You knew something was different when police accompanied the golfers on the LIV Tour at Trump National Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey. You knew something was odd when legal wagering was not available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, like it was for the more traditional PGA Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
The problem was the source of the money to put the tourney on: it came from the Saudi Royal Family. Given the locale of Bedminster, just 30 miles from where the World Trade Towers fell, there were more than enough people opposed to this golf outing.
As to the field of participants for the LIV event, 11 owned a total of 21 majors during their careers, including Phil Mickelson. The Rocket Mortgage Classic also had 11 major winners, but few with name recognition like Mickelson or Brooks Koepka, who have both won more majors than anyone who was in the Rocket Mortgage Classic field.
Rocket Mortgage Classic betting was universally permitted in U.S. states that offer legal sports betting. DraftKings offered bettors a chance to wager on the LIV in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Illinois, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, and Ontario.
American Tony Finau won the PGA event and a cool $1.5 million. Henrik Stenson of Sweden won the LIV event and took home a $4 million paycheck in the process, according to NJ Online Gambling.
Mickelson played in a group with Stenson and Louis Oosthuizen, each of whom have been named “Champion Golfer of the Year” for winning a British Open.
All 48 players at the Bedminster course on Sunday collected at least $120,000; at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, only 19 of the 156 players earned that much.
Reports say that Mickelson, Koepka, and Dustin Johnson have all agreed to jump ship for guaranteed checks of $100 million or more. And at least a dozen of the 48 LIV players are said to have been guaranteed millions of their own.
It’s fair to ask whether the LIV top players are putting out the effort with the guarantees for mere attendance. About half of the Rocket Mortgage field missed the 36-hole cut and went home with zero prize money. LIV golfers played only 54 holes, and there was no cut. The guaranteed money may spoil the level of competitiveness for many players.
Money aside, LIV golf lacks cameras covering almost all of the course, creating an integrity red flag.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement told NJ Online Gambling, “Pursuant to our regulations, DGE has neither approved nor denied wagering on LIV Golf, as DGE has not received the required information to fully consider.”
As LIV Tour czar Greg Norman said in the New York Post, the PGA Tour’s decision not to bring a tournament to the greater New York City area this year is “insane.”
“We wanted to make sure that we brought our product to this market, and New York City is obviously the home of the CEOs and the institutional money,” Norman said. “So, it was logical that we get here sooner than later.”
Most of the 16 threesomes drew a handful of spectators in the galleries. Each group, meanwhile, was accompanied by one or two law enforcement escorts in the event of a protest on the course.
