How long had the PGA and LIV been talking?! 👀

GM. This is Easy Pars. The golf newsletter that would never tell you to count your strokes one more time.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Greg Norman is out, and Tiger knew it month’s ago.

• Speaking of Tiger, LIV wanted him to captain a team! (Plus, why we think a form of this is happening.)

• A sign LIV will live on?

Why Greg Norman is PGAs persona non grata

Have you ever wondered why Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour dislike Greg Norman so much?

Besides being the head of the competition and making them feel uncomfortable, Norman sent a very direct email to Jay Monahan.

What did this email say?

His email stated that the PGA Tour commissioner was in the wrong to suspend Tour players for playing golf in different leagues and tournaments. The reason is that PGA Tour players aren’t employees, they’re contractors.

So in principle, they can play golf wherever they like.

How did Monahan respond to the LIV players? Immediately thrown out, like Jazzy Jeff in Fresh Prince.

This clearly seems to have rubbed Monahan the wrong way, since he decided to continue and even suspended some additional players that were in conversations with LIV.

But now that all that Norman will be out of the picture, what will happen with the players?

No one knows for sure, but what seems to be the case from the leaked documents is that Jay Monahan will have the final word on how they’ll be treated.

In other words, Jay Monahan is (allegedly) the soon to be Supreme Overlord Commander of all of golf.

Tiger called it since November

As the largest figure in golf in forever, whatever Tiger Woods says carries some weight to it.

Besides the fact that he’s always been featured in top-secret CEO emails, Tiger has been a big part of the PGA Tour and, even if he allegedly is just a player, he’s come to understand how the Tour works.

Back in November 2022, when Tiger was asked whether LIV and the PGA Tour would ever find a way to work together, he answered: “Yes, but not with Greg Norman in the picture.”

Nine months later, LIV CEO Greg Norman is scheduled to be relieved from his duties as per the preliminary agreement between the PGA Tour and the PIF to form a new golf mega-conglomerate.

Was Tiger privy to some insider information?

Was it just an educated guess on his behalf?

No way to know.

But what is almost a done deal is that Greg Norman is getting the sack as soon as the PIF/PGA Tour deal goes through.

Tiger and Rory playing for LIV?!?!

LIV’s team golf concept is pretty appealing. While LIV made a lot of changes and never really got it right, it’s still a promising format.

They could’ve deployed it in a way that made it more compelling to watch.

But the idea of having one top golfer versus another one is attractive.

It’s a variation of the match-play format, which I think was a lot of fun to watch and brought out the best out of each player who competed.

Having said that, one of the leaked documents mentioned a pitch to the PGA Tour that was particularly interesting.

Imagine this: Tiger Woods’ team going head-to-head against Rory McIlroy's team.

Will it ever happen? No.

Anything’s possible, but can’t see it happening for LIV. Ever. Even if there is a real possibility that the LIV leagues remain.

Now imagine you’re a PGA exec and you approach Tiger and Rory.

“Hey guys, I know you hate LIV, but hear me out.”

Thrown out like Jazzy Jeff Norman from the PIF deal.

Hot take: We feel like it is happening, in a different way.

Here at EasyPars, we believe Team Tiger v. Team Rory is happening, but in the form of Tiger and Rory’s new league — TGL.

Here’s an in-depth take, from Joe Pompliano:

We’ll be tuning in, for sure.

A fresh new way to win/lose money with golf

LIV Golf has just announced a new betting partnership with Simplebet.

Apparently, they’re looking for new ways in which people can feel part of the game, so they’re developing a micro-betting dynamic that integrates with real-time video.

This makes sense since no one is really watching LIV on the CW network.

Will this move draw more people into watching LIV?

Probably.

Will it matter since LIV’s chances of survival are slim?

Probably not. But it’s interesting none-the-less, and may point to LIV remaining in the picture for future seasons. Who knows.

Meme of the Day

😂😂

That’s it for today, golfers. We’re still working on our coverage for the 151st Open, so stay tuned for that!

Later gator,

E.