Jon Rahm's Rampage, LIV Gets A TV Deal And Patrick Reed Is On A Lawsuit Tear
Meg Oliphant. Getty Images.Jon Rahm stands alone, algorithm be damned
Thanksgiving Night of 2009 didn't just poke a gaping hole in Tiger Woods' squeaky-clean public image; it marked the end of one man's hegemonic stranglehold on the world No. 1 ranking. Despite blowing his first 54-hole major championship lead in an all-time upset loss to Y.E. Yang at the PGA Championship, Woods finished 2009 with seven victories in 19 starts and enjoyed an unobstructed view from the summit of men's golf. That all changed in an instant—Woods was not the same player when he returned from a self-imposed hiatus in 2010, and then the back issues began in earnest, and by Dec. 31, 2011 he'd dropped outside the top 20. Woods would regain the top spot in 2013 and remained there for about a year, but his true reign ended when his SUV struck that fire hydrant in Orlando. The decade since has been characterized by a rotating cast of players jostling to be Top Dog.
Rory McIlroy appeared ready to take the torch by winning two majors in 2014 before an even-younger contender emerged: Jordan Spieth, who captivated the golf world with his historic 2015 season. But Spieth was soon overtaken by Jason Day, whose back also ensured his spell at the top would be relatively brief. Dustin Johnson got his nose in there, then Justin Thomas, then Justin Rose. Next came Brooks Koepka's 2018-19 alpha-male stretch. DJ would reign supreme in 2020 despite brief interludes from McIlroy and Jon Rahm, only for Scottie Scheffler to catapult to the top spot last spring. McIlroy and Cameron Smith made it a three-horse race for Player of the Year with their late-summer performances. And now, less than one month into 2023, Rahm has absolutely elbowed his way back into the best-in-the-world conversation.
The final round of The American Express was a bit of a Davis vs. Goliath situation—we have to give credit for PGATour.com for that clever headline—and, despite cameos from a number of players, only those two players ever looked truly likely to win the title. Davis is Davis Thompson, a highly touted rookie out of the PGA Tour factory that is the University of Georgia. Thompson entered Sunday tied with Rahm, making his first start since that come-from-behind victory over Collin Morikawa at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Thompson held steady all afternoon before a pull-hook tee shot at the wrong time, forcing a layup on the par-5 16th hole. Rahm managed to get his second up by the green and holed a nine-foot birdie putt that gave him a one-shot lead with two to play.
Thompson nearly leveled proceedings with a 48-footer that rattled off the flagstick but wouldn't drop, and despite Golf Twitter's insistence to the contrary, I'm convinced this was moving way too fast to drop even if the flagstick had been out.
A par from the fairway bunker on 18 was enough for a one-shot victory, his ninth on the PGA Tour, and Rahm's run has reached we-gotta-talk-about-it status. Dating back to last fall, the 28-year-old Spaniard has won four times in his last six worldwide starts and posted top-eight finishes in all six. Dig a bit deeper and the numbers are even more absurd: he's a combined 53-under in his last eight rounds and has an average score of 66.3 in the 12 competitive rounds he's played in the 2022-23 PGA Tour season. According to statistician Lou Stagner, Rahm's handicap index when adjusting for Tour-level conditions would be somewhere in the +11.5 to +12.0 range.
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After his chase-down triumph over Morikawa, Rahm said he felt he's been the best player in the world since last August. Sunday's performance only further solidifies that assertion—and yet he's still not the top player in the world rankings. He's not even No. 2. Recent tweaks in the Official World Golf Ranking formula make strength of field more important than ever, and because some of Rahm's success has come in events without top guys, he's still sitting behind both McIlroy and Scheffler. That's just according to the algorithms, though, and you don't need an algorithm to tell you who's playing the best at the minute. To be fair, McIlroy has not begun his 2023 season—he'll make his first start of the year at this week's Dubai Desert Classic—and Smith won't get going until LIV kicks off in late February. But as of this very instant, it's Rahm, and then it's everyone else.
"Heck of a start. Heck of a start," is how Rahm described his first month of 2023. "Obviously Sentry and this one are very, very different golf courses and very different golf, right. You still have to go low in both of them. So luckily the mentality is the same.
"Body's been feeling great. My swing's been feeling really, really good. And it shows, right. Even when I'm saying I may not be as comfortable as I would like, I'm shooting 64s because everything is just firing when it needs to. I'm, in a weird way, glad that today went the way it went. I've enjoyed some runaway victories, I've enjoyed some comebacks, but today was certainly a struggle."
That's due almost entirely to Thompson, who went toe-to-toe with Rahm's imposing figure and put forth a highly impressive performance.
“The biggest takeaway for me was being paired with Jon Rahm today,” Thompson said. “That’s the kind of thing that will really make me into a better player.”
Rahm's rampage now heads just 150-ish miles south and west to San Diego, where he'll return to one of his favorite places on Earth. Ram's first PGA Tour victory came at Torrey Pines. He won his lone major championship at Torrey Pines. And he got engaged to his wife, Kelley, at Torrey Pines. As you might imagine, he's a considerable favorite heading into this week.
LIV Gets A TV Deal
LIV Golf officially announced a media rights deal with the CW Network which will see the first round of LIV's 14 events broadcast only on the CW app, with the final two rounds airing live on the CW Network's linear television channel. We did not get any official details on the deal, but it's widely believed that the CW did not pay the broadcast rights—it's far more likely that LIV actually paid the CW for airtime, with the two sides agreeing on some sort of revenue split for advertising dollars.
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In the spirit of impartiality, we're going to give you the pro-LIV and the LIV-skeptic view of this deal. We'll begin with the pro-LIV angle.
Greg Norman and Co. have long maintained that no fair judgment of LIV's viewership and overall reach could be made until LIV found its way onto American television. Yes, LIV's streaming numbers on YouTube were rather underwhelming, but much of golf's audience has little-to-no familiarity with the streaming ecosystem. Inking a deal that will see LIV become available in more than 120 million U.S. households marks a significant step for a league that, at this time last year, was merely a rumor. Now LIV rolls into the first year of its "league" format with a number of world-class players on its roster, a full slate of events across the United States and abroad, and major television distribution deals. LIV's players will now get that TV-exposure they didn't have in 2022—and, according to one player considering signing with the Saudi-backed league, LIV retracted its offer to him once the CW deal became official. He expects they'll now return with a lower offer, as they won't have to pay players the same premium they did when their golf rounds weren't going to be shown on TV.
“The CW and its majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, recognize the enormous interest in and potential of our league and with their support, more fans will experience the energy and innovative competition that LIV Golf is using to reinvigorate the sport," Norman said in another blustery LIV press release. "The CW is a world-class media partner, and we are honored to be joining forces to further bring LIV Golf to life as they stake their claim in professional sports.”
Now, the more skeptic view: LIV coveted a prestigious broadcast partner—think Fox Sports or Apple—and landed on a middling network seeking to revive its lagging programming by jumping into live sports. The CW is not synonymous with sports of any kind—its widely known as the home to teenage soapy dramas like One Tree Hill and Riverdale—and simply being available in households does not mean people will watch. YouTube is available in every American household with an internet connection, and LIV's streaming numbers on their were putrid. What's more, if LIV did indeed have to cough up cash to the CW for airtime, they're no closer to recuperating all those billions they've spent than they were before the deal.
A few interesting and additional nuggets—we may never get LIV's viewership numbers on American TV. According to Anthony Crupi of Sportico, the CW's broadcasts are not Nielsen-rated except for a two-hour window in primetime on weekdays. With LIV airing on the CW on weekends, there's a solid chance we never find out how many people watch the broadcasts. Lastly, it will be fascinating to see which companies buy commercials during LIV broadcasts. LIV has still not announce corporate partnerships, as brands have been understandably weary to associate themselves with what's become such a toxic and politically-charged organization. But advertising dollars are a crucial component of this media rights deal, so you best believe LIV's sales department is working the phones ahead of its Feb. 24-26 debut at Mayakoba in Mexico.
LIV is expected to formally announce its schedule this week—but, according to Sports Illustrated, the announcement was initially set for November. So, why the delay? Per SI, the Saudi backers of the league have insisted on holding a LIV event in Saudi Arabia. That's in addition to the Saudi International, an Asian Tour event funded by the same Public Investment Fund behind LIV. LIV's players are reportedly not thrilled with the idea, as events in the Kingdom typically do not draw large crowds. The scheduling drama is a fascinating insight into the competing interests at play in the LIV ecosystem.
Another golf league is growing
Tracy Wilcox. Getty Images.Advertisement
Having trouble keeping up with all the tours in world golf? Cool, here's another one. TGL—the brainchild of TMRW Sports, the forward-looking sports enterprise backed by a who's who of superstar athletes—has signed its fifth and sixth players to join the league, which will air tech-infused golf competitions stage in arenas on Monday nights beginning in 2024. SI reported that Adam Scott would join Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm in the league, which will eventually feature six three-man teams for a total of 18 participants. Barstool Sports has learned the Collin Morikawa will be the sixth player in the league.
Barstool Sports has also obtained some details on the league, which will debut in January 2024. There will be a total of 18 players, with six three-man teams. Each match will see two teams face off in 18-hole team match play. All 15 matches of the league season will take place in a special tech-infused venue that'll be built in Palm Beach, Fla. The 15 regular-season matches will be followed by semifinals and finals.
“During my amateur and collegiate golf career, I loved team play and the added energy it brought to my game – especially in match play," Morikawa said. "That has only been elevated with the opportunities I have had to represent the U.S. in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and I am looking forward to being a part of a TGL team next year as well,” said Morikawa. “Beyond that, I think the design of TGL to provide sports fans the world’s best in a weekly, primetime golf competition, from start-to-end in only two hours, will appeal to a broader spectrum of casual golf fans and introduce our sport to younger fans.”
Scott in particular always seemed like a natural target for LIV Golf, considering his age, how much time he likes to spend in Australia and his connection with countryman Greg Norman. But signing with TGL is a perk that comes with staying on the PGA Tour, and this one was sweet enough to entice Scott's signature.
Patrick Reed is on fire…with the lawsuits
Reed missed the cut in last week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship by five shots, and he's dropped all the way to world No. 90, but the man is on an absolute tear with the lawsuits. Reed and his quackjob lawyer, Larry Klayman—the man who (unsuccessfully) sued Barack Obama for purposely letting Ebola into the United States and (unsuccessfully) sued Sacha Baron Cohen for making fun of Roy Moore—are threatening to sue CNN for $450 million dollars because Bob Costas accused LIV golfers of taking "blood money" in an appearance on Jake Tapper's show. Neither Costas nor Tapper actually mentioned Reed by name, but no matter—Klayman and Reed and threatening to sue if CNN doesn't scrub the clip and issue a formal apology.
If this sounds familiar, it's because it is. This would be the third lawsuit that Reed and Klayman have filed against various media entities just since July. The first one, against Golf Channel, Brandel Chamblee, Damon Hack, Shane Bacon and Eamon Lynch, sought $750 million in damages. He fired off another one in November, that time seeking $250 million from the Associated Press, Fox Sports, the New York Post and golf writers Shane Ryan and Doug Ferguson. This latest suit against CNN would bring the total to $1.45 billion, and you almost have to respect the play. Almost. One might think that Reed would be set on cash from the $37 million he won in prize money on the PGA Tour, plus endorsement money, plus however many million he got for signing with LIV, plus the $12 million he made in prize money in his first season with LIV. But rich can always get richer, apparently, and Reed seems to be going for the numbers-game approach. It's like when your single friend shoots out texts messages to a bunch of potential mates. All he needs is one reply, and he's golden. All Reed needs is for one of these lawsuits to hit, and maybe he'll finally have enough cash to spend more time with his family, which was his justification for joining LIV Golf. The bad news is, as is Klayman's habit, all of these suits are expected to lose.
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Elsewhere…
—Frenchman Victor Perez locked up his first Rolex Series win in epic fashion, holing a bunker shot on his 71st hole for an eventual one-shot victory over Min Woo Lee and Sebastian Soderberg. Check this one out:
—Brooke Henderson won the first LPGA event of 2023 with a wire-to-wire victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona. The event featured 29 professionals and dozens of other "celebrities"—including the Fore Play Podcast. While most celebrities played all four rounds, we did a little relay race with one of us teeing it up each day. We finished T-40 out of 55 celebrities. The final tally for each player:
Riggs—20 points
Dan—31 points
Trent—9 points
Frankie—21 points
Nelly Korda finished solo fourth, just hours after her younger brother, Sebastian, won a five-setter to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. It's yet another reminder that the Kordas might be the most athletic family on Planet Earth: In addition to Nelly and Sebastian, Nelly's older sister and fellow tour pro Jessica is No. 18 in the world, and their dad, Petr, won the Australian Open singles title in 1998.
—The PGA Tour heads to Torrey Pines this week for the Farmers Insurance Open. Five of the top 10 players in the world rankings are in the field, headlined by Rahm. This event will start on Wednesday for the second consecutive year—it's a no-brainer decision, as the final round now doesn't have to go against the AFC and NFC Championship games on Sunday.
Until next week,
Dan