‘Do It For the Saudi Royal Family’ Shouts Spectator, Mickelson Drives It Into the Bunker

God, does he look old and flabby in that last clip. Alpha Male, my ass.

Like these multi millionaires need the money. No honor. No loyalty. Lending their fame to whitewash murderous tyranny. Dustin Johnson, who’s married to Wayne Gretzky’s daughter, meaning TWO large streams of money, justified his sell out by saying ” I have to take care of my family.” Disgusting. Another reminder not to imbue these one trick ponies into cultural icons.

This whole thing is going to get interesting, and I think ugly next year. For a long time, the left-handed playing (he’s actually right handed but plays golf lefty) Mickelson was my favorite golfer. I gloried in his wins, especially his majors and suffered in his setbacks at majors, the U.S. Open in particular. Other players didn’t like him because he was sharp with trash-talk during practice rounds (but a true gentleman, if fierce competitor during actual tournament play) and resented the worship he got from fans. He made a point of interacting with them during rounds like Palmer did, and unlike most of them almost every day after practice AND tournament rounds once he was done in the press room he’d spend at least 45 min. and sometimes over an hour signing autographs. Not to mention a lot of charity stuff he did that he never called attention to.

Still, over time his whining about taxes (he’s a California guy for his entire life but rumor has it now that his kids are all getting launched in life he’s headed to FL) and his increasing public support of the GOP has grated on me. And his outright support of fucking Trump really damaged my view of him.

He’s done very well for himself with professional golf and neither he, his kids or his grandkids will ever want for anything that money can provide. Yet like so many tons of money, more than he can ever use isn’t enough. I get that being north of 50 he’d like to continue to play and make money at golf. If I had his ability I would too. And the “Champions” (Senior) tour was open to him. He’d have won a shitload there including majors on that tour. And given the magic that he has at Augusta National another Green Jacket and a seventh major championship wasn’t a crazy notion.

When quite a few years back he got diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis we all knew it would at times affect his golf. It’s a fine line indeed between winning and missing the cut at his level and a flare up near/during a big tournament or worse a major was always a possibility after that and has no doubt happened even if he never said anything. But given he’s always been devoted to family (even non-golf fans remember him carrying a beeper during the 1997 U.S. Open at Pinehurst where he was in contention to the very last hole) and believing him when he said if it went off (signaling his wife had gone into labor back in CA) he was outa there. He’s missed some stuff, and also done some stuff that might have cost him wins to take part in his kid’s life events including that red-eye trip at the start of the U.S. Open at Merion (suburban Philly) to attend his daughter’s graduation.

So there was as I said stuff to admire BUT he still wants to both earn a shitload of money AND have more time for non-golf stuff, including family and course design. Given that, the appeal of the Saudi offer to be part of LIV had to be tempting. A huge signing fee (200 million) not to mention appearance fees at tournaments and tournament winnings, AND only having to play 54 holes AND only eight events instead of the twice that many he’d have to play to keep his PGA Tour Card got his attention. Still, it was sickening that he even seriously considered it. And when he shot off his mouth to a biographer writing a book about him (without his full participation) because another personal quality everyone but fellow tour types liked about him was he was relatively open with the press it SHOULD have been a warning to him.

But he took the fucking money, even as all the signs were there he was burning most of his bridges including potentially being able to play in majors which aren’t actually run by the PGA Tour. It will be interesting to see what Augusta National decides next year in the lead up to The Masters, the first major every year. The membership has a storied history of not giving a fuck what the public or anyone else thought (they even defied a President – Eisenhower – back in the 1950s over a fucking pine tree he demanded they cut down.) but this might be different. They HAVE added women members and become more diverse in other ways. They’ve made some changes that have preserved much of their heritage yet acknowledge times have been changing. I for one don’t think it’s a given that the tradition of extending a spot in the field to past champions for as long as they want to play in the tournament will continue for LIV participants. And, just as Mickelson didn’t take part in a once in a lifetime event at St. Andrews (the home of golf) earlier this month to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport’s oldest major, the past champions dinner and the four hole event on the course I wonder if Mickelson will be invited to the Master’s traditional past champion’s dinner.

So there’s all that.

But here’s the real rub for Mickelson and others. He and others have cited not just the “only 54 holes” aspect of LIVE tournaments but also the limited number of events. Eight. Funny thing however – LIV is already indicating that NEXT year they are looking at putting on as many as SIXTEEN tournaments! Oops. So much for a limited travel schedule, especially since I’m sure many, if not the majority of those extra tournaments will take place in far flung places. South Africa (both the country and the other developed countries far from Europe on that continent), Asia and other places to hell and gone in the Pacific and so on. Places where travel is really a grind. It won’t be like say the LPGA which has an Asian swing where a series of tournaments are held over there so players aren’t flying back and forth!

I can’t help but wonder how Mickelson and some of those others who’ve taken the big money because they are up there in age and want to cut back their schedule without losing money have been reacting to THAT news. Without him and some other big names the patlry galleries they’ve gotten so far will suck in those new, far flung places. The fine print on their contracts should be interesting, and I can’t help but wonder if Greg Norman made promises he knew would never be kept about expanding the number of events when questioned about that (possible) clause in those contracts.

Norman is and has been for a long time a wannabe to golf as Steve Bannon has been to American politics and our country in general – someone who feels undeappreciated and therefore is determined to burn it all down out of spite.

When I first read the news about Mickelson’s comments about possible joining LIV I believed he was seriously considering it, and in fact leaning strongly towards making the move. Talking to that guy writing the book, that unauthorized biography was his way of sending up a trial balloon because he’s savvy enough to know that guy who was out to take him down a few notches would NEVER sit on a story that juicy. Despite the uproar Mickelson signed up with LIV and while he got his upfront 200 million he LOST a ton of money in corporate sponsorships (which over time will be way more than what the Saudis have given him) and no doubt golf course design deals too. Not to mention several decades of goodwill built up with golf fans.

And if as I suspect a big motivate was playing only eight (more or less) exhibitions a year was a big factor I’ll bet seeing that number double next year has already broken him emotionally. The famously gambler fell for a sucker bet. And has lost.

I am reminded of something I heard an ME oil sheik said about two decades ago: “My father rode a camel. I ride in a car. My son rides in a jet. His son will ride a camel.”

On one hand, I get why the Saudis are pulling these moves. Oil is on its way out as an energy source and it’s going to take lots of profits. Time to diversify. On the other hand, doing business with Trump is a proven bad idea. Just ask Putin.

I hope every professional golfer playing for the arabs pays in a very big way. Were I someone wanting a golfer to represent my product I’d start looking at those who did not play in this event to feature in my ads or wear my logo on the links.

Playing with trump vs. playing in an arab tourny–which is the bad idea? Not sure which could be worse since they’re both so bad.

Wonder what would happen to their golf game with a couple of fingers removed by pruning shears??? Would they feel warm & fuzzy with the Saudis then?