1652950596 War in world golf between the American Circuit and the

War in world golf between the American Circuit and the Saudi Super League

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The war has started. it’s real There are no empty bullets. American Golf Circuit vs. Saudi Super League. Here and now. The second big game of the season, the PGA Championship, begins this Thursday (starting at 3:30 p.m. at Movistar Golf) at the Southern Hills Course in Tulsa, Oklahoma amid an earthquake. The one that caused the birth of a Saudi golf club, LIV Golf, to compete with the American, the great elite that brings together the best players in the world today. This time there is no threat, but the creature has opened its eyes and wants to run.

Powered by millions of Saudi capital, this Super League consists of eight tournaments played between June and October in London, Portland, Bedminster, Boston, Chicago, Bangkok, Jeddah and Miami. The first date, June 9-11 at Centurión Golf in London, brings together 48 players with prizes totaling $25 million, double what each of the big players is giving away. And there is the big difference and the key to this whole war: money. The tournament that delivers the most tickets on the American circuit is The Players, with 3.6 million for the winner. This first Saudi League Championship will award the winner US$4 million and down to US$120,000 for the final qualifier. The entry list has not yet been confirmed, but there are some big names on the table. Phil Mickelson has given up to play the PGA Championship he won last year (at 50 he is the oldest major winner) and is staying out of contention for his controversial support for the Saudi business. Sergio García exploded a few days ago after a dispute with the referees: “I can’t wait to get off this circuit!” Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Ricky Fowler…LIV Golf’s tentacles are extended. As the project’s visible head, Greg Norman, White Shark, 67, became a star in the ’80s and ’90s after Jack Nicklaus, the winner of 18 grand, “waived orally and in writing” a check for 100 million to be a Super League ambassador .

The PGA Tour reacted angrily. In a letter to his players, he bans them from participating in the new circuit, denying one of the three exemptions a golfer can apply to play a tournament outside of marriage. “You won’t stop us. We will continue to organize the best tournaments with the best players,” replied Norman, claiming to have $2,000 million in funding to increase the number of tournaments on the circuit to 10 in 2023 (from then to 14 the following year). . With a peculiar formula: it’s a 54-hole championship, three days instead of four, no place and a variant of team discipline that will lead to an eighth tournament worth millions. Two of the venues, Bedminster and Miami, are courses owned by Donald Trump. It was in the very first that this PGA that is about to start was supposed to be played, but the PGA of America and the Royal and Ancient, the two organizations that govern world golf, kicked it off. Turnberry’s Scottish course is also closed to hosting the British Open for the same reason.

For the time being, the big stars have sided with the American race track. “I don’t play for the money, that’s the only reason I go there, but for the legacy and to become champions. They throw numbers at you and think they impress you,” explained Jon Rahm, now number two in the world, winner of more than $30 million in prizes on the track, and alongside him was Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau … “I think about history, about the big tournaments, about what Jack did [Nicklaus] and Arnold [Palmer], creating our circuit. There’s a legacy in that,” Tiger Woods said Tuesday.

John Rahm, field training.John Rahm, field training TAnnen MAURY (EFE)

At 46, Woods is still a gold mine. El Tigre is causing a stir with a new big launch after its experiment in Augusta. Despite his lowest-ever Masters finish, 47th, the 15-time Major champion was limping after his first tournament in over a year. He spent the following Monday wrapped in ice recovering from the pain of his broken leg. Now, he says, it’s coming back “stronger.” “It was like the first mountain I climbed, Everest, was the most difficult. At the Masters I said to myself, ‘I’ve won before with a broken leg.’ So I was motivated to keep going. It will still hurt and walking is a challenge, but I’ve gotten stronger. The problem is walking, and it will continue to be so in the future,” resigned Woods, a four-time PGA champion (1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007). The organization has reserved a stellar match for him alongside Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, just as Jon Rahm has to dance alongside Scottie Scheffler (four wins in his last eight races) and World Top 3 Collin Morikawa.

Rahm is in new shoes. Literally. A renewed shoe, with 1.5 cm rise on the right to compensate for the different length of a leg, gives him a more comfortable feeling. And since he was the first Spaniard to win the US Open, why not be the first to add the PGA? “It’s a place that suits my game, especially from the tee,” smiles Rahm-Sergio García, who with 93 majors, level with Olazabal, is the Spaniard with the most Grand Slam appearances, Adri Arnaus and Pablo Larrazábal complete the national one Stand-in. After breaking free with his Mexican Open win and heading to Miami for the Formula 1 GP, Rahm goes to greatness in the midst of a war with his right mind.

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