OT: Just rewatched the final round of Phil Mickelson’s PGA championship.

[Obliviax]

so is Phil for this Saudi backed tour or against it?

He said he’d consider it because the PGA wasn’t being fair to the pros. Even though he kNew that they had horrible human rights track records. It came off as being out of touch. Like his multimillion life was more important than basic human rights

 

[Cletus11]

He said he’d consider it because the PGA wasn’t being fair to the pros. Even though he kNew that they had horrible human rights track records. It came off as being out of touch. Like his multimillion life was more important than basic human rights

OK, so Phil is getting roasted for being a hypocrite basically saying a year ago that players should not play on a Saudi tour due to their civil rights record but now coming out for playing on it as a money grab. Is that the basics?

 

[NoBareFeet]

The funny thing about this Phil ordeal was watching the Golf Channel folks on their high horse bashing Phil about this, as if the Golf Channel didn't just air the SAUDI INTERNATIONAL golf tournament a couple weeks earlier. And also as if their parent company (NBC) didn't just air 2 weeks of the Winter Olympics from China. Hilarious lack of self awareness and top notch hypocrisy.

 

[Cletus11]

The funny thing about this Phil ordeal was watching the Golf Channel folks on their high horse bashing Phil about this, as if the Golf Channel didn't just air the SAUDI INTERNATIONAL golf tournament a couple weeks earlier. And also as if their parent company (NBC) didn't just air 2 weeks of the Winter Olympics from China. Hilarious lack of self awareness and top notch hypocrisy.

that is why i am completely confused. Phil is losing sponsors and somehow being attacked by the 'woke' crowd for saying he will play in the Saudi league even though many players are looking at doing it purely for the money? And Phil is being attacked because people are calling him a hypocrite when all kinds of Saudi type things are purchased, used, broadcast, etc...on a daily basis.

Can somebody help me out as I am completely lost as to the reason Phil M. is being called out so strongly?

 

[DonP74]

I guess is view is that he is USING a bad regime to pressure the tour to help the players more.

I love Phil, but bad, bad choice.

Yet we are now buying oil from a bad regime.

 

[northwoods]

SPORTS, ranked:

1. Football
2. Golf
3. Basketball
4. Baseball
5. Tennis
6. Boxing
7. Hockey
8--rest....who cares?

You seem to have omitted the #1 sport worldwide --- soccer. Error of accidental omission or narrow mindedness? To answer your question re "who cares", the majority of the world cares. Very much cares!

 

[jferretti]

He said he’d consider it because the PGA wasn’t being fair to the pros. Even though he kNew that they had horrible human rights track records. It came off as being out of touch. Like his multimillion life was more important than basic human rights

True what you say, but I will add that his "multi-million dollar life" is not netting him the kind of financial security one would hope for. Phil is a big time gambler who has narrowly avoided money laundering and insider trader charges related to efforts to pay off gambling debts, which run in the millions. See, e.g., Billy Walters relationship.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

You seem to have omitted the #1 sport worldwide --- soccer. Error of accidental omission or narrow mindedness? To answer your question re "who cares", the majority of the world cares. Very much cares!

I mentioned the Beautiful Game above as well. Your post will bring out the He Man Soccer Haters Club I’m sure

 

[Chickenman Testa]

that is why i am completely confused. Phil is losing sponsors and somehow being attacked by the 'woke' crowd for saying he will play in the Saudi league even though many players are looking at doing it purely for the money? And Phil is being attacked because people are calling him a hypocrite when all kinds of Saudi type things are purchased, used, broadcast, etc...on a daily basis.

Can somebody help me out as I am completely lost as to the reason Phil M. is being called out so strongly?

He’s being called out because Greg Norman’s plan is to destroy the other tours and Phil was leading the charge - employing disingenuous arguments about how the PGA Tour wasn’t treating its pros right when it was all about the cash. Playing over there full time would be like a glorified Skins Game with galleries numbering in the 100s.

He tried to kill the PGA Tour and got his ass beat.

 

[northwoods]

He’s being called out because Greg Norman’s plan is to destroy the other tours and Phil was leading the charge - employing disingenuous arguments about how the PGA Tour wasn’t treating its pros right when it was all about the cash. Playing over there full time would be like a glorified Skins Game with galleries numbering in the 100s.

He tried to kill the PGA Tour and got his ass beat.

Although he is very popular with fans, Phil is disliked by many of the players on the tour ("selfish" and "cheap" are the terms you hear a lot). Remember when he threatened to move out of California when his taxes went up? It didn't sit too well with a lot of state residents to have someone making upwards of $20,000,000 a year in prize money and endorsements complaining about taxes. Also, you nailed it --- after listing a litany of serious abuses in Saudi Arabia, he still was willing to sell out to them simply to spite the PGA. He should have appreciated the life and career the PGA has afforded him, not bite the hand that has fed him very well for decades

 

[Cletus11]

He’s being called out because Greg Norman’s plan is to destroy the other tours and Phil was leading the charge - employing disingenuous arguments about how the PGA Tour wasn’t treating its pros right when it was all about the cash. Playing over there full time would be like a glorified Skins Game with galleries numbering in the 100s.

He tried to kill the PGA Tour and got his ass beat.

Make's some sense. Sounds to me like as the poster mentions above, Phil has a lot of enemies and this was a very convenient way to take some revenge on him by really calling him out and pushing the narrative.

 

[NoBareFeet]

You seem to have omitted the #1 sport worldwide --- soccer. Error of accidental omission or narrow mindedness? To answer your question re "who cares", the majority of the world cares. Very much cares!

That omission was NOT accidental.

 

[razpsu]

I think chess is better than golf. It takes more effort and is just as athletic. Magnus Carlsen is in much better physical shape than John Daly. Chess players expend much more energy in a championship game than golfers expend in an 18 hole round.

Lol. That is funny.

 

[razpsu]

The funny thing about this Phil ordeal was watching the Golf Channel folks on their high horse bashing Phil about this, as if the Golf Channel didn't just air the SAUDI INTERNATIONAL golf tournament a couple weeks earlier. And also as if their parent company (NBC) didn't just air 2 weeks of the Winter Olympics from China. Hilarious lack of self awareness and top notch hypocrisy.

Absolutely. We buy more oil from Russia than ever, nbc and athletes especially the nba have no problem going to and promoting China all for MONEY!!! And the woke mob are silent. But god forbid you promote a tour that is promoted by a true oil country which goes against green energy and it is about human rights, lol.
So Norman and Phil and other players call out the pga tour and possibly start the conversation about changing things on the tour, then we hear from chair potato announcers like chamblee who represents nbc lol, is all crazed about it: is Phil and Norman 100 percent right? Probably not. Probably about business and like any leader in business more selfish. But media etc try to blow it up with human rights when their own backing of China and Russia oil etc and having these Arab country golf tournaments on the golf channel is laughable.

 

[razpsu]

Golf is more of a game than a sport.

LdN

You try playing 5 days in a row walking and making high level golf shots in the heat or cold wind and You tell me that you are not tired and physically hurt!! Even when pros play from other sports they always say how good these guys are and no way could they do what these guys on tour do. Remember a guy with a 0-2 handicap wouldn’t be in the top 10,000 players. That is the level that we are talking about. Oh and every sport has outliers of athletes who are not in shape as everyone points out Daly. So that is just a poor argument.

 

[Cletus11]

Absolutely. We buy more oil from Russia than ever, nbc and athletes especially the nba have no problem going to and promoting China all for MONEY!!! And the woke mob are silent. But god forbid you promote a tour that is promoted by a true oil country which goes against green energy and it is about human rights, lol.
So Norman and Phil and other players call out the pga tour and possibly start the conversation about changing things on the tour, then we hear from chair potato announcers like chamblee who represents nbc lol, is all crazed about it: is Phil and Norman 100 percent right? Probably not. Probably about business and like any leader in business more selfish. But media etc try to blow it up with human rights when their own backing of China and Russia oil etc and having these Arab country golf tournaments on the golf channel is laughable.

so i am not crazy then. this whole things sounds ludicrous. bashing Phil because he is using the Saudi tour as leverage to improve the $$$ on the PGA tour is somehow turned into Phil doesn't care about human rights? I mean thousands of companies that do business in the Middle East, the NBA is 100% in on anything China, NBC just broadcast the Olympics and allowed several Chinese propagandists a platform on the nightly broadcasts to talk about how great China was without ever calling out all the issues in China. To go after Phil over the Saudi tour is completely ludicrous.

 

[DonP74]

Although he is very popular with fans, Phil is disliked by many of the players on the tour ("selfish" and "cheap" are the terms you hear a lot). Remember when he threatened to move out of California when his taxes went up? It didn't sit too well with a lot of state residents to have someone making upwards of $20,000,000 a year in prize money and endorsements complaining about taxes. Also, you nailed it --- after listing a litany of serious abuses in Saudi Arabia, he still was willing to sell out to them simply to spite the PGA. He should have appreciated the life and career the PGA has afforded him, not bite the hand that has fed him very well for decades

He's certainly not cheap. That's ridiculous. The man is extremely generous.

 

[razpsu]

Although he is very popular with fans, Phil is disliked by many of the players on the tour ("selfish" and "cheap" are the terms you hear a lot). Remember when he threatened to move out of California when his taxes went up? It didn't sit too well with a lot of state residents to have someone making upwards of $20,000,000 a year in prize money and endorsements complaining about taxes. Also, you nailed it --- after listing a litany of serious abuses in Saudi Arabia, he still was willing to sell out to them simply to spite the PGA. He should have appreciated the life and career the PGA has afforded him, not bite the hand that has fed him very well for decades

not true. They lined up on 18 when he won the pga to congratulate him. Brooks didn't like him because he kicked his ass that day head to head!

 

[dailybuck777]

He's certainly not cheap. That's ridiculous. The man is extremely generous.

The guy that is legitimately very cheap is Tiger. When he was hosted by the special forces, he didn't even volunteer to pay their lunch.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

The guy that is legitimately very cheap is Tiger. When he was hosted by the special forces, he didn't even volunteer to pay their lunch.

Tiger actually thought he was close to a SEAL because he tagged along with them a bit. Saying things like he would have been a SEAL if he wasn’t a golfer. Sure, ok.

 

[jferretti]

not true. They lined up on 18 when he won the pga to congratulate him. Brooks didn't like him because he kicked his ass that day head to head!

Phil was, and still is, a very questionable character among the tour pros. His personal behaviors are poor by most standards and he has made enemies with some of his closest confidants. There are some who are gunning for him and threatening exposure. He has a carefully crafted public persona that is not consistent with his private life. I will leave it at that.

 

[jferretti]

not true. They lined up on 18 when he won the pga to congratulate him. Brooks didn't like him because he kicked his ass that day head to head!

One can respect and honor the feat of winning and still hold the person in contempt for personal failings. There is a lot of that with Phil. Good guy in the locker room but don't invite him to your house.

 

[razpsu]

One can respect and honor the feat of winning and still hold the person in contempt for personal failings. There is a lot of that with Phil. Good guy in the locker room but don't invite him to your house.

And each person has personal failings and shouldn’t throw stones. Phil has been married the entire time and raising kids. Don’t see that from half of these prima donnas.add in any sport from the greats of all time. Is he jack? No that is the highest bar. Is he tiger. Big no!!