From the audacious to the hilarious, the best bits of the New Yorker’s LIV Golf expose

Just when we thought LIV Golf couldn’t do anything more outrageous, the breakaway series has taken audacity to a whole new level by promising to create their own majors should the league’s rebels be banned from the sport’s four biggest tournaments.

But that pledge by LIV’s Saudi Arabia backers was just one of several wild revelations from the New Yorker expose, so we’ve picked out the best bits.

From the audacious to the frankly hilarious, here are the seven other juicy reveals from the bombshell which has rocked golf…

The Augusta meet and greet

If plans to create their own majors aren’t audacious enough, wait until you get a load of this first bombshell. According to author Zach Helfand, LIV’s money men had early ambitions of hosting a “meet and greet” at one of golf’s most iconic venues…

At the Masters one year, according to a person familiar with the conversations, they asked about renting Augusta National’s clubhouse to host a meet and greet for top golfers. ‘You can’t just do that,’ the person said.

Sorry, no cheese and wine at Magnolia Lane.

Phil’s (near) fatal blow

From the presumptuous to the torpedo which nearly ended it all. Now it’s safe to say Phil Mickelson’s “scary motherf***ers” comments made a lot of noise back in February – and have subsequently continued to do so – but it turns out Lefty’s claims were so damning they nearly put a fatal end to LIV altogether…

The first 10 had signed before LIV had announced its launch. Another group had been ready to sign. Then Mickelson made his comments about the ‘scary motherf***ers’, and the league, suddenly, was on the brink of folding. Sorour told me, “I called the boss … I said, ‘Everyone’s walking away. Do you want to do it, or not?’” Sorour … had a plan: “Get the biggest mediocres, get the 10 that we have, get you and I, and let’s go play for 25 million dollars [in prize money].

Now where would us golf writers be if that had happened.

Rory’s flex

Was Rory McIlroy ever tempted by an inevitably huge offer which came calling from Greg Norman? Well, having proved influential within the infamous PGA Tour players’ meeting in August, it seems we now have another reason why the four-time major champion has remained loyal to Jay Monahan’s circuit…

When I talked to McIlroy after the meeting, I asked him if it had been difficult to spurn the potential for hundreds of millions from LIV. (Before LIV, he’d also declined to play in Saudi tournaments, citing moral objections.) ‘I’m gonna make a s*** ton of money here, that’s the thing!’ he said.

And he wasn’t wrong.

The spending spree’s expiry date

With millions being pumped into the Saudi’s golf venture with no sign of any profit being made, will the spending spree ever dry up? It looks like we now have an answer, alongside quite the vision…

Sorour said the PIF had funding for LIV through 2025. By then, he imagined, they would begin to cash out by selling off ownership in their 12 teams. The franchise model is how LIV plans to recoup its investment. Sorour envisions owners building home golf courses, like a stadium for a football team.

Stadium golf? Sounds oddly familiar.

Blame it on the wife

Continuing his reign as golf’s funniest player, the New Yorker revealed this hilarious anecdote as to why Max Homa turned down the breakaway league…

Max Homa, a firm Tour loyalist, said that his strategy was to avoid temptation entirely. “I got an e-mail,” he told me. He didn’t read it. “I don’t want to know. My wife told me if I got offered X she’d kill me if I said no.”

Never change, Max.

LIV TV

As Norman’s quest for a crucial broadcast deal continues, it turns out the Saudis have envisioned another idea for getting their much-maligned league on the big screen…

Sorour told me, “If it was up to me, I’d make it in-house.” He seemed to envision a LIV channel, like the NFL Network. According to a LIV spokesperson, Jared Kushner, whose private-equity firm received $2 billion from the PIF, has spoken with a broadcaster about LIV.

LIV Golf and chill, anyone?

And finally, Tiger’s actual offer

After rumour upon rumour, and a shameless claim from Norman, it seems we’ve now got to the bottom of how much money Tiger Woods was really offered to join LIV Golf…

Sorour said, “It’s not straight-out money. I never offered him that money, not even close to that.” There have been conflicting reports about the valuations that LIV puts on its teams, which consist of four players: a hundred million, half a billion, a billion.

Maybe Tiger didn’t read the email, either.

• NOW READ: ‘Ban LIV players from the majors? We’ll just make our own!’
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