01x03 - Money or Legacy

[bunniefuu]

Officials in Saudi Arabia

are trying to create a new golf league

to rival the PGA TOUR.

Two-time major winner,

Greg Norman,

who is CEO of the Saudi league,

says the new league will not be stopped.

The Saudi golf league

has eight events planned this year.

No one knows what this means

for the future of golf.

It's not really like anything

that we've seen in sports before.

They want to offer guaranteed millions

of dollars to the tour's biggest players.

LIV has offers out to some

of the top names in the sport.

I've heard rumors

of 200 million dollars for Phil Mickelson,

150 million dollars for Dustin Johnson,

700 million for Tiger Woods.

It's astronomical money

that they're throwing at people,

and everything's got a price, I guess.

This venture has been criticized

as an attempt by the Saudi government

to sportswash its controversial

Human Rights Campaign.

Political or not,

by stepping on the first tee

at the Centurion in the South of England,

the players are choosing to work

directly with Saudi Arabia.

It's going to shape the future

of professional golf one way or another.

They want the major winners there,

but they also want guys who have

name recognition around the world,

which is why Ian Poulter is of interest.

He's got the big personality,

the Ryder Cup history.

He's loud. He's flamboyant.

He wears the colorful trousers.

He's like, this is who I am,

take it or leave it.

Supposedly, LIV has a 40-million-dollar

offer out to Ian Poulter.

There is a lot of moving parts

to this Poulter journey.

I don't know how it's going to play out.

It's going to be exciting to see.

And this week, of course,

it is the Players Championship.

Nine former FedExCup champions,

nine winners of the Players Championship.

So this is a very big week

for everyone on hand at TPC Sawgrass.

- You're my favorite golfer.

- Oh, thank you.

Come watch me tomorrow.

I need some of that luck.

It's one of the deepest fields in golf.

I have a good game plan,

I know this golf course,

and the weather doesn't look great.

We're gonna take what we can get

from that and see what we do.

- I haven't got a sweet tooth.

- Give that a go.

My name is Ian Poulter.

My profession is a wannabe golfer.

I had the ability to gain

my PGA TOUR card in 2004.

It gave me the best opportunity

to play against the best players,

which has been my path

for the last 19 years.

For someone like Ian Poulter,

who's now well into his 40s,

just keeping his PGA TOUR card

year after year,

that's a really impressive accomplishment.

Having a global schedule

on the PGA TOUR and European tour,

becoming top-five player in the world,

playing Ryder Cups.

It's been an amazing journey, really.

Do you love playing

in the Ryder Cup?

Do bears sh*t in the woods?

Oh dear.

"Do you love playing the Ryder Cup?"

Oh my God. Is the pope Catholic?

The Ryder Cup is one of

the coolest competitions

that we have in golf.

It happens every two years.

It is Team USA vs. Team Europe.

They're gonna battle it out.

This is the thing that every single player

wants to earn a spot on.

A low driving one.

Oh.

Playing in the Ryder Cup

has been something that I've cherished.

I feel pretty fortunate that my golf

has been good enough to make Ryder Cups.

I don't think anybody gets

more intensity in the eyes

in this competition

than that man right there.

I've been on the opposite side

of Ryder Cup teams against him.

Poults is definitely a character

in the golf space.

He's someone that isn't scared

to kinda push the envelope a little bit.

Poulter is a prince for Europe.

Can you believe it?

He creates this combative relationship

where it's me against them.

He wants it.

Oh my goodness, Poults.

I've never lost in singles

in the Ryder Cup.

So I've inflicted a lot of pain

on the Americans that watch Ryder Cup.

So, yeah, I've been

that pain-in-the-a*s guy.

- sh*t.

- You all right?

Did they get that?

No!

That will make TV.

Oh, f*ck', oh

Thirty-one eighty-five.

- You have 591,000 followers on Instagram.

- What?

- I looked at it.

- How do you know that?

I saw it yesterday.

I happened to see it yesterday.

I don't have Twitter, so I dunno.

- Must have a couple mil on Twitter.

- Who has the most followers?

- Tiger, Rory

- Tiger's got four and a half. Rory's 2.2.

Tiger, Rory, Bubba, myself

Listen, I just go on Instagram.

Rickie JT

Rickie's got 1.6 or 1.7.

He never posts. No. Never posts.

- Ricky?

- Never posts.

He doesn't have to.

He's gotten 15 commercials.

- Beauty there.

- Attaboy, Ian.

The tour, up until this year,

where the players get the opportunity

to play for the most money

against the best players,

has been the PGA TOUR.

Now there's a threat in the game of golf.

Legendary golfer Phil Mickelson

is apologizing for expl*sive comments

that he made about Saudi Arabia

and a proposed golf league

that would rival the PGA TOUR.

Mickelson told an author and golf writer,

"We know they have

a horrible human rights record.

Why would I even consider it?

Because it's a

once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

to reshape how the PGA TOUR operates."

Phil Mickelson says

the comments were reckless

but claims they were off the record

and not meant to be shared publicly.

The LIV Golf tour, headed by Greg Norman,

is an existential threat to the PGA TOUR.

Greg Norman was the best men's

professional golfer

in the world in the 1990s.

He then joined on with LIV Golf

as its commissioner,

as the face of the brand.

To me,

they're two very different things.

The PGA TOUR is the pinnacle

of professional golf.

A lot of history and tradition.

Seventy-two holes.

Um, typically fields are

anywhere from 128 to 156 guys.

LIV is 54 holes, no cuts,

team aspect, very limited field.

And there's some fun

and different aspects to that.

So it's definitely shaken up the game

of golf at the professional level.

And me. Yeah, okay, good.

I wanted to take a moment

to address all of the news,

discourse, and conjecture lately

about the world of professional golf.

The PGA TOUR is moving on.

We have too much momentum

and too much to accomplish

to be continuously distracted

by rumors of other golf leagues

and their attempts to disrupt our players,

our partners,

and most importantly,

our fans from enjoying the tour

and the game we all love so much.

We are, and we always will be,

focused on legacy, not leverage.

There were

definitely lots of rumors swirling

that if you do take an offer

and play for LIV that you'll be suspended

and banned from the PGA TOUR.

We just don't know how it would compromise

any possibility of playing

or captaining our Ryder Cups.

All that chatter

is creating this murky world

and this divide on the PGA TOUR of guys

that are actually thinking about leaving.

It's a difficult decision

and a decision with so many uncertainties.

Lots of drama already

this season,

but if the weather cooperates,

we do have some golf to play

here in Florida.

We have resumed after the weather delay.

The players must be chomping

at the bit to get back on the golf course.

This guy's f*cking

I mean, seriously, come on. Come on.

Come on. Come on.

When does sun set, at like 40?

They said 30.

These players want to finish

before the PGA TOUR rules officials

sound the horn for darkness.

Ian Poulter on the tee.

- Let's go, Poult!

- Yeah!

Line is good.

And the shot is good. Beautifully done.

Well, look at this.

All right, here's another guy

that wants to get up there,

try to putt out and get over to 18.

Tell you what, for a guy 46 years

of age, I'm impressed here. Look at this.

Babe, I need to go on a diet.

I'm not even joking.

You already did for about a month,

but then you quit.

It's like Nellie the Elephant.

I don't think I've matured much

in 15 years.

I'm still like a 12-year-old kid

between these ears.

How does daddy dress on the golf course?

Be nice.

Funky, I guess you could say.

- Funky?

- Yeah.

Well, he's always been

a sharp-dressed man.

I'm sorry, folks.

Those shoes disturb me.

It would work as wallpaper

in a hallway bathroom.

I've always loved following

the personalities in golf.

Payne Stewart, you know,

when he wore all the plus-four pants,

Um different color outfits

every time he played.

He had a new pair of shoes on

every time he played.

It was all more about, for me,

I didn't just want to be a golfer,

I wanted to be my own personality.

Somewhere in a Motel 6,

the drapes are missing.

That seems standard for Ian.

Yes, I've worn

some real rascal outfits through time.

- Is this just embarrass Dad time?

- Yes.

Hang on. The hairstyles are the best.

I love that one.

I don't know how your mom

didn't divorce me on that one.

- That one's better.

- I came close.

Oh, is it a lovely shot. Shot, Josh!

We have lived here in America,

full time, for 15 years.

Katie and I have brought

four great kids into the world.

Over the 20-plus years, I've been away

for over 50% of their growth,

and missing birthdays and, you know,

walking, talking, first steps.

It's hard sometimes when you

sit back and you've missed all of that.

But yet, you've hopefully secured them

a nice path moving forward.

Dickie bird tells me

they're going to cut your hair tonight.

- Who said that?

- Don't know.

Saw a rumor running around

they're gonna chop your hair off.

If someone can find a barber,

I'll get a haircut.

Luke is our 18-year-old.

His dream is to become

a successful golfer,

and I see massive potential

in what he's got.

I know, but you can hit it,

right, and use some of these ridges,

because the green is going to be soft

and you can just spin it.

He knows it already.

He gives me lots of tips.

I don't always listen to him,

but I try to.

Having someone like Luke

that I see growing into the person he is,

it makes me still hungry to keep playing

as much as I can.

2022, for me,

has been this very average season,

which I'm hoping

to get it back on track pretty soon.

Getting back into the top 50 is something

which gives you opportunity

to play in the majors,

and working hard to break back in

is just not a very easy thing to do.

I need a good week too,

or I'm not gonna be in the Masters.

So Luke is not going to be a happy boy

if I don't play well next week,

because he wants to go to Augusta.

As the PGA TOUR

swings into the heart of Texas,

the capital city of Austin welcomes

many of the top players in the world.

And they will compete this week in

the sometimes volatile,

often unpredictable,

and always thrilling format of match play.

The PGA TOUR's Match Play event

in Austin has a unique format.

It's structured like the World Cup.

There are groups of four,

and if you advance out of your group,

it's mano a mano

all the way to the championship.

You just have to beat your group

and get out of that,

and then beat everyone else.

And that's all you can focus on.

If you just keep that mindset

of being aggressive

and just fighting for every shot,

you should probably do fine in match play.

It's kinda funny that Poulter is

the "lowest ranked" player in the group,

and he's got good match play record,

so it'll be a good challenge and fun week.

Morning, guys. How you doing?

How's the back, big dude?

- Not good. I just WD'ed.

- You're joking. What happened?

Old age.

- I feel ya. I feel

- How's your back?

Should be way worse than mine.

I'm gonna need to play well

to make the Masters.

It does lump a load of pressure on,

but I've been in this position before.

I have my destiny in my own hands.

A match

that all of England has its eyes on.

Matt Fitzpatrick against Ian Poulter.

Ian Poulter has already lost

his opening match to Scottie Scheffler,

which means

he has to beat Matthew Fitzpatrick,

not only for his tournament chances,

but also to have any hope

of qualifying for the Masters.

I was a fan

of Poulter when I was younger.

He played a practice round

with me when I was

an amateur at Millfield in 2013,

so that was enjoyable for me.

He's one of the players

that a lot of English players look up to.

Fitzpatrick won

his match yesterday.

Looking to go 2 & 0

in the first two days.

Big match for him.

You know he wants to beat Poulter.

Fitz is a stat geek.

He's tracked every single shot

he's hit since the age of 15.

That is insanely impressive.

Matt Fitzpatrick to win the hole on four.

Oh, he knew it.

He's two up on Ian Poulter.

He looks like

a walking gender-reveal party

with the powder blue and pink.

- Fore!

- Right!

Fore!

- Careful, it's slipperiest here.

- Is that a trap down there?

I mean, seriously, how many f

I mean, it's half plugged itself.

Unbelievable.

Tough to count Poulter out.

Just a consummate professional,

hates losing in match play.

Ooh!

Poulter, he's not out of it yet.

This is one of the guys that can

really catch fire in match plays,

as we've all seen

over years and years at the Ryder Cup.

Ian Poulter looking for

his first birdie of the day.

He's three down.

Gotta turn something around,

or he could be eliminated today.

Big putt here.

He needs this to win the hole.

Oh!

Very solid for Fitzpatrick.

Fitz is four up with five to go.

Gift. Gift.

How many more f*cking gifts

can you give

in a round of golf?

It's gotta be a little chip 4-iron.

- To get the run-up, know what I'm saying?

- Yeah, I agree.

Go on, chase.

You dirty, rotten pig.

Fitzpatrick

has an eagle putt,

so Poulter needs to make

something happen quickly.

Oh!

And that's it. Ian Poulter

will lose his match to Matt Fitzpatrick.

- Cheers, Poults. Thank you, cheers.

- Next time.

That'll be an irritating loss for Poulter.

He almost broke my hand there.

Yeah, I played solid today, on the whole.

Managed to get it done, fortunately.

f*ck!

Just disappointing to have

that opportunity slide by.

You want to make the Masters

more than anything else.

And it's it's tough. It's really tough

when you don't make it,

'cause you want to be there. It's brutal.

I watched Poults, obviously,

do his thing at Medinah in 2012.

You know, you say to me ten years ago,

"Oh, in ten years' time, you'll be playing

against him, and you'll beat him."

I'll be like

I just wouldn't believe you, to be honest.

There does come a point

in every person's career

where they start thinking,

"Can I keep up with

all these young guys coming through?"

I'm a winner. I want to deliver.

I don't just want to play golf.

I want to be able to make a difference

when I play golf, which I believe I can.

I still feel my game's plenty good enough

to be well inside the top 50.

f*cking hell, man.

We are heading home.

England, home.

This is always my chair when I fly.

You know, I was expecting to go

and have a good week, and I didn't.

Pretty much the story of the season.

And it's not great. It's not good enough.

I need to perform better

even though I'm getting old and gray.

Grayer.

Hang on.

You need to set up a cup.

You need a little cup to putt into.

This is the 41,000-foot putt challenge.

- Go.

- Oh!

- Go in!

- Oh, so close!

Go. Go.

Go!

Oh

Nice drive, very nice drive!

No, I'm one and done.

I'm out, done, no more.

Ee!

Hey!

- Finally!

- Now we touch down.

Thank you so much. That was amazing.

It's freezing out here.

It's beautiful weather!

- No, it's not!

- How good is that? Ah!

- It's not what you're used to?

- It is nothing like it.

You got to square

your shoulders more.

Bit more, square your shoulders.

Turn them in more. That's it.

Right, now you're good.

Oh, that's going to be over.

Growing up at Stevenage,

we as a family never had luxury items.

There were nights on a Friday night

where my dad would play on a Saturday,

and we went to sleep in the car

because it was all about being

the first one in the queue

to get your tee time.

And I remember a number of times

following my dad and all of his mates

play golf on this municipal golf course,

and he gave me the want to succeed

at a very early age.

Luke drove the car. He drove nicely.

It's your turn next.

My whole life is

about trying to work hard and provide.

- No crashing.

- Until I crash some

No crashing, and leave the curbs alone.

I'm sure LIV

have offers out there to numerous people.

The fact of there being guaranteed money

at play is obviously an attraction.

People ask all the time,

"Don't you have enough already?"

But that's all relative.

I treat my golf as a job,

and I want to, obviously, maximize

every bit of my potential

over the coming years.

And, I mean, I'm 46 years old.

I'm not getting any younger.

There's so many deciding factors

in all of this. I love the Ryder Cup,

and if one day I get the opportunity to be

Ryder Cup captain, I would love it.

If you do play for LIV,

would it be a factor in not being able

to be a captain down the road?

It would be devastating

if it was taken away.

That would be really disappointing.

Golf, now, is bit crazy at the minute,

so time will tell on that part,

but he's doing what's best for our family.

So I'm here for whatever he wants to do.

First LIV event has become

a big talking point in all sport

in general.

Huge controversy swirling around

golfer Greg Norman,

who is defending the creation

of this Saudi golf league

and brushing off the role of the country

and the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman,

allegedly played in the m*rder

of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

When Greg Norman was asked about

Jamal Khashoggi's m*rder, he replied,

"Look, we've all made mistakes, and you

just want to learn from those mistakes

and how you can correct them."

Well, I don't know about you, John,

but I've never made the mistake

of ordering the brutal m*rder

and dismemberment of a journalist.

I don't think you've made that mistake.

Brianna? No.

The view of the Washington Post,

what we're seeing is,

"A government trying to use golf

to cleanse its global reputation."

Or Amnesty International says,

"It's yet one more event in a series

of sportswashing exercises

that the Saudi authorities are using

to clean its blood-soaked image."

I'm not sure

any of these guys fully understand

the ramifications

of what they're signing up for.

If you sign on the dotted line, you don't

necessarily know all you're getting into.

Packing is what we love.

What Joshua really loves doing

in this room

is trying on every pair of old sunglasses

that I've had.

- Josh.

- Dad?

I like these ones.

Yeah, they were sweet.

What have I got myself into?

- You do realize you're gonna regret this?

- Yeah.

Whatever street cred you had

just disappeared.

- You know who would wear these?

- Who would?

Um, Rickie Fowler.

Yeah, Rickie Fowler

probably would wear them.

Ooh.

Oh yeah, dude.

We're going to Tulsa, Oklahoma

for the PGA. It's hot. Super hot.

The PGA's always been

an awesome tournament.

It's another major.

It's a major where I feel,

you know, I've got

an opportunity to play well.

So looking forward to it.

My golf this year hasn't been anywhere

near as good as I've wanted it to be,

but yet, there are so many good signs

that encourage me

to get the level of spark that I know

is inside me to go and play great.

I'm trying not to be distracted

by anything. No distractions are good.

It's gonna be tough. It's gonna be long.

I'm gonna have to play some great golf.

We are here at Southern Hills

for the fifth time. PGA Championship.

What's up? How are you?

Poults? Did you go to the race?

Yeah, I was there Friday,

Saturday, Sunday.

- I was supposed to come down, but

- Couldn't be arsed?

No, Mama didn't want to go, so

I wouldn't leave her. It was Mother's Day.

So it's tough.

- That's also true.

- Not my mum.

That's what everyone says!

- I sent my mum a card.

- That's what everybody says.

LIV's London event at Centurion

is a just a few weeks away,

but there's still so much up in the air.

Who is actually going?

Must be talked about

at the Bears all the time. Who's going?

Who's going to Saudi?

I think Poulter and Westwood are

definitely going. I think Sergio is going.

PGA TOUR wanna ban 'em,

so it's going to be interesting to see

whether they do or not.

Have you been approached at all

by the LIV Tour,

and if so, what's your stance on that?

Yeah, I have. Um, I mean, I'll be

straightforward with you guys.

I haven't necessarily make a decision

one way or the other.

I think golf is in a good spot,

and I think what they're doing could

potentially be good for the game of golf.

So, um, I'm excited to see

what happens here in a few weeks.

- "Excited" meaning?

- I'll be watching.

Now on the tee

from England, Ian Poulter.

Poulter looking to turn

things around after some struggles.

- Fore!

- Right!

Shots like this

are not going to help him.

There's always that question of,

are you losing your touch,

because you're not succeeding as much as

you were in the first ten years on tour.

One of the most savage things

about being a professional golfer

is you have a full field that tees it up,

a hundred and fifty-some players.

After the first 36 holes,

if you're not in that top 65 and ties,

you have missed the cut,

and you're going home.

It's going to be close,

but right now,

I don't think Poulter will make the cut.

Ugh!

Obviously, if you make the cut,

you get paid.

If you don't make the cut,

then you've traveled to a tournament,

but you're not getting paid.

I don't want to feel

like my time's coming to an end

as a competitor.

Ugh!

I'm personally disappointed

with my results.

I'm disappointed with my ability

to handle distraction this year.

One of the most painful things

that can happen is missing cuts.

It utterly infuriates you.

Oy, oy, oy, oy, oy, oy.

I mean, missing the cut

by a shot is the worst scenario.

You'd rather miss by five and

know you just

haven't played good enough.

So missing by one shot, realizing that

poor shot here or a poor chip

or a short putt missed or

anything like that

um

is just going to infuriate you even more.

Best plus about missing the cut

is you go home to family.

You just don't want to miss a cut

like this, like

Your job is not to waste time,

be away from them for five days,

and not cover your expenses.

It's like the ultimate worst feeling you

can possibly have as a golfer.

It's like, it's just

It's the worst feeling.

You're there for five days, packing your

bags and leaving without getting a check.

So working for free

doesn't float my boat.

I'm not traveling to the U.S. Open

because I'm not in the top 60

of the world rankings.

I'm going to be here at home

um with my family.

And there is the first LIV event

down the road.

Um

Straight up, are you going to LIV?

"Straight up, are you going to LIV?"

Um

It's a business decision.

It's an opportunity, so we'll see.

Walk inside the bank ♪

All I want is cash ♪

Jacksons and the Franks ♪

Busting out the bags ♪

No limit like the tank ♪

For I ain't got to brag ♪

You see that candy paint

Every time I'm sliding down the ave ♪

Big ol' bag of money ♪

Big ol' bag of money

Big ol' bag of money ♪

- I need that big ol' bag of money ♪

- Uh-huh ♪

These numbers are kind of insane.

I mean, Ian Poulter

over his 20-year career

has made about 33 million dollars.

And now, at the tail end of his career,

supposedly LIV has

a 40-million-dollar offer

for him just to show up.

I think I bring a personality.

I think I bring an individual who

has been super successful

through his career.

I have a great social media following.

This is a platform for me

to continue being the personality

that I've been

for the last 24 years on tour.

I think it's generally unfair

to ask too much of our athletes

when it comes to thinking about

what goes on outside the lines.

But, in this case, you can't say

that you don't know what you're doing.

You made this decision

to go help Saudi Arabia,

and here these atrocities are

that you're helping hide.

The journey you've been told

about Saudi Arabia is on.

How is that journey helping

the women oppressed in Saudi Arabia,

the migrant groups, their rights violated,

LGBTQ individuals who are criminalized,

the families of the 81 men

who were ex*cuted in March,

and those being bombed in Yemen?

It's a really hard question to answer.

We're just here to focus on the golf.

I don't condone

human rights violations at all.

I I don't think it

Nobody here does. Um

Any Throughout the world and

I'm certainly aware

of what has happened with Jamal Khashoggi,

and I think it's terrible.

I've also seen the good that the game

of golf has done throughout history,

and I believe that LIV Golf is going to do

a lot of good for the game as well.

If Vladimir Putin had

a tournament, would you play there?

That's speculation. I can't

I'm not even gonna comment on speculation.

Is there anywhere

you wouldn't play on a moral basis?

If the money was right,

anywhere you wouldn't play?

I don't need to answer that question.

It's so hard to just give

a simple, quick explanation

on how all of this works its way out.

In the 25 years I've played on tour,

I've played European tour

and I've played the PGA TOUR.

I've played on the Japanese tour.

I've played on the Korean tour.

As an independent contractor,

I'm doing nothing different

to what I've always done.

The hope in this

is that we can all coexist.

Jay, for the players

who've made the leap

and will make the leap to LIV,

do you foresee any opportunity

for them to come back,

or is that door closed on them

forever for the tour?

Listen, I laid out, on June 9th,

you know, our position on the players

that had signed up for that first event,

virtually all of whom made

a long-term commitment

to play in that series.

And I think our position there

is very well established

as it relates to any players

that are going to play in future events.

[PoulterI I definitely shouldn't be forced

to walk away from the PGA TOUR.

It's a shame.

It took a lot of consideration,

through time, to get to this point.

I think Ian Poulter,

he's given up everything.

Not gonna be a Ryder Cup captain.

He's not gonna get

the goodwill of the game of golf.

He's not gonna get the goodwill

of the sponsors. It all goes away.

On the PGA TOUR,

our members compete for the opportunity

to add their names to history books,

and, yes, significant financial benefits,

without having to wrestle

with any sort of moral ambiguity.

This is the right decision for myself.

It's the right decision for my family.

So deep down inside,

I feel comfortable with my decision.

And that's what

you have to guide yourself by.

I love competing.

I love being a professional golfer.

That's been my dream since day one,

and I just want to continue playing

great golf all over the world.

- Nice ball.

- Ball's in the air for Dahmen.

It's not like I don't try

and I don't practice,

but someone's gotta be

the seventieth-best golfer,

might as well be me.

Are you miked up right now?

Yeah, basically.

Netflix, cut this.

On one end,

you have Jordan Spieth, who's like,

"I'm confident. I'm gonna win everything."

And on the other end you have Joel,

who's like, "I suck.

I'm not gonna be able to win this."

This will be a great week

in the latest chase for the U.S. Open.

Joel's capable of

being top 30 in the world.

Joel Dahmen

is just hitting it great.

That being said, I don't know

if Joel wants to be top 30 in the world.

Oh no. Here we go. Oh!

- Dahmen gonna get fined.

- Getting in on the act.