How Did The LIV Golf Pros Fare At The U.S. Open?
Not so good, is the short answer to that question.
Only four players who have defected to the Saudi-backed golf tour made the cut at the 2022 U.S. Open.
In other words, TEN professionals played so poorly that they were eliminated after the first two days of the four-day tournament.
And some of the names are huge: Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, and Louis Oosthuizen, all major tourney winners went home without a paycheck.
I don’t know if it’s right to feel this way, but, this made me very happy.
At issue, the LIV (pronounced “54”) tour is backed by the Saudi Arabian government. That’s the same country whose leader, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed and chopped up into pieces in 2018.
It’s the same government that treats LGBT persons like criminals and women like third-class citizens. And, of course, it’s the same government that tolerates such a vicious strain of anti-Americanism that 15 out of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from there.
So, why would so many elite golfers choose to play for such a corrupt country? Easy…their checks clear AND they pay in advance. The LIV tour is bankrolled by the Saudis and their pockets are so deep they just THROW generational levels of wealth at the stars of the golf world.
Phil Mickelson was reportedly paid $200 MILLION to jump ship. Dustin Johnson ($150M) and Bryson DeChambeau ($100M) are also pre-paid LIV turncoats. To be clear: those 9 figure deals were basically SIGNING BONUSES. They get to keep that money whether they win or not.
That’s why I’m happy to report that the highest finish for ANY LIV player was a tie for 24th place by Dustin Johnson.
Seeing these Benedict Arnold-Palmers (HA!) struggles is an absolute joy. And seeing Phil Mickelson FOUR putt from 12 feet…that almost feels as good as getting a hole-in-one.
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