their cars for upwards of 90 minutes once they got off the highway near Pumpkin Ridge.

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. – The volunteers and staff of the LIV Golf Invitational Series are learning on the fly, and the crew this week in Portland for the second event were woefully unprepared for the fan turnout for Saturday’s final round.

Just 90 minutes before the shotgun start, LIV Golf announced the final round was expected to reach full capacity and that no more tickets would be available for purchase at the gate. By that point there was already a line of cars miles long waiting to get to the parking not just on the back roads leading to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, but extending to the highway.

“I live in Lake Oswego, so it’s usually like a 30 minute drive and it took two hours,” said Jim Curzon. “It was about two or three miles up (U.S. Highway) 26 and it started to really, really back up. Then probably another hour once we got off the highway just to get to the parking.”

Police were pulling over cars trying to cut in line. Some fans left their group behind in the car and walked to the gate on foot. Those who stayed in their cars and needed to use the bathroom used bushes along the side of the road.

LIV officials said they capped tickets this week, but wouldn’t give a number on how many fans were permitted to enter.

“There were some angry people cutting in because we could see the line back up,” added Curzon. “Maybe next year they have two exits off and a little better signage on the road.”

[vertical-gallery id=778280658]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

LIV Golf first impressions show there’s a market for the Saudi Arabia-backed series

Love it or hate it, LIV Golf appears to be here for the long haul.

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — First impressions go a long way. After spending three days at the LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, one thing is clear: there’s a market for this upstart circuit.

It just depends what you want to get out of a golf tournament.

If you’re a golf fan who loves the game for the history and competition, these events won’t be for you. But if you’re a general sports fan who loves festivals and fanfare, you may be interested.

When you walk through the front gates you’re immediately met with the selling points of the series on signs lining the walking path: 48 players, 12 teams, 54 holes, no cuts, shotgun starts. Night and day from a normal pro golf tournament, and that’s exactly what LIV and its players want.

Workers scrambled to build structures in the two days leading up to the start of play, with parts of the fan village still to be built less than 24 hours before Thursday’s 1:15 p.m. local time shotgun start. By the time gates opened at 10 a.m. for fans, they were able to see just what the Public Investment Fund – the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia that backs LIV Golf – is capable of.

Just a few steps further to the left and you see the fan village, filled with food and drink options ($5 for beer, $10 for wine and cocktails and $15 meals, so if you just want a small snack, good luck), a kids zone and golf activities ranging from putting and chipping challenges to mini golf and even a performance center loaded with multiple digital hitting bays and, for some reason, racing video games.

Performers riding unicycles and bicycles with juggling equipment rode around the course during play. “Alcohol monitors” are on patrol in bright yellow shirts in order to make sure no fans get overserved.

You almost forget you’re at a golf tournament.

Despite the controversy surrounding LIV Golf due to the source of its funding coming from an oppressive regime with ties to terrorism and human rights abuses, the fans don’t seem to care. They enjoy the activities outside of golf, but more than that, they just want to see the pros. LIV might not have it all figured out, but coming to a region that loves golf and is starved for tournaments was smart.

Same with their ticket discounts. Active-duty military and veterans get in for free at LIV events, same with kids 15 and younger with a ticketed adult. The series also offers 25 percent discounts for college students, teachers, medical professionals and first responders. Those who oppose the event say it pays to not have to worry about turning a profit and they’re pandering, whereas optimists argue this should be happening at other events. Both may be true.

And as for the players, they seem legitimately happy to be here this week – a booming bank account and at the very least $120,000 for finishing in last place for three days of work can do that. LIV also not only pays the way for the players, but their caddies, too. Whoever said money can’t buy happiness hasn’t seen a LIV event. It’s as if you’re in this bubble where everything seems too good to be true.

The fewer fans and fewer players makes for an interesting vibe around the grounds, and the players are eating it up. On the range after Wednesday’s pro-am, Phil Mickelson quipped to Matthew Wolff about how nice it is to not have to act like a bobblehead every hole. Instead of four amateurs per group and one player, the LIV format is two players and two amateurs and closed to fans. Another subtle change to the normal tour life that players enjoy.

With the rosters and actual names of the teams changing between events, it’s impossible to buy in on that aspect just yet (just don’t tell that to the dozens of fans rocking Mickelson’s Hy Flyers hats). Most fans on Thursday couldn’t name more than four of the 12 teams, let alone a full roster. That said, the series will expand to 14 events and re-brand as the LIV Golf League in 2023, and is expected to announce another player as soon as this weekend.

Whether you love it or hate it, LIV Golf appears to be here for the long haul.

[vertical-gallery id=778280658]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

‘I’m not discouraged’: Phil Mickelson remains upbeat after tough start to his LIV Golf career

“It doesn’t feel far off. I actually feel pretty good but I’m not scoring yet. I got to score.”

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — As Phil Mickelson approached the tee box Thursday for his first shot on U.S. soil as a member of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, a fan asked: “How you doing, Phil?”

“Awesome,” he replied.

The face of LIV Golf has been all smiles this week at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, accommodating fans asking for his trademark thumbs up sign or looking for a fist bump. And his mood didn’t change Friday even after a second consecutive 75 that has him at 6-over for the first two rounds of the 54-hole event, tied for 36th.

Meanwhile, fellow fan favorites Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka are first and fifth, respectively, after Friday’s second round. Johnson is tied for the lead with Carlos Ortiz at 8 under, while Koepka is four strokes back heading into Saturday’s final round.

Mickelson, though, says he is not discouraged.

“My game seems a lot better than I’m scoring,” he said. “Hitting a lot of good shots, then I’m making a lot of mistakes that are costing me five or six shots a round that I haven’t done when I’m playing my best.

“I’m not discouraged. I putted terrible in London (the first LIV event) and the U.S. Open. I’m putting really well. I feel really good with the putter.”

Mickelson has played seven rounds since his hiatus after making controversial comments about Saudi Arabia, the country backing the LIV series. He was 10 over in LIV’s inaugural event in London – his first competitive golf in more than four months – and finished tied for 33rd in the 48-man field. Mickelson then missed the cut at the U.S. Open at 11 over.

“I hit two shots (Thursday) that cost me four strokes,” he said. “I had three (Friday) that cost me six strokes. It doesn’t feel far off. I actually feel pretty good but I’m not scoring yet. I got to score.”

As for his new venture in which he was paid a reported $200 million to join LIV, Mickelson was effusive about in his praise, as would be expected.

“From a player experience it’s a 10,” he said. “They have done everything imaginable to make the experience for the players and the fans as great as it can be and because of that I can’t wait to play these events.”

Mickelson went as far as thanking three young boys for coming to this week’s event as he walked down the 16th fairway.

“We got two thumbs up and knuckles and he said ‘thanks for coming out,’ ” said one young excited fan.

[vertical-gallery id=778280658]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Why ‘alcohol monitors’ are roaming the crowds at the LIV Golf event in Portland

People have behaved well, aside from the fan who jumped on a production cart before falling off as it drove away.

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — If you walk around one of the hospitality grandstands or through the fan village at the LIV Golf Invitational Series event near Portland, you’ll see pairs of people roaming through the crowds and keeping tabs on the fans.

You can’t miss ’em. After all they’re wearing bright yellow shirts that read “Alcohol Monitors” in all capital letters. For events like this at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, alcohol monitors are an Oregon requirement for OLCC, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

“For liquor, permits are required to have alcohol monitors, so the catering company is in charge of the alcohol plan and so they have to go out and find alcohol monitors,” said Jeromy Hasenkamp, owner of Pac-Tac Protective Solutions. The security company provides off-duty officers that have three or more years of law enforcement experience for everything form protective details to event security.

A minimum of 15 people were required to be staffed for this week’s event. Some are adults and some look like they’re barely old enough to vote, let alone intervene in a situation where a fan has had one too many of the $5 beers or $10 wine and cocktails. That’s where the security comes in.

The monitors aren’t meant to be no-fun narcs out to spoil a good time. They’re looking for signs of visibly intoxicated people, seeing as the OLCC does give fines if people are caught overserving.

“What we’re trying to do is obviously limit the amount of alcohol coming out, because of consumption rates and whatnot,” explained Hasenkamp. “Obviously the more you down, the quicker they go down, and with the lack of water and the heat, they’re watching for that.”

If fans want to drink they’re given a wristband each day to verify their ID. If monitors notice somebody stumbling, then they’ll go over and make contact to address the situation.

Like any live event where alcohol is in play, some bad eggs can make a mess, and this week is no different. Hasenkamp said fans have been on their best behavior for the most part, aside from a couple minor issues, like the fan who tried to ride on the back of a production cart before falling off as it drove across a fairway.

“It’s very much still about the etiquette of the game, being a good spectator,” said Hasenkamp. “We’ll let people have fun, but you have to try and keep it a family-friendly event so kids out on the course are not having to worry about the obscene stuff.”

[vertical-gallery id=778280658]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Photos: LIV Golf Invitational Series Portland event at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club

Check out the best photos of the week from Portland.

After the new Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series made its debut earlier this month in London, the startup circuit is back at it with its second event this week in the Pacific Northwest.

LIV Golf Portland teed off on Thursday at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon, 20 miles from Portland. Nos. 1 and 8-18 on the Ghost Creek course and Nos. 2-7 on the Witch Hollow course will be used to complete the par 72 setup at 7,641 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 Portland.

Photos: LIV Golf Portland

Lynch: LIV Golf’s unspoken secret — players are ripping off the Saudis

Even the Saudis will reach a point of accountability, to reconcile what’s been spent with what’s been returned.

Oscar Wilde was defining a cynic when he famously wrote of “a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing,” but today his aphorism might be as readily applied to a Crown Prince (Act Three, Lady Windermere’s Fan, if your majesty deigns, though you might wish to avoid De Profundis on the same shelf). The gap between price and value is relevant when it comes to LIV Golf, the Saudi-funded series churning professional golf’s usually placid waters, not merely as an abstract philosophical question but as a matter of basic fiscal responsibility.

It’s nigh on impossible to muster sympathy for the Saudi regime since that emotion is best reserved for those living under its jackboot. Still, one can almost commiserate with MBS’s fate — increasingly obvious, though perhaps not to him — as being hoodwinked into financing what amounts to welfare for wealthy, washed-up golfers. Consider the amount of someone else’s money that Greg Norman has been willing to bestow upon players whose potential is largely exhausted, limited or unrealized.

A couple hundred million for 52-year-old Phil Mickelson, a feckless overspend even if exaggerated by a multiple. Something similar so Dustin Johnson can accomplish his stated goal of not actually playing golf. A stout backhander to soothe the blushes of Brooks Koepka, who had to perform an about-face that would be the envy of Linda Blair in The Exorcist. Another nine figures for Bryson DeChambeau, whose surgically-repaired hand will find it easier to carry the check than his playing future. And that’s all before you tally ‘B’ tier guys like Sergio Garcia (best add a premium to cover tissues for his unceasing tears) and Lee Westwood (whose thirst for lucrative tinpot tournaments long predates his cushy landing, at age 49, on the Saudi scrap heap).

Seen through a clear business lens, these players would be classified not as assets but as liabilities, their peaks long past and their popularity severely diminished. But their pragmatic value bears no relation to their price when Norman is writing checks on MBS’s account. That’s why those who have managed to clamber aboard Greg’s gravy train can’t believe their luck.

“This opportunity has been like winning the lottery for me,” said Pat Perez. The 46-year-old, five years removed from the last of his three PGA Tour wins, didn’t even buy a ticket. It was handed to him.

“It’s a money thing,” echoed Matthew Wolff, whose tenderness in years hides a weary veteran’s scar tissue and distant form.

“Getting paid bigger, better,” said Abraham Ancer, apparently dissatisfied with his ratio of one victory to $15 million in career prize money.

Their comments explain why so many are eager to feast before the Crown Prince realizes how deeply the well-fed have burrowed into his trough. Last month, Norman announced that he had secured another $2 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, in addition to the princely sum he’s already set alight. It’s proving awfully expensive to bankroll the bruised egos of Norman and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of the PIF, who has bristled at the refusal of the PGA and DP World tours to indulge him.

A threadbare piece of armchair analysis says the Saudis have a bottomless purse and can finance Norman’s folly in perpetuity. That’s true, at a surface level. They can, but will they? Even the Saudis will reach a point of accountability, when some luckless bureaucrat must reconcile what has been spent with what has been returned. The LIV Golf ledger already shows an imbalance that is impossible to correct, and not just financial.

Even if one views it as an exercise in sportswashing where the only desired return is reputational, LIV Golf is proving a great white elephant, serving only to draw renewed attention to matters the Crown Prince might rather see forgotten. The dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, for example. Or his country’s links to the September 11th hijackers, as repeatedly pointed out by the families of their victims. Or the hit-and-run killing of 15-year-old Fallon Smart not far from Pumpkin Ridge, where LIV Golf is staging an event this week. A Saudi national faced manslaughter charges in her death but was whisked home before he could stand trial, and the regime has refused to return him to face justice. Until Norman found a willing stooge venue in Pumpkin Ridge, the death of Smart had been forgotten, except by those who loved her.

This entire grubby episode has been made possible by what people in golf are willing to forget about or set aside, things like character, honesty, morality, loyalty, integrity. Do that, and it’s easy money. Not much different than a grifter helping himself to the funds of an inattentive dupe. The intriguing question is how long it will take before MBS realizes he is the mark.

[listicle id=778276354]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Sergio Garcia explains why he sees the LIV Golf format as ‘the future of golf’

“It brings something different to the game that we haven’t had for forever,” explained Garcia.

NORTH PLAINS, Ore.  — Players who are competing in the LIV Golf Invitational Series have provided a myriad of answers for their reasons to join the upstart league.

One answer Wednesday during a news conference ahead of the series’ second event at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club stood out from Sergio Garcia, an 11-time PGA Tour and 16-time DP World Tour winner who provided several reasons for his decision.

“I did it because I think this is the future of golf, because I think that this is a great opportunity, not only to do what I love, which is playing golf, but at the same time be able to spend more time with my family and watch them grow,” said Garcia. “I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old so it’s nice to watch them grow as much as possible. I’ve been doing this for 24 years, so traveling a lot and stuff, and make a great living out of it.”

But what is it about the 48-player, 12-team, 54-hole, no cut, shotgun start series that stands out to the 42-year-old so much so to call it the “future of golf?”

Simply put: It’s different.

“It brings something different to the game that we haven’t had for forever,” explained Garcia after his news conference alongside fellow captains Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood. “Pretty much every tournament you play on tour is the same, so it’s nice to have something that brings different concepts together because you have the individual but at the same time you have the team event and it brings different relationships that you build and things like that and different focuses. For me as a captain and as a LIV Golf player, it’s obviously very exciting.”

[listicle id=778280221]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

LIV Golf bingo: Trend of talking points continue to pop from players during press conferences

From “grow the game” to “golf is a force for good,” these answers keep popping up.

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Ari Fleischer stood no more than 20 feet from the stage Tuesday as players took questions from the media ahead of the second LIV Golf Invitational Series event, diligently taking notes on the questions and answers.

The former White House press secretary runs a communications company and was hired as a consultant for everything under “the comms consulting umbrella,” Fleischer told PR Week.

Brooks Koepka and Pat Perez got testy when they said they didn’t receive any sort of media training to deal with the difficult questions about the connection to Saudi Arabia and its human rights record or the current battle between LIV Golf and the PGA and DP World tours.

“I mean, unless you want to do it yourself,” said a snarky Koepka.

Despite both players flip-flopping on their opinions of the new golf series that’s shaking up the professional scene and the fact that the Fleischer Communications website says it provides everything from media training to crisis management and reputation control, we’ll take them at their word.

That said, anyone who has attended or even watched any of the LIV Golf press conferences can attest to the talking points delivered by players both earlier this month at the inaugural event near London and so far this week at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

We’ll call it LIV Golf bingo.

Variations of phrases such as “golf is a force for good,” “we’re golfers/we’re not politicians,” as well as talking points on respecting opinions have been used this week in Portland and earlier this month in London. There also seems to be a new player response to answer why they joined LIV Golf. In London, Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen were the two players to mention time at home with family as a reason, with Ian Poulter adding, “So the legacy standpoint is, I’m trying to provide for my family, which is the first and foremost thing that I want to do.” This week, seven of the nine players brought in for press conferences used more time at home as an answer.

With six more events still to come in the 2022 series, four of which are in the United States, players are bound to face more questions about their reasons for joining LIV Golf.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]