Georgie Bingham: the new POOR ME is lawsuit-tastic

Patrick Reed of the United States gestures to the crowd on the first tee during singles matches of the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Big money golf is pretty toxic right now - and no one can be surprised that some of the issues in the current game are ending up in litigation. Let’s put aside the big one - law suits that will see the PGA and DP World Tour go head to head with LIV golf over the future of the game - because these won’t happen until next year at the earliest.

Let’s talk about the petty sues… what I’d call the “have cake and eat it” lawsuits, brought by some LIV players against The PGA; poor little babies who chased the money then think they are completely entitled to just rock back in when it suits them at the lucrative end of season Fedex tournaments.

Then there’s the the POOR DP Tour players, Ian Poulter and co, who wanted more time with families and less time playing golf, taking advantage of an injunction that allows them to continue on the DP Tour while a decision is made about their futures, and they cry about how loyal they were to the European Tour throughout their careers. As you can see I am incredibly sympathetic to their incredibly difficult predicaments.

When your new employers are a bottomless money pit of an oil-rich country and love to throw their cash and weight about because they’re rarely told “no” then this is a whole different ballgame. Daddy Saudi putting his hand in his pocket to protect his poor aggrieved baby golfers took to new heights this week when Patrick Reed, a man seething over cheating allegations for the whole of his career so far it seems - launched his own suit to go after the boy who wedgied him in the playground.

Brandel Chamblee is the wedgie-giver and he and his mates at the Golf Channel are going to get a right telling off thanks to Reid, the Saudis and a change-of-side lawyer who a few months back was praising anyone who’d take on the Saudis… (I wouldn’t expect much more from a right wing lawyer who tried to bring lawsuits against President Obama for not being American enough and trying to have him deported, and even sued his mother. He seems nice.)

The lawsuit is extraordinary and straight out of the right-whinge conspiracy theory playbook, citing cahoots against him from EVERYONE in golf. (Chamblee meanwhile is here with us playing on the Legends Tour in Ireland the week and what timing he has indeed - he’s been able to go about his business in a peaceful manner at Rosapenna while the golfing world FROTHS at the mouth over this lawsuit.)

I wonder how this ends - it’s inevitable that the world of golf has changed, I cannot just wish it back to how it was - so what comes next is how the changes come and how much resistance the tours put up - whether they end up splitting the calendar, and whether LIV golf gets the nod as a format that allows players to be ranked and thus play the majors. (If reports on it’s financial incentive structure are true, it is at the moment exhibition golf at best but all that can change).

I accept all the above will happen and I hope the PGA Tour and DP Tour litigate successfully in these aspects but they have a huge task managing this scenario AND working out how to keep their loyal players happy while continuing to serve the other interests in the game (development, progression paths and seniors/champions tours). What I’d LIKE to see is a few judges clamping down on this running to Daddy Saudi at the drop of a hat… Litigating every grievance is tiresome at the least and let’s just say it, wholesale pathetic at most - and a ruling that explains to LIV players that once they choose to take the money and run to LIV, they lose their rights to both worlds would certainly help that.

Let’s be honest. Not many people tell the oil rich countries what to do - we trade with them, sell them weapons, kiss their behinds and buy their oil; our countries are in from government level down and the Saudis, the UAE, the Qataris, they do whatever they please.

One only has to look at the lengths the owners of Manchester City and PSG have gone to against UEFA’s FFP in football to know that they’re the strongest dog in the fight when it comes to litigation - they keep going until they get what they want.

One just has to hope that soon enough, the ‘poor-me’ syndrome stops when the penny drops that one type of cake is enough for anyone. Save that, maybe LIV’s owners will ask (or tell) it’s players that wanting back to their old tours isn’t very LIV-loyal and they’ll be forced to stop complaining.

Georgie Bingham, broadcaster and journalist, writes a bi-weekly column for The Cut Stuff. She’s golf obsessed. She’s ready to go behind the tour.

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