Have you showered yet? If not, wait until after you’ve read this post.
Over at The Quadrilateral I summed up and dissected the lack of deep hidden meaning in Greg Norman’s pre-PIFSIPSIA presser to announce another $100 million for the Asian Tour’s new series of international events. Which, as first reported by Alistair Tait here and Ewan Murray here, is a bold foray outside of the Asian Tour’s normal confines. You can read more details on the series that might act as a feeder tour for the Saudi Golf League or even as placeholder events converted into stops should the superstar league go forward.
In The Telegraph, James Corrigan reported exclusively on the lavish offer of $20-30 million for Ian Poulter to commit and, in all likelihood, kiss a future Ryder Cup captaincy goodbye. Ironic since his Ferrari collection is worth about that much and built off of his Ryder Cup play.
Trying to gauge where all of this stands, Murray posted this analysis at The Guardian and wondered if using the Ryder Cup as leverage could backfire.
Should, for argument’s sake, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood be tempted by this promised land then their future involvement in the Ryder Cup either as captains or players becomes almost impossible to square. The debate in this case would be a furious one; is it fair for players to effectively turn their backs on an event that has done so much for their profile, or would administrators on either side of the Atlantic be wrong to ostracise them? Even in the short-term, if Europe cannot or will not appoint Stenson as the captain for 2023 in Rome because of Saudi links then their Ryder Cup environment is undermined. And that, whatever the rights and wrongs, is a key issue.