Justin Lower wishes he was not the face of my latest cause, to stop professional golf from becoming a clown show.
“I’m trying to stay away from all that. All I’m trying to do is play good golf,” the Ohioan said before teeing off at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, not realizing his own words cemented his status as poster child for my movement.
By his own admission, Lower (pronounced Lauer), is trying. He is competing, and competition is why I follow the PGA Tour and not LIV Golf.
There are reasons beyond lack of competition why LIV Golf leaves me cold. I’m not thrilled the start-up league is funded by the Saudis, who since January have executed at least 70 citizens for “discretionary” offenses. Like for saying the Saudi government sometimes stinks. WHAT?! Off with their heads!
I’m also not a huge fan of Greg “The Great White Narcissist” Norman, and long ago I saw through Phil Mickelson’s phony nice-guy routine. Not many of LIV’s players are particularly likable, either. Garcia, Reed & DeChambeau belong on an injury lawyer billboard. The majority of LIV fields consist of has-beens and never-weres.
But my distaste for LIV goes beyond that. I watch golf because something is at stake. Score means something. Do I marvel at the tour pro’s shot making? Of course, but those pin-seeking 6-irons and 340-yard drives don’t happen in isolation. If they did, I’d watch once and be done. Every made 25-foot putt contributes to a bigger picture that comes into focus only at the end of the day on the leaderboard.
Results matter.
LIV is exhibition golf, plain and simple. So is the virtual golf league being put together by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and endorsed by the PGA Tour (take that, LIV!). I’ll check it out, but anything that smells like Top Golf meets Putt-Putt can’t hold my interest.
What can? Lower’s up-and-down golf history.
Down: Needing to make an 8-foot putt on the last hole of the 2018 Korn Ferry Championship to reach his goal of moving up to the PGA Tour, Lower’s putt burned the edge of the cup, a miss that ultimately kept him $500 short of earning his PGA Tour status.
Up: Lower needed a par on the final hole of the final Korn Ferry event last fall to earn his PGA Tour privileges. This time he made a 2-footer to secure his card, then wiped tears during his post-round interview.
Down: More tears fell three weeks ago, except this time after Lower lost his PGA Tour card on the last hole of the…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golfweek…