The victory by LIV golfer Brooks Koepka in the PGA championship a few weeks ago was the nail in the coffin of the PGA's display of moral superiority. They could see, for the first time, that LIV could overtake them in popularity and TV ratings and success in general. They could see the Saudi money buying off most of the best players in the world.
They could see themselves receding into the past, double quick.
And now, as the ESPN announcer Rich Eisen angrily intoned, "The Saudis own golf... period."
PGA tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Golf Channel announcer Brandel Chamblee and quite a few of the golfers who were against the Saudi participation in golf on MORAL grounds -- "how will the families of those who died on 9/11 feel about them RUNNING golf?" will now have to explain this reversal, microphones and cameras in their faces.
They called it "sportswashing", i.e. whitewashing the Saudi guilt for terrorist attacks by putting on a billion dollar show for the TV-obsessed American consumer. And they were RIGHT.
Until they turned on a dime and called it a deal.
The PGA tour saw the future and didn't like it. So they dealt with the evil Saudis, and called it a "great day for the sport we all love."
The risk of taking a moral position is always that it will work against you. The Tour took such a position. Being morally superior suited them... until it didn't.
Now, the PGA tour is on its way to becoming NASCAR. I wonder what the guys who took their side -- notably Rory, but many -- will say or do.
Bryson, Brooks, Phil, Dustin and quite a few others are going to be back in groups and back in PGA tour events, looking those guys in the eye. We'll see who blinks, if anyone does.