Please say it isn’t so!

US Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat, and Senator Ron Johnson, Republican, have sent a formal invitation to PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monaghan, Public Investment Fund (PIF) governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, and LIV CEO Greg Norman to testify in front of the US Senate on July, 11, 2023.

PLEASE SAY IT ISN’T SO! Well, it is so and there is nothing we can do about it…yet. At 12:09PM on June 21, 2023, Blumenthal sent this out on Twitter…

”Today I am officially inviting the PGA Tour Commissioner, LIV Golf CEO, & Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor to testify in front of my Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. We need to get to the bottom of the planned agreement between the PGA & Saudifunded LIV Golf”.

I tried to find out if Senators Blumenthal and Johnson even played golf, not that it matters, but I would probably feel a little more comfortable about the July 11th hearing knowing they did play and at least had a basic understanding, appreciation and respect for the game so the hearing doesn’t turn into a “political circus”. I just can’t get my head wrapped around a hearing where the US Senate, PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia are going to accomplish much of anything on July 11th except perhaps create even more “bad headlines” and confusion for all parties. By the way, the invited “parties” to the hearing are supposed to respond to the request by June 28…last Wednesday. The deadline for this article, which will appear in the July 5th issue of this publication, was the morning of June 28.

My first prediction - The PGA Tour and the PIF will ask for and receive an extension for the hearing to a later date. They may even ask for a private meeting before the public meeting.

Have you asked yourself “why” this is all happening “now”, with all of the problems our nation is facing both at home and around the world?

Blumenthal’s reason for the hearing is this, “Our goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of this cherished American institution and our national interest. American’s deserve to know what the structure and governance of this new entity will be”. Sounds pretty, but can you imagine what the US Senate will have to do to, “uncover the facts” about the deal…or..what the Saudi “takeover” means for the future of this cherished American institution. Come-on…it’s all a bunch of political BULL. Our Senate has at least “25” other priorities to deal with rather than the game of golf at this time. I believe Blumenthal’s requested hearing for July 11th is just a diversion to take away the current horrible media headlines about the current existing problems our nation and the world is facing. l From page 5

My second prediction - No major news will be discovered at the Senate hearing until the PGA Tour reaches some kind of an understanding with the Tour players about how the “new” arrangement with the Saudi’s will benefit them financially.

My third prediction - If the PGA Tour players are not satisfied with what the PGA Tour proposes, they “WILL FORM A UNION” !!!

My forth prediction- The PGA Tour will offer some type of financial reimbursement to the players (collectively or individually) who stayed to play on the PGA Tour rather than jump to the LIV Tour.

My fifth and final thought - The game of golf will thrive and survive with or without the Senate investigations into the contracts and financial records of the PGA Tour and…CNY will continue to be one of the best and strongest amateur golf areas in the US.

From the outset, the Rays set the surprising tempo, matching a modern MLB record with a 13-0 start. Despite some regression to the mean, Tampa Bay might have a club better than the two that won pennants in 2008 and 2020.

It will need to be. Baltimore’s 2022 progress wasn’t a fluke, and the Adley Rutschmann-led Orioles have outperformed the inconsistent Blue Jays and Red Sox, not to mention the injury-prone Yankees, who just aren’t the same without Aaron Judge and aren’t sure when he’ll return.

Texas took an even bigger leap, from irrelevant to unstoppable at the plate, and the Rangers get enough pitching even with Jacob deGrom shelved (again). Yet it has to worry about Houston roaring back to life and the Angels with a healthy Mike Trout and incomparable Shohei Ohtani, who might as well secure the MVP now.

What’s not as pretty is the lameduck A’s and rebuilding Royals careen toward 110 defeats or worse. Seattle hasn’t scored enough runs. Nor has Cleveland, who has seen Minnesota take the lead in an awful AL Central where the White Sox have disappointed and Detroit remains a few steps away from contending.

Over in the National League, it’s turned into a routine of sorts to report on the woes of the Mets and Padres, who combined to spend high nine figures for…teams below .500 stuck in fourth place.

But it’s better to celebrate what’s going on in Miami, where Luis Arraez has gone half a season hitting close to .400. Please, please let this continue. Doing anything for the first time in 82 years is beyond cool.

Plus there’s the rise of Arizona, close to irrelevant the last 15 years but thriving behind rookie sensation Corbin Carroll, along with San Francisco climbing back into the fray against all expectations.

With Milwaukee so-so and the Cubs taking small steps, it was a real rush to see Pittsburgh (!) lead the NL Central for a long while before reality hit hard in June, only to have Cincinnati win 12 in a row and emerge as the most delightful team in baseball with a breathtaking newcomer in Elly de la Cruz – he can do everything.

Of course, some things haven’t changed. Washington remains stripped and overwhelmed, its youth movement a couple of years from really taking hold. Atlanta remains the NL’s consistent team to beat, Philadelphia starts slow and picks up steam in summer and Colorado – well, the Angels scored 23 runs on them in four innings, so you can see how that’s going.

Maybe this is all a three-month mirage that dissipates in the July and August heat, leaving us with the all-too-familiar sides climbing back to the top and the dreamers left to dream for 2024.

Or it doesn’t happen and, come late October, we’re seeing something like Cincinnai and Baltimore battling to win it all, two great baseball cities brought back to life half a century after the Oriole Way and the Big Red Machine.

Two possible paths, Robert Froststyle, and like the poet, we just might find what we want on the road less traveled.

Phil Blackwell is sports editor at Eagle News. He can be reached at pblackwell@ eaglenewsonline.com.