Thread by @NathanCHubbard

1) Some long and loose ⛳️ thoughts on the big @PGATOUR news today from someone *insanely highly invested* in a family member who has been both inside and outside the Top 50 line and will be fighting every week for position:

2)The *methods* LIV took to exploit the vulnerability in the @PGATOUR are worth all the criticism, but the *insight* behind it was completely valid: the best players are not being paid enough for the value they bring to the sport.

3)The ONLY way to solve the problem is by 1) growing the pie and 2) redistributing it. The Tour was struggling to grow the pie because the best players weren’t all playing at the same time. It’s not far off from what we’ve seen w/load management in @NBA (who should pay attention)

4) These new events will deliver the best players playing together. Mission accomplished. What about paying them more?

5) Redistribution is complicated, because it rests on this question: who is a star? In some cases that’s easy (Tiger, Rory, Jordan, Rahm, etc) but in others it’s not (Chris Kirk and Keith Mitchell have been two of the best golfers this year, period. Do you care?)

6) LIV decided to exploit the weakness in the @PGATOUR by eliminating the meritocracy and going all in on “star power”. But the 💩 ratings indicate that fans actually like the competition and intrigue (and LIV signed mostly washed guys instead of next gen stars)

7) So to redistribute wealth while maintaining the integrity of competition, the @PGATOUR introduced these 8 elevated events, with no cut, that bring stars out guaranteed on the weekend - better for sponsors, more money for the pot. But how to keep integrity?

8) That’s the big difference. Tour models indicate 40% of guys who make the 8 elevated, top 70 guy events will churn out each year. They’ve created on ramps for people who aren’t guaranteed to get in. Like the US Open. The Open. Etc. Cannot over state how different this is!

9) This is the bottom ~40% of last week’s LIV golf event. The big difference between what got announced today by @PGATOUR and this: everyone on this list would be in danger of eventual relegation. It is a meritocracy versus a retirement plan. Look at the names!

10) I’m not sure much changes for my brother if he’s *not* top 50. Purses in other events are the same, good play (including wins) gets him into better events just like today. His paycheck (which increases exponentially based on finishing position) is bigger if Rahm gone.

11) It is probably the case that one or two good weeks without a win doesn’t change the trajectory of his career. But sustained excellence will be rewarded. Wouldn’t we rather have Justin Jefferson than Kenny Golladay anyway?

12) We complain that @PGATOUR doesn’t do a good job of highlighting the incredibly cool stories of the fighters - where’s the cut cam? Give me more @Joel_Dahmen ! We just got the equivalent of a bunch of conference championship tourneys and play in games to get to the Dance.

13) A lot of the “wait, but the cut is cool” golf media are hurt (me included) that we defended this element of the @PGATOUR for a year and they dropped it. We don’t represent the general populace. The majors and majority of @PGATOUR events STILL HAVE CUTS.

14) This is a data based decision. You ignored the LIV bots telling you that Pat Perez is a top 20 golfer before, so ignore them telling you the tour has become LIV. It’s acted intelligently on the insight LIV understood but fumbled.

15) If next year sucks and the absence of the cut makes stuff boring, the Tour has shown they’ll adapt. Fans are by definition first! They drive sponsors, which drive the money. Period. LIV is failing because they didn’t translate their first mover advantage to winning the fans.

16) @maxhoma23 is no bullshit. He stood up there today, having been in the rooms where it happens, and told you: these changes have been made because they’ve had the luxury to step back and understand how to reach the biggest audience. This is it.

17) Max still lives with the fear of being 51 or 71 or 1001 (okay maybe not 1001) but he has the #perspective of the guys like my brother. He’s in many ways the fan that the rest of us are - it’s the only thing that explains his blind loyalty to Tiger, the Tour, his tears at Riv!

18) So I trust his advocacy. My brother and his team have been talking all season about how Top 70 was the goal. Okay, it’s Top 50 now. That’s basically determined by how you play in Memphis at the first playoff event. Nothing changes, no surprises. Still tryna win every week 🏆