Final Podcast ESOC 300

A new golf tour called Live Golf, backed by Saudi Arabia, has gained popularity and is challenging the PGA Tour. Live Golf offers a quicker-paced three-day tournament format compared to the PGA Tour's four-day tournaments. It has attracted big-name players from the PGA Tour by offering large amounts of guaranteed money. Some players have criticized the move, citing concerns about Saudi Arabia's involvement in the 9/11 attacks. However, others argue that the financial security provided by Live Golf is too good to pass up. The tour has also brought in a larger audience, both in terms of participation and viewership, which has benefited the game of golf. What's going on guys, welcome to the crunch time podcast. My name is Ray Vargas I'm currently a senior at the University of Arizona. I plan on graduating in the spring of 2023 I am majoring in ESO and I am minoring in communications what I wanted to talk about in my podcast today is the Civil War that has Grown to overtake the golf community in the golf world by storm What has happened is there is a new tour that has hit the ground hard and what that tour is called is live golf a Big thing about why and it's such a big deal in not only the golf community But also like I said, I guess politics of the world is that live golf is a Saudi Arabian backed golf league Um Greg Norman who is an ex PGA tour player Who has really tried his best ever since he retired from the game of golf He has tried his best to not overtake the PGA Tour but show the flaws That are essentially are going on internally within the tour He has been like I said since he retired really trying to hone in and show the world and show the limelight of What the PGA Tour is not number one doing wrong but doing wrong to its players What this live golf league? Has came to do is bring out essentially the best and worst in the golf community What it has done and what it has helped is it really has grown the game of golf to a lot broader audience A bigger audience of the golf world and golf community has tuned in to watch the live golf Not only number one because it is a three-day tournament now instead of on the PGA Tour it being for four-day tournaments But the rounds of golf on the PGA Tour are so long people Don't like just sitting on their couch all day And feeling like they're doing nothing obviously watching golf for six seven hours because sometimes in these Tournaments in the PGA Tour. I mean these rounds can last hours and hours and hours And the one big thing about the live golf tour and one big thing that they really Present to people on why you know people should watch it is that it's a lot quicker paced What it means is it is like I said a three-day tournament instead of a four-day tournament But as well as that it is a shotgun start for people that don't know what a shotgun start is in the golf game In golf community what that means is everyone starts the same exact time on different holes, so You know you can have You know Essentially three people on one hole on hole one three people hold two three people three obviously etc Whereas on the PGA Tour everyone starts on hole one just at different times So there is nine minutes space in between each tee time on the PGA Tour to put that in perspective There are so many players that play in these tournaments that You take three and then you you divide them. You know by how much players are in nine minutes I mean people there are some people teeing off at 6 a.m.. And the last tee time can be at 2 p.m. And you have to think like the you know how long that the tee time those guys that are teeing off at 2 p.m. Are how the how long they're playing It definitely gets gets old and the cool thing about live golf is that it has Brought out a quicker pace I guess Way of playing the game which I think a lot of people like and I think a lot of people have grown to like about live golf I Will say that live golf has used a lot of its resources from the Saudi Arabian government and officials To poach essentially the big name is on the PGA Tour Just off the top of my head we're looking at Phil Mickelson Brooks Koepka Bryson DeChambeau Dustin Johnson Patrick Reed Pat Perez these are Huge names on the PGA Tour who have a massive following and the Saudi backed league live golf had gone out and Spent a lot of its resources on really honing in and getting those players a Lot of people though have protested, you know because there have been Documents that have linked to obviously our country that Saudi Saudi Arabia was part of and had declassification within the 9-11 attacks to September 11th of 2001 But it hasn't slowed anything down live laid out close to 800 million dollars just in paying these players According to Sports Illustrated And in the 2023 season is expected to sell out close to about 1.2 billion dollars To put that into perspective It's really crazy to think about how much money these people are getting guaranteed For example, my my favorite golfer that I loved and grew to watch was Brooks Koepka And it is still Brooks Koepka. Obviously, he's now on live tour so I don't see him as much because the the the tournaments are now spread out a lot more but to put out a perspective Brooks Koepka had played a total of He's been a pro since 2014 With that he has gained over those 2014 2022 we're looking at eight years. He has gained 78 million dollars playing the game of golf To me to you that is a lot of money. It's a lot of money. So really anyone but to put it into a huge Perspective live golf shelled out 200 million dollars guaranteed signing bonus for him to sign with live golf To play with live golf to leave the PGA Tour and play with the golf That is guaranteed money that he was paid out To just play golf and not even as much like there are only 12 tournaments now As opposed to a tournament every single weekend on the PGA Tour He's only playing 12 tournaments and he's getting that much money to play in them a lot of people on the PGA Tour by the names of John Rahm Tiger Woods Rory McIlroy Xander Shafley Patrick Cantlie who are also really big names have really gone out and in gone on interviews and Really called these people who joined live golf sellouts and they're telling about how they're getting their money and how they're calling it blood money essentially because of all the and how bad the Essentially Saudi Arabian government and officials are seen number one not only with how they treat their people but number number two because they have you know have been leaked to Essentially be a part of the 9-11 attacks that hurt our country so hard And and so long ago So it's it's something where it's it's a tough pill to swallow I'm gonna be completely honest with you. I don't see a problem with it I know where the money is coming from and I know a lot of people don't like that But I don't see a problem in someone going out and really Creating a future and honing in on a future for his family not only himself But his his kids his you know, his grandkids, whatever it is to go out and to know that you are Financially set for the rest of your life Is something I don't think a lot of people would really turn down so I can't be mad about it There's really not much to be mad about I couldn't get him on interview today But I had met someone in one of my jobs that I had Taken in the golf industry. I was a clitor a fitter at club champion which is a You know, like I said a place where I fit people into golf clubs And and kind of make their game better, but I was you know Very lucky to have met someone by the name of Dylan Healy I know probably no one knows that name But he he was on the corn fairy tour Which is the little brother to the PGA tour and has competed in plenty of tours He has won plenty of events and is a PGA pro I had met him and I asked him if I could do an interview with him for the podcast Essentially our schedules never really aligned, but I did ask him if I could just text him the answers and if he could really Respond and I obviously I would read them to you So essentially what I texted Dylan is I asked him is live golf good for the game of golf Is this live tour good for the game of golf and what he replied with is? absolutely He has already seen Because he does work at a golf shop. He is a head pro at golf at the golf club at dub Mountain He has already seen a bigger audience not number one playing golf But watching it which is what you want if you're playing the sport of golf and if you're into this sport of golf you want As much eyes on it as you can get and he said he's not only seen an uptick in people playing But also people watching which he said it like I said number one Growing the game of golf is a lot of people's biggest ML and it is something that has definitely grown the game of golf But number two has created so many more opportunities for the players that never can make it on the PGA tour They all can now go to different leagues Essentially, and I know it might be seen as a bad thing going to a different league obviously where this money is coming from But it has gone to help out the smaller players who really never had a chance to make it to the PGA tour because it is So hard to make it it has given them a chance and an opportunity of another way to make a huge tour Number two I asked do you think it's fair for people to criticize? How these people are leaving the PGA tour and obviously setting themselves up for future success He said absolutely not I think anyone really would take the money like if you're getting you know 200 300 million dollars to leave to still do something you love to do and Get paid millions and millions of guaranteed dollars He said when you go out and you play in these events you pay for room you pay for board you pay for Travel you pay for food you pay for it all and if you don't make the cut You lost out on thousands of dollars that you spent to obviously travel to get a hotel room to get food You know for it throughout it all On the PGA tour, there is no guaranteed money. If you don't make the cut you don't get paid and I think the biggest thing on Why he said that it is it's kind of crazy that people would really Kind of hate on someone for making that decision why he said it was really crazy Because I think everyone else would do the same like if you're getting guaranteed money If you know that you're financially going to be set for the rest of your life. Why would you not do it? To piggyback off that I think the craziest thing on why he Kind of talked about not why Dylan talked about it, but why I wanted to talk about it is Since the live tour has came out The golf industry has seen an uptick in the purses of the PGA tour The PGA tour wins so, you know someone would go out and win a PGA tour event on some random weekend and get about you know 800,000 to a million dollars for that win That is a lot of money because live golf is shelling out so much money If you win a tournament on live golf you get four million dollars that is a lot of money You get four million dollars There is a team aspect as well with live golf or if you win that one you also get another four million dollars That's eight million dollars You could win in one weekend that you could never ever ever do in the game of golf on the PGA tour Now with the PGA tour it is uptick in the purses So a first place win on the PGA tour since live golf has came out has exceeded up to now two million dollars So a lot of people came to wonder why where was this money coming from? Why was this always there? But never shelled out. Why was where were they keeping this pro? You know Commissioner Monahan when it has been getting a lot of flack on the PGA tour from Greg Norman who is essentially the leader of the live golf kind of scene Greg Norman really does not like the PGA tour and a lot of people don't like Greg Norman So essentially with that it was something I really really loved to talk about and really gain access into You know, it's it's kind of crazy to think about how Something's been a leader for so long and that's by talking about that. I'm talking about the PGA tour It has been number one for so long to see someone kind of battle them for You know, but not first place But to battle them and to actually give them a run for their money on on what gains the most viewers what have the best players I think it's really cool to see and I think that the golf game will essentially like I said like I said, like Dylan said will grow from this and I obviously want it to kind of Bring everyone up to light if you don't know about golf kind of the crazy things political wise About it because a lot of people have given the live or people who have gained or joined the live tour a lot of flack telling them they you know, because it is a Saudi-backed League a Lot of people don't like that and most of the people that are going to live golf are Americans They are telling us all out or a sellout. They're calling them You know Political, you know, CNN. I know they're on Fox CNN MSNBC live golf gained a lot of traction In the media for a very long time when it did come out and it still hasn't stopped in it I don't think it will like I said with them going to shell out 1.2 billion to other players this year I think it's only going to grow and it's going to get bigger There actually is a live golf tour here in Tucson that is going to be happening in March It's going to be at the gallery at Dove Mountain So I'm obviously going to be going to that a lot of my friends are it's definitely cool to see like I said another big league kind of buttheads with the PGA Tour because you know, The PGA Tour didn't seem like they were treating their people right and I didn't think they were so I'm glad you listened to this podcast I hope you learned a little bit about kind of what is going on in the golf game and golf world golf industry Because it is kind of crazy to see What what has you know overtaken the you know? the media of golf So it's definitely cool to see so thank you so much for listening. I appreciate it I want you guys to have a great day, and I'll talk to you guys soon