By Bill Nestor
West Virginia has longed for a professional sports team to call its own. West Virginia University, along with Marshall University, have serviced the needs of sports fans for several years. There have been a handful of National Football League teams that have utilized the facilities at the Greenbrier Resort for training camp, which has drawn its fair share of interest from Mountain State fans as well.
Speaking of the Greenbrier Resort, the Old White Course, its most famous golf tract, was home to the PGA for nearly a decade. Starting in 2010 and running through 2019, A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier was the talk of West Virginia. The event started out in late July, then moved to early July (near the holiday) and it quickly became a favorite amongst the professional golfers. Greenbrier owner Jim Justice would treat them and their families like royalty and they would, in turn, treat the stop like a vacation destination. At that time it was called the Greenbrier Classic and the celebrations around the tournament were epic. Multiple big name concerts coupled with food and beverages kept the party going night and day.
Bad weather led to bad times as the 2016 event was canceled. In 2018 the name was changed to honor the US Military, which was a positive impact. However, a date change eventually doomed the tournament when it was moved to September in 2019. With school back in session and summer travel at a crawl in that time anyway, attendance dwindled. Even though a contract was in place until 2021, both the Greenbrier and the PGA agreed to go their separate ways. That put an end to West Virginia’s professional sports scene – until now.
On August 16 through 18, LIV Golf is coming to the Greenbrier’s Old White Course. Some of the biggest names in golf compete in LIV Golf’s star-studded field, including Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer, Bryson DeChambeau, Taylor Gooch, and, most recently, Jon Rahm.
LIV Golf is different in format than what you watch on the PGA. There is a total of 54 players on four teams (13 players in each squad.) There are also two wold card players included.
LIV Golf uses a shotgun start, which means there are players ready to start on every hole and they all start at once, so there is action all over the course on every hole all day long. There are no cuts, which means the stars play every day regardless of how poorly they played the day before.
There is also an individual competition going on at the same time as the team game. At every tournament, each player finishes with a three round total score. The top 24 finishers at each event earn points on the leaderboard. At the end of the campaign, the player with the most points wins the title.
There are several ticket options available and there is always a need for volunteers at any golf tournament, so that is another way to get involved with the up and coming tour. Get ready because professional golf is back in the Mountain State again!
That will do for now! Until next week . . . take care and God Bless!