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It’s the apparent joke, so let’s get it out of the way in which. The LIV Golf representatives at The Masters aren’t used to taking part in 72 holes! That’s why Brooks Koepka crapped the mattress on Sunday and blew his lead, solely to be handed by Jon Rahm, who received his first inexperienced jacket by 4 strokes! If solely the Saudi-backed new golf promotion performed longer tournaments! Letting the victory of the game’s signature occasion slip away is a large deal, and that’s no joke. What was imagined to be the planting-the-flag second for LIV Golf simply made the PGA Tour look stronger. The depth of LIV could be seen by Koepka tying Phil Mickelson for second place, each LIVers and Patrick Reed ending in a tie for fourth additionally representing the non-PGA affiliated.
The if-you’re-not-first-you’re-last mentality right here issues although. It’s really all that issues in particular person sports activities. One inexperienced jacket will get given out annually. And after this weekend, the identical quantity that received The Masters underneath the LIV banner remains to be zero. And the energy of 1 golfer, on this case, Rahm drop-kicking (or placing) everybody else into oblivion, issues. If Katie Ledecky wins the gold medal within the 100-meter freestyle, and Australia takes the remainder of the rostrum, we’re nonetheless listening to one nationwide anthem and it’s not no matter these down underneath play earlier than rugby matches. It’s the rattling Star-Spangled Banner. Regardless of the shortage of aggressive tournaments or high-pressure occasions the LIV golfers had participated in previous to final week at Augusta Nationwide, they held their very own. That’s completely not the victory lap the second-year league hoped to take. Understanding that distinction is vital.
The Masters is the litmus take a look at, the measuring stick, the most important group of bragging rights. Successful the U.S. Open or the British Open, or having a gaggle current for a Ryder Cup victory, will probably be good however it’s not golf’s most necessary occasion. If Novak Djokovic had been to have damaged off from the ATP and began the DTE (Djokovic Tennis Extravaganza), he or one of many turncoats would’ve introduced probably the most legitimacy to that group by successful Wimbledon. The Australian Open, French Open, and U.S. Open are all nice, and possibly nearer in significance to Wimbledon than any non-Masters main golf event. However the Djokovic crew would’ve skyrocketed in status with the Wimbledon title of their camp. The LIVers now have to attend practically 360 days for his or her subsequent probability at that promotion-defining second with The Masters being on an island of significance.
Anybody spouting the narrative that the LIV golfers can’t compete as a result of their tournaments are 54 holes isn’t being truthful. At non-major males’s skilled tournaments, it’s greatest two-out-of-three units, with three-out-of-five units being the calling card for the grand slam occasions. Enjoying a full fourth spherical with all of the stoppages and transferring of tee instances that happened final weekend in Augusta, the PGAers had reliable competitors. But, Rahm will probably be touting the victory as a PGA-branded one at subsequent 12 months’s Masters Champions Dinner with no LIV-affiliated triumphs to talk of. And that hurts the LIV model.
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