The Rush: Palace intrigue, public grievances fuel the Open Championship
The 150th Open Championship is underway at St. Andrews, following a week of drama that included Tiger Woods taking aim at the LIV Golf tour, a past champion being uninvited to Open Championship festivities and sponsors continuing to drop active players from lucrative brand partnerships. Plus, Tiger Woods had a “get off my lawn” moment, unloading on the way LIV Golf is changing the game.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JARED QUAY: You know it's a good day when you get to see Tiger Woods playing at St. Andrew's and the 150th Open Championship.
- An old Scottish custom.
JARED QUAY: He ain't kidding. Golf has been played on the old course at St. Andrew's since the 1400s.
- Many Scottish prisoners were flogged here.
JARED QUAY: I kind of doubt that, but there's no doubt that the lead up to this year's British Open has been painful for some of the golfers who ditched the PGA Tour to join the competing LIV Tour.
TIGER WOODS: These players are doing for guaranteed money. What is the incentive to practice?
JARED QUAY: Tiger said it. So you know what time it is.
- We're talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We're talking about practice.
JARED QUAY: There is no incentive to practice, Tiger. That's kind of the point, right? More money for less work. But for Tiger, it's about more than just money.
TIGER WOODS: Playing 54 holes, they're trying to-- playing blaring music and have all these atmospheres that are different.
JARED QUAY: Oh, so LIV is trying to make golf turn it up for the kids, right?
- Stop trying to make fetch happen.
JARED QUAY: This rift between the golf would have really stooped to "Mean Girls" petty though. If you take out your magnifying glass and look at the picture of the past British Open champions, you won't see two-time open champion and current CEO of the LIV Tour Greg Norman.
The royal and ancient golf club uninvited Norman over his role with the Saudi Arabia backed tour. And fellow LIV golfer Phil Mickelson apparently opted to self-deport from any British Open festivities.
- If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
JARED QUAY: Past champs weren't the only ones feeling the heat as Bryson DeChambeau was dropped by his sponsor Bridgestone Tires because he joined the LIV. DeChambeau, Mickelson, and Lee Westwood who have all lost lucrative sponsorship deals since joining the LIV.
But the Tiger's point about guaranteed money, do sponsorships really matter to these guys anymore? When you're getting $125 million just to show up to tour like Bryson DeChambeau, the answer is no. But you want to know who is willing to put in the work and practice every day? Me, Jared Quay, host of "The Rush."
Our show is happy to pick up any sponsor's sloppy seconds to any golfer who is dropped, all right? Look, I don't care who it is. In fact, if the LIV want a sponsor, you can too, OK. I'll do it for like $122 million, not $125. Actually, I do it for $100 million. I honestly, if we're being really honest, I'll read anything you put on the teleprompter. You give me $7 million.
