Nick Faldo hits LIV Golf again

Nick Faldo is continuing to attack LIV Golf, saying “pickleball was bigger than their two stars in a playoff” and questioning the motives of the pros who joined the Saudi-funded league.

Speaking this week with Phil Casey of the PA News Agency (whose full story you can read hereFaldo also said that LIV is “an island” and that it should continue to play as a separate tournament. LIV is currently in its third season as its backer, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, negotiates a financing deal with the PGA Tour, the circuit it is competing against, though those talks they are now in their 14th month.

“That’s absolutely fine with me, go and play their tournament,” Faldo said.

In the account of the PA News Agency, six-time major winner then pointed out LIV’s ratings, apparently quoting a tweet that said the CW Network’s broadcast of LIV Golf’s Greenbrier Tournament drew a smaller audience than ESPN’s broadcast of a professional golf event. At the Greenbrier Tournament, Brooks Koepka defeated Jon Rahm in a playoff to win.

“I think we’re now seeing that, wow, they’ve had three seasons and they haven’t had much of an impact on the (viewing) numbers,” Faldo said in the story. “Amusingly enough, pickleball was bigger than their two stars in a playoff, the kind of thrill that everyone wants. But it was beaten for viewership by pickleball.

“I think at the end of the day it’s that the players have had the last laugh because they’re being rewarded so much either through prize size or appearance fees and they’re not moving the needle. And I can’t see that changing because, as we know, it’s been so damaging to the public’s attitude toward golf. I still talk to my TV producer friends and people just aren’t watching. The attitude towards golf has been hurt.

“I have been doing television for 18 years and they told me not to talk about awards. When the FedEx Cup (PGA Tour) went to 10 million, I went, “Wow, look at this, this putt is worth 10 million!” That was the only time I mentioned the money, and now, all of a sudden, it’s a ridiculous amount. It really changed him.”

Also in the PA News Agency account, Faldo was also asked about the plans of the LIV players. Notably, many left the PGA Tour for big, guaranteed contracts, but the tour has yet to earn world ranking points, a key to playing in major championships.

“I think they all thought why don’t I just go and get all these hundreds of millions in boom and they’ll work it out in two years and I’ll come back with a boatload,” Faldo said in the News Agency story. PA. . “I don’t think it’s going to work that way and it shouldn’t, to be honest. Okay, LIV go and do their thing. They say they will add excitement to golf – good luck.

“Some people think they can change the excitement level or the look of it, but golf is golf. Golf is chess in nature. The number one goal in golf as a player is to finish last with a lead of three shots or more, right?

“But you’ve got people saying, ‘Well, that wasn’t very exciting, a bit anticlimactic’. But every player out there wants to go down the last two holes with a cushion.”

The thoughts continue a series of jabs from Faldo at LIV and its CEO, Greg Norman. Recently, before last year’s Masters, Faldo had this to say: in an interview with Telegraph:

“I’m not against them,” Faldo said. “They decided the grass is greener on their tour. Good. The anxiety I have is when he (Norman) said these things to do it to grow the game of golf. We’ve all been here for 40 years or more, hang in there mate. The fact is, they got a ridiculous money offer, which for some of them was the right thing to do.

“But as we said, it has been very quiet. So good luck with the game changer.”

Then, last September, in a video posted on TwitterFaldo was wearing a blue T-shirt with a white shark on it and the words “Quint’s Shark Fishing,” a reference to the movie “Jaws” — and had this exchange with a person in the background.

“Mr. Nick, when was the last time you went shark hunting?”

Faldo looked at his shirt. He answered.

“Um, 1996,” he said, then laughed. “April ’96 was my last shark hunt.”

“How did it go?”

“Do well. “I didn’t need a bigger boat, if you know what I mean,” he said with a laugh. “The ship was quite large.”

What happened in “April ’96?” Faldo won the Masters, the sixth of his six major victories. He had started the sixth round behind Greg Norman, then shot a 67, while Norman shot a 78.

And Norman is nicknamed “Shark”.

Nick Piastowski

Editor of Golf.com

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his score. . You can reach him about any of these topics – his stories, his game or his beers – at nick.piastowski@golf.com.