Sports International PGA Tour: Revamp backed by Rory McIlroy, but mocked by LIV Golf

A shake-up of the PGA Tour will see eight of its leading events outside of the majors have smaller, limited fields and no longer feature 36-hole cuts.

Known as designated events, these have bigger purses as the PGA Tour aims to stop players defecting to LIV Golf.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says the revamp will “deliver substantial, can’t-miss tournaments for the fans”.

Rory McIlroy said he “loves” the move, but it has drawn derision from the breakaway LIV series and its players.

Financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to tune of $2bn (£1.65bn), the LIV series features 48-player fields split into 12 teams and has no cuts.

“Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Congratulations PGA Tour. Welcome to the future,” LIV tweeted.

The four majors - the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship - and the Players Championship will remain with a full field of up to 156 players and have cuts at the halfway stage after two rounds.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES?

The PGA Tour had already introduced 12 designated events for the 2023 season, worth an average of $20m (£16.5m) and aimed to keep their biggest stars happy.

But more radical changes - to be implemented from 2024 - were announced on Wednesday.

While the full details of the designated events has yet to be worked through - and which eight will fall into this category - the PGA Tour confirmed they will have between 70 and 78 players.

The field will include the top 50 players from the previous year’s FedEx Cup standings and the top 10 players from the latest points list.

Five players will also be able to qualify through non-designated events.

The top players will not have to compete in a mandatory number of tournaments, with the PGA Tour aiming to provide more flexibility.

“The focus will be on purse size, elimination of a cut, and FedEx Cup points distribution sufficiently incentivising top performers to participate,” said the PGA Tour.

HOW HAVE PLAYERS REACTED?

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, ranked third in the world, says the changes will make the PGA Tour “more competitive”.

“I’m all about rewarding good play,” said the four-time major champion.

“It’s trying to get the top guys versus the hot guys, right? I think that creates a really compelling product.”

American world number two Scottie Scheffler recently won the Phoenix Open - one of this year’s designated events - and insists the new format will not lead to a closed shop.

“You got to earn your way still out here on tour,” added reigning Masters champion Scheffler.

“There’s plenty of avenues for guys to earn their way into those tournaments, whether it’s this year or next year.”

The arrival of the LIV series has changed the landscape of professional golf and led to what many have described as a ‘civil war’ in the sport.

Last year, the PGA Tour banned its members who played in a LIV competition with the DP World Tour - formerly known as the European Tour - following suit.

Thirteen LIV players appealed against the punishments imposed by the DP World Tour in a weeklong hearing at the start of last month, with English Ryder Cup veterans Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood among them.

Poulter said the changes in the PGA Tour’s shake-up sounded “very similar to another product that’s been spoken so badly about by media and commentators”.

Westwood believes the new plans contradict many of the concerns which the PGA Tour has outlined since LIV’s emergence.

“I’ve spent the last year reading how good full fields and cuts are!” tweeted the former world number one.

The decision to remove the cut from more events is “one of the worst things to happen to the game in the last 12 months”, said English player Eddie Pepperell, 32.

“Missing cuts is essential for growth as a professional golfer,” he wrote on Twitter.

“You’d be surprised how much it means to make a cut when your back’s up against the wall and you’re struggling. It’s a mini win and it breeds great things.” (BBC)

Fifa’s appointment of supermodel as fan ambassador in Women’s World Cup year criticised

Fifa’s appointment of supermodel Adriana Lima as its first global fan ambassador five months before the Women’s World Cup is “tone deaf”, says former Fifa council member Moya Dodd.

Brazilian Lima will “develop, promote and participate in global initiatives” before the World Cup, which starts on 20 July in Australia and New Zealand.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said Lima “lives and breathes ‘futebol’”.

“When a girl plays football, the world sees her differently,” Dodd said.

“Instead of being complimented on her nice looks or her pretty dress, she is valued for her gamesaving tackles and brilliant goalscoring.

“She’s admired for what she can do, rather than how she looks, putting her on a more equal footing with her brothers in a way that can alter the whole trajectory of her life’s ambitions.

“In a Fifa World Cup year, that’s the message that should be ringing loud and true around the world. Where a supermodel fits into this is truly baffling.”

Dodd, a former Australia international who served on the committee for Australia and New Zealand’s successful bid to cohost the World Cup, said Lima’s public image was an “odd fit for an organisation that says it wants to empower girls and women”.

“I asked whether the Fifa ambassador will be delivering messages on body image, wellbeing and healthy eating,” Dodd added in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday.

“What will this ambassador represent to the large and growing population of aspirational #womensfootball players and fans who love the game because (it) shows us what empowerment and equality can look like?”

Dodd, a member of the Fifa Council from 2013 to 2016, also referred to comments Lima made in a 2006 interview with GQ magazine in which she said abortion was “a crime”.

Lima’s publicist Laurent Boye said the model’s stance had changed: “We can proudly say that Ms Lima has been promoting a healthy lifestyle for several years and like many people, her position on many LGBTQIA+ and women issues has evolved and she is considered an ally.”

In the statement announcing Lima’s appointment, Infantino said: “When you get to meet Adriana, you feel right away her warmth, kindness, and how approachable and passionate she is about our game.

“She lives and breathes ‘futebol’ and that is also why she can be an excellent link between Fifa and fans worldwide.” (BBC)