Tag: Saudi International 2022

Phil Mickelson considering other playing opportunities due to PGA Tour’s ‘obnoxious greed’

“If the tour wanted to end any threat, they could just hand back the media rights to the players.”

Phil Mickelson said the “obnoxious greed” of the PGA Tour is leading him to seriously consider other playing opportunities, including the proposed Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League that would rival the PGA Tour.

Mickelson, speaking with Golf Digest at the Saudi International, where he is receiving a seven-figure appearance fee, said the PGA Tour’s ownership of media rights, among other issues, has him looking elsewhere.

“It’s not public knowledge, all that goes on,” Mickelson told Golf Digest. “But the players don’t have access to their own media. If the tour wanted to end any threat, they could just hand back the media rights to the players.

“But they would rather throw $25 million here and $40 million there than give back the roughly $20 billion in digital assets they control. Or give up access to the $50-plus million they make every year on their own media channel.

“There are many issues, but that is one of the biggest. For me personally, it’s not enough that they are sitting on hundreds of millions of digital moments. They also have access to my shots; access I do not have. They also charge companies to use shots I have hit. And when I did ‘The Match’ – there are have been five of them – the Tour forced me to pay them $1 million each time. For my own media rights.

“That type of greed is, to me, beyond obnoxious.”

The PGA Tour declined comment on Wednesday.

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Last November, however, in a memo sent to players, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said 55 percent of the Tour’s revenue in 2022, which is expected to be $1.522 billion, would be allotted to the players

The FedEx Cup bonus pool will increase from $60 million to $75 million, with the winner receiving $18 million. The Comcast Business Tour Top 10 will increase from $10 million to $20 million; and the new Play15 Bonus Program, which pays players who play at least 15 PGA Tour events, is $10 million.

Official prize money will be $427 million, up from $367 million in 2021. Average purses will increase by more than $1 million to $9.1 million, with the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial Tournament, and the World Golf Championship rising to $12 million.

And the Players Championship, the Tour’s flagship event, will feature a purse of $20 million, up from $15 million in 2021.

As well, the Player Impact Program will hand out $50 million to the top 10 players who produce the most engagement and raise the most attention for the Tour. It should be noted that last year, the PIP gave out $40 million. Mickelson, who became the oldest player to win a major in last year’s PGA Championship, said he was the winner and will receive $8 million; the Tour has not released the payouts.

While the Tour wouldn’t respond to Mickelson’s comments, four-time major winner Brooks Koepka weighed in. On Golf Digest’s Instagram feed, Koepka responded to a quote of Mickelson’s about the Tour’s obnoxious greed by posting: “Dk if I’d be using the word greedy if I’m Phil.”

Mickelson is definitely considering playing in the proposed Saudi Arabia-backed, Greg Norman-led golf league that would rival the PGA Tour. Norman and LIV Golf Investments is funded by the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund. Saudi Arabia has been harshly criticized for its human rights record and the country is among the top executioners in the world; people are put to death annually, some in public beheadings.

LIV Golf Investments has pledged $300 million into the Asian Tour. The Super Golf League, which would be based on team competition, would offer hundreds of millions more in guaranteed purses.

“I’m not sure how this is going to play out,” Mickelson said. “My ultimate loyalty is to the game of golf and what it has given me. I am so appreciative of the life it has provided. I don’t know what is going to happen. I don’t know where things are headed. But I know I will be criticized. That’s not my concern.

“All that would do is dumb down one of the most intricate issues in sports. It would be so naive to not factor in all of the complexities. The media rights are but a small fraction of everything else. And it is the Tour’s obnoxious greed that has really opened the door for opportunities elsewhere.”

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Shane Lowry defends decision to play controversial Saudi International: ‘I’m not a politician’

“I think for me as a golfer, I’m not a politician, I’ll let everyone else take care of that, and I’ll go and do my job.”

Everyone has an opinion on the upcoming Saudi International. Shane Lowry has made his stance clear: he’s a golfer, not a politician.

Speaking with media ahead of the Feb. 3-6 event at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City – which has been heavily criticized since its debut in 2019 as a way for the Saudi Arabian government to “sportswash” its controversial human rights record – the 2019 Open champion laid out his reasons for playing the tournament, from his past experiences to the world ranking points up for grabs.

“Look, obviously there’s no hiding from the people writing about this tournament or what they’re saying about us going to play, but at the end of the day for me, I’m not a politician, I’m a professional golfer,” said Lowry. “The top players are looked after going there, and that’s great, but top players have got looked after all over the world over the last number of years, whether it be whatever country they go to.

“But I’m happy to go there. I’m happy to earn my living going there and going and playing good golf and hopefully win a tournament,” he continued. “I think for me as a golfer, I’m not a politician, I’ll let everyone else take care of that, and I’ll go and do my job.”

OPINION: Let golf’s catch-all cliché ‘grow the game’ die of shame at the Saudi International

Last week the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, was announced as the tournament’s new title sponsor. The fund’s chairman is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of Saudi Arabia’s king. In its first year as part of the Asian Tour schedule, the 2022 Saudi International features the strongest field in the history of the tour. In 2021 the Saudis made a $100 million investment in the Asian Tour.

Last month Golfweek reported that the PGA Tour had granted permission for 30 of its members to play the Saudi International, but it came with a catch:

Any player who has competed in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am event at least once in the past five years must commit to play at least once in the next two years (2023 and 2024). Players who have not competed at Pebble Beach in the last five years will need to do so twice in the three years until 2025. A source familiar with the names of the 30 players who applied for waivers told Golfweek that 19 of them will have to commit to one appearance at the AT&T, while the other 11 will be required to play twice.

“I would have been very disappointed if I didn’t get the release,” added Lowry. “I wasn’t surprised that we all did. I think it was something that they had to do. For years, as long as I’ve been not even playing golf but watching golf, players, top world-class players have been going around playing on the Asian Tour and doing stuff like that, so I don’t think this is any different.”

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Public Investment Fund named new title sponsor of controversial Saudi International, which features four of world’s top 15 players

A few more big names were added to the field for next month’s event.

The controversial Saudi International has a new title sponsor and an even stronger field set to compete next month.

On Monday the Public Investment Fund, which is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, was announced as the new title sponsor of the event Feb. 3-6 at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City.

A few more names were added to the field, including Patrick Reed – who has played in each Saudi International since its debut in 2019 – and last year’s runner-up, Tony Finau. Matthew Wolff, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Victor Perez will make their debuts.

The Saudi International is the same week as the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. That long-running event at one of the best sites on Tour each year will see a diminished field because so many players committed to play in Saudi Arabia.

Previously announced players for the Saudi International include 2021 PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson, two-time Saudi International champion Dustin Johnson, 2020 champion Graeme McDowell as well as Abraham Ancer, Lee Westwood, Tommy Fleetwood, Henrik Stenson, Kevin Na, Jason Kokrak, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton, Adri Arnaus, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Paul Casey, Jason Dufner, Shane Lowry, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Harold Varner III, Jhonattan Vegas and Bubba Watson.

“We have a truly world-class international field assembling for the 2022 edition of the Saudi International. The mix of the world’s best players from across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific will make this year our most anticipated yet,” said Majed Al-Sorour, CEO and Deputy Chairman of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation via a release. “Bringing together strong fields for our international men’s and women’s events has shown to play a vital role in driving participation and engagement in the sport in Saudi Arabia.

“The commitment from our long-term partners at the PIF to take the title position on the event has provided further recognition that the event has reached a level of strategic importance for Saudi Arabia, impacting our schools and grassroots programs as well as our rapidly improving national teams as part of the long journey we’re on in Saudi Arabia.”

More from the release: “A particular focus of PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers will be enhancing the event’s current work on sustainability, innovation, women and youth. A key goal will be to further accelerate the transformation of the Saudi International and be a leading example for golf events globally.”

Since the inaugural Saudi International in 2019, the tournament has been widely criticized as part of the Saudi government’s effort to “sportswash” its human rights abuses, same with LIV Golf Investments, the new golf venture led by Greg Norman that’s also backed by the PIF. The fund’s chairman is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of Saudi Arabia’s king.

In its first year as part of the Asian Tour schedule, the 2022 Saudi International features the strongest field in the history of the tour.  In 2021 the Saudis made a $100 million investment in the Asian Tour.

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