Posted on

Greg Norman calls for players to earn ranking points from LIV Golf events

Greg Norman calls for players to earn ranking points from LIV Golf events
Placeholder while article actions load

With the U.S. Open completed, the golf world may again find itself focusing on the LIV series, given that its second event — and first on American soil — is set to tee off in less than two weeks.

LIV Golf already has trumpeted the coming additions in Portland, Ore., of Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, and additional notable names are expected to defect from the PGA Tour before that event begins. But another struggle is taking place behind the scenes, with LIV executives working to have their tournaments become eligible for Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

That effort became more public over the weekend, when LIV Golf Investments CEO Greg Norman made an appearance on Fox News in which he pointed out that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sits on the OWGR’s eight-member governing board. Monahan has indefinitely suspended PGA Tour players who signed with LIV Golf, and last week he vehemently defended that decision, stating on CBS that such players would not be allowed to “free-ride” off the cachet of his organization.

“It’ll be interesting to see if Jay Monahan recuses himself from that vote because of what he said on television with [CBS’s] Jim Nantz the other day,” Norman said Saturday on Fox News. “So it’s very interesting and it’s sad to be putting that additional exerting pressure on it, because our tour is a good tour. It’s supported, it’s got an incredible field.

“OWGR points should be granted, and if we get the OWGR points, then everything else takes care of itself.”

Svrluga: Matt Fitzpatrick — head down, blinders on — beats all comers at U.S. Open

It’s a crucial matter for the upstart, Saudi-funded venture because the world rankings are a major factor in determining eligibility for the four majors. Without OWGR accreditation, players who focus on the eight LIV events over other circuits will slip in the rankings, which could diminish the lure of the series’s massive purses and signing bonuses.

“We’re actually applying for OWGR points right now,” said Norman, who added that it was a “very compelling” application. “We’ve worked very, very closely with the technical committee, understanding all the components of what you need to apply for it.”

While the star power assembled by LIV Golf, including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, undoubtedly has the attention of OWGR officials, other hurdles remain. LIV’s intentionally unorthodox approach includes 54-hole tournaments contested by just 48 players, with no cuts. Those changes to standard professional golf formats could make it difficult for the OWGR board to determine how much weight to give LIV events.

The biggest issue for LIV Golf, though, could be the OWGR’s decision-makers, all of whom are deeply connected to the existing structure of top-level golf and some of whom have expressed discomfort with the Saudi-backed venture. In addition to Monahan, others on the governing board include USGA CEO Mike Whan, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, International Federation of PGA Tours official Keith Waters and DP World Tour (formerly known as the PGA European Tour) chief executive Keith Pelley.

The USGA allowed LIV Golf players who were suspended by the PGA Tour but had already qualified for the U.S. Open to compete in it. But Whan recently said it was a fluid situation and he could “foresee a day” when players banned by the PGA Tour might have a harder time making major fields.

“What we’re talking about [LIV Golf] was different two years ago, and it was different two months ago than it is today,” the USGA CEO told reporters during a pretournament media session. “We’ve been doing this for 127 years, so I think [the USGA] needs to take a long-term view of this and see where these things go.”

“I’m saddened by what’s happening in the professional game,” Whan added. “Mostly as a fan, because I like watching the best players in the world come together and play, and this is going to fracture that. I’ve heard that this is good for the game. At least from my outside view right now, it looks like it’s good for a few folks playing the game, but I’m struggling with how this is good for the game.”

Phil Mickelson’s first major after LIV defection ends badly

Waugh echoed those remarks last month when he said his organization was “a fan of the current ecosystem and world golf ranking system and everything else that goes into creating the best field in golf.” Asked if LIV golfers were likely to be included in the 2023 PGA Championship field, he replied, “I don’t know what it’ll look like next year. We don’t think this is good for the game.”

In his comments on Fox News, Norman said his conviction that “golf is a force for good” made him comfortable partnering with the Saudi regime, which has been criticized for human rights violations and was implicated in the 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

“To me, if golf is good for the world, golf is good for Saudi [Arabia],” he said, “and you’re seeing that growth internally there. It’s extremely impressive.”

The two-time British Open winner and former world No. 1 was shown a clip of Turner Sports’s Bob Costas declaring recently on CNN that LIV Golf players were taking “Saudi blood money.”

“Look, I’m disappointed people go down that path, quite honestly,” Norman said on Fox News. “If they want to look at it in that prism, then why does the PGA Tour have 23 sponsors doing 40-plus billion dollars’ worth of business with Saudi Arabia? Why is it okay for the sponsors?”

“Will Jay Monahan go to each and every one of those CEOs of the 23 companies that are investing into Saudi Arabia,” Norman continued, “and suspend them and ban them?

“The hypocrisy in all this, it’s so loud, it’s deafening.”

Posted on

Syracuse fails to win any events at Penn Relays, some runners earn personal bests

Syracuse fails to win any events at Penn Relays, some runners earn personal bests

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

The Syracuse track and field team traveled to the University of Pennsylvania for the Penn Relays this weekend. The events began for SU on Thursday with the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles.

Shaleah Colaire placed 10th on the women’s side, finishing at 1:00.26, and also placing 19th (14.04) in the 100m hurdles. Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Xayvion Perkins placed seventh overall with a time of 52.71 seconds.

On Friday, Kahniya James raced in the women’s 100m dash, but she placed 12th in her heats and did not qualify for the final heat. Despite failing to make the last heat, James finished with a new personal best time of 11.60.

The men’s 4x100m team — comprised of James Nmah, Jaheem Hayles, Isaiah Lewis and Trei Thorogood — placed 10th, which was one spot out of qualifying for the final round. The quad completed the race in 41.99 seconds, .33 seconds slower than LIU-Brooklyn.



The final event for Syracuse on Friday was the men’s 4x200m relay. This quad of Naseem Smith, Nmah, Lewis, and Thorogood placed ninth overall in at 1:27.38.

The following day, Hayles competed in the men’s 110m hurdles where he placed 2nd in the finals finishing under a tenth of a second behind the winner of the race, Phillip Lemonious from Arkansas. Anthony Vazquez also competed in this event. Though he did not make it to the finals, Vazquez set a personal best, crossing the line in 14.20 seconds.

In the women’s 4×100 women’s relay, the Orange took sixth overall. Kaleia Arrington, Janelle Pottinger, James and Colaire raced for Syracuse in that order; they finished in 45.67 seconds, shortly after Hampton.

membership_button_new-10

Posted on

Cougars earn top podium spots in three events at Joe May Invite – University of Houston Athletics

Cougars earn top podium spots in three events at Joe May Invite - University of Houston Athletics

BATON ROUGE – Christyan Sampy, Nu’uausala Tuilefano and the men’s 4×100 relay all took home first place in their respective events on Saturday at the Joe May Invitational at LSU. 

Sampy started the day breaking his own meet record in the men’s pole vault. He recorded a 5.41 mark besting his 5.31 height from 2021. Tuilefano also earned first in the women’s shot put throwing a 16.29m on her first throw of the day. 

A team of Marcus Wright, Jordan Booker, Edward Sumler IV and Shaun Maswanganyi took the top spot in the men’s 4×100 meter with a time of 39.33. 

Despite not earning the top spot in the their respective events four other athletes recorded times that would have also broken meet records. For the men, Devin Vallejo-Bannister and Brandon Seagreaves broke the meet record in the men’s 1500-meter. Vallejo-Bannister finished in second at 3:49.88 and Seagreaves came in fifth at 3:52.84. For the women, Cecilia Tamayo-Garza finished in 23.58 in the women’s 200-meter for sixth while Michelle Mayer recorded a 2:16.97 in the women’s 800-meter finishing in seventh. 

UP NEXT

The Cougars will make their first trip west to attend the Mt. Sac Relay’s in Walnut, California from Wednesday, April 13 to Saturday, April 16.

FOLLOW THE COUGARS

Fans can follow the #HTownSpeedCity team on all social media channels for in meet and behind the scenes coverage on Instagram and Twitter and “liking” Houston Track and Field on Facebook.

JOIN THE PODIUM CLUB

The Podium Club serves as a unique and effective way to enhance the level of excitement and support for Houston Cougar Track & Field and Cross Country. Gifts to the Podium Club provide financial support directly to the UH Track & Field and Cross Country programs for needs beyond their operating budgets. Donations made to the Podium Club are used at the discretion of the Head Coach. For more information or to sign up, fans should click HERE. To join the Podium Club, fans may call Cougar Pride at 713-743-GoUH (46874).