By Rahul Banerji
It is more than straws in the gale created by LIV Golf. A coming together next of the women’s professional game and the cash-rich new tour in the making.
Separately, LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan and the face of LIV Golf, Greg Norman, have touched on the possibility of the two organisations coming together at some point.
“One hundred percent. Drop the mic on that,” Norman told a local newspaper in Palm Beach about a women’s LIV league.
“We have discussed it internally, the opportunity is there. We’ve actually had one of the most iconic female golfers sitting in this room having a conversation with her.
“She absolutely loves the whole concept and is behind the whole concept.” Norman added at LIV’s West Palm Beach offices.
For her part, the LPGA head confirmed to The Times of London she was open to talks with LIV Goof and Norman.
“It’s my responsibility to evaluate every opportunity,” Marcoux Samaan was quoted from the Amudi Evian Championship in France as saying in The Times.
“I would engage in a conversation if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf, but there needs to be input from players and sponsors.
Inputs vital
“There’s a lot of factors to consider before we do business with LIV Golf.
“Working together is always better than a fractured organisation.”
The PGA Tour and DP World (European) Tour have reacted strongly to LIV Golf and its initiatives, imposing suspensions and fines on those signing up with the Saudi Arabia-backed league.
Court challenges have gone against the two organisations so far and the PGA Tour is under investigation for restrictive trade practices in the US.
Public opinion too remains widely divided and mostly on the side of the traditional tours even though the European golf establishment has fairly heavy Saudi sponsorship.
The Ladies European Tour has six tournaments supported by the state-run Saudi oil company totalling some $6 million in the form of the Aramco Team Series, one of which was won last year by a team that included Diksha Dagar.
The series has seen participation from the likes of Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda besides other top LPGA stars.
And in another coup, this time related to the media, LIV Golf pulled in renowned golf commentator David Feherty to join its ranks from the upcoming New Jersey event later this week.
Before coming into television where he is an international star, Feherty was a professional golfer of some note with a Ryder Cup appearance and captaincy of the winning 1990 Alfred Dunhill Cup team.
Also read: Stenson, two others complete LIV Bedminster Invitational field
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