ESPN+ Announcers Rip Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Tour as ‘Retirement League’: ‘It’s Kind of a Joke’
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The sports world is not sold on the controversial upstart Saudi-backed golf league that is poaching players from the PGA.
Two commentators for ESPN+ ripped the PGA’s new apparent competitor as a “retirement league” on Thursday during a broadcast from the Canadian Open. The New York Post reported:
At the RBC Canadian Open, two announcers for ESPN+ — play-by-play man Ryan Burr and color commentator Daniel Chopra — resorted to mocking LIV Golf, which they referred to as a “retirement league” and “softer competition.”
“I live in a neighborhood of a lot of ex-Major League Baseball players,” Burr told Chopra. “They’ve retired and a lot of them go to softball. And, you know, there’s a keg of beer there and they play softball and they retire. That’s kind of what I feel some of these players have done. They’ve retired from Major League Baseball and they’ve gone to the LIV softball league.”
Burr added, “… It’s like in softball, you’re allowed to have a designated runner. You don’t want to run the bases anymore, we just bring someone out for you that runs the bases. It’s kind of a joke.”
Chopra later commented on the priorities of those who have left the PGA behind:
Playing for putting your name on a trophy alongside the greatest names of the game. And playing for that major championship count. Giving up all of that, it just goes to show you a little bit about the personality of the players and what they value the most. Is it the history and prestige, or the bank balance?
The upstart league is fronted by Greg Norman and has attracted a number of high-profile PGA players.
Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Sergio García and others are playing in the LIV’s inaugural event in the U.K. at the Centurion Club.
Johnson was reportedly paid $125 million to join the upstart league.
The PGA announced Thursday that tour players participating in the Centurion Club LIV tournament are suspended from the tour.
