00:00As best as I can kind of summarize this, and there's a lot of detailed information in a lot of
00:04places, but I'm going to try to give a brief summary of what the week was like.
00:08On Tuesday, April 14th, Ryan French, who many of you know as Monday QInfo on X, teases a bombshell live
00:15story and then later goes on on the live, I think the spaces function on X.
00:20He definitely got the TSS squad group chat flying once this tweet was put out because then I started doing
00:28my own investigative reporting.
00:30And said, boys, we might need to be ready tomorrow morning.
00:33I would wager he had a lot of group chats popping because Wednesday, April 15th was like drinking from a
00:39fire hose because we had reports that the Mexico City event was not going to be played.
00:44We had reports that players and vendors had not been paid.
00:47We had reports that there was an emergency summit in New York City for live golf executives.
00:52We had reports those same executives were actively job searching and trying to find a, quote, life raft off what
00:59looked like to be a sinking ship.
01:00There was a memo sent by live CEO Scott O'Neill to players and employees assuring that the season would
01:05go on, but there was no definitive commitment in that memo beyond the 2026 season.
01:10We had reports that the PIF would remain committed to funding the league through 2026, but not beyond.
01:16And then there was a PIF press release separate of all this that essentially provided a set of reasoning for
01:23that change in strategy and outlining that strategy for their investments from 2026 through 2030.
01:30So then the live Mexico City event begins on Thursday, but even that was exceptionally bizarre because the broadcast opens
01:37with Arlo White and David Faraday calling the reports of lives demise greatly exaggerated.
01:42But about 15 minutes into that broadcast, it goes off the air for two and a half hours due to
01:47technical difficulties.
01:49And let me just say, Smiley, if that was objectively, objectively, that would have been the most hilarious way to
01:56shutter a league.
01:57Like, just 15 minutes of a broadcast, calling everyone dumb for saying the league was over, and then just be
02:01like, that was it.
02:02That's all.
02:04That's all we got.
02:06Didn't pay the TV truck, guys.
02:09You know, when I saw that Liv was having technical difficulties, like on people screenshotting pictures of it, I was
02:15like, man, they didn't need a Thursday round that went off the rails that quickly.
02:20And any of us, you know, especially having worked years in television, like, you know that can happen.
02:27At any point in time.
02:29And so I actually feel a ton for Liv and the producers and directors on that side, because like, there's
02:34no way they could have accounted for this.
02:35And it can't happen.
02:36But I guess they were having power issues throughout Mexico City.
02:41And so I guess, like, having to recycle and power back the whole system.
02:46It sometimes takes a long time for those trucks to get powered back again.
02:49And that can happen.
02:52And it's it really has happened in some big PGA Tour events.
02:57We've had times where you've only had to cover through a certain camera or whatever it might be.
03:03Like, things can go south.
03:05But the timing of it, man, it couldn't have been worse.
03:08Right.
03:08So then as this event goes on, there's an interview that's later edited to omit this section with Scott O
03:16'Neill, the CEO, where he said, the reality is that you're funded through the season.
03:20And then you work like crazy as a business to create a business plan to keep us going.
03:24That was a segment that was removed from the interview as it was reposted.
03:27But everyone, of course, had all eyeballs on live and captured that segment and reported on it.
03:32And then to top it all off, before the final round, the league's biggest draw and the man who's reportedly
03:37seeking a contract renewal in the $500 million range, Bryson DeChambeau, withdraws, citing a wrist injury.
03:43And so I just want to kind of try to take this in section, Smiley.
03:47And so before we get into why this is happening, before we get into what comes next, if this is
03:54indeed happening, what is your reaction to the possibility that it could be happening at all less than four years
04:02after the league's inaugural event in June 2022?
04:06I think shock, really, and a bit of surprise.
04:09I think we all felt like this is where we were going to end up, but so many different points
04:16down this road where we felt like they were losing momentum.
04:20And then all of a sudden, whether it be the Saudis or Scott O'Neill or whether it's a Greg
04:25Norman or a player signing, just give them enough of a bump to where it felt like they weren't going
04:31to go away.
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