How AIDS in China is spreading
Shanghaiist Scrabble: We have a winner!
New sex change rules for China
2000 years later, Mongolian barbarians finally take down Great Wall
Threesday: How globalized Shanghai remains Chinese
"There has been no call from Augusta
and I am not expecting one. Now, if I
were the only person in the country,
à la China, I might get in. It is a strange
way to make up a field for a Major
championship — television rights. They
are quite open about why."
— Scottish professional golfer Colin Montgomerie
commenting on his failure to receive an invite
to compete in next weekend's Masters Tournament,
while lower ranked players from Asia,
including China's Liang Wenchong, will be
playing in the Augusta, Georgia, major
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
post to facebook
i don't know about golf, but if lower ranked players are making it cause the powers that be are interested in that dollar...i'd say the league ain't legit
Welcome to China!
Welcome to international politics in sports. Of course there is no place for politics in sports according the IOC and their Beijing masters.
Um, China? No, Augusta, Georgia.
And it has zero to do with politics, and lots to do with television rights fees sales. Although to not invite Monty is a dumbass decision.
Maybe golf is reaping what it sows. It is basically a league of greed anyway.
I often wonder what the 'powers that be' had in mind when they brought along Tiger Woods to legitimize the whole golf thing in the modern public mind.
I was wrong, there is a god ... and he/she is f*cking with me.
Maybe golf is reaping what it sows. It is basically a league of greed anyway.
Huh? What blow is being dealt to golf here? That Monty misses the Masters? Pfft. He should've won more if he wanted to be invited. And what professional sports league ISN'T - well not about greed, but about making money? That's why pro sports exist - to make money.
often wonder what the 'powers that be' had in mind when they brought along Tiger Woods to legitimize the whole golf thing in the modern public mind.
Double huh? I'm pretty Tiger Woods was brought along by himself and his dad and his own prodigious talent and unmatched work ethic. And it wasn't to legitimize the whole golf thing but rather to win a boatload of golf tournaments and reap the financial rewards.
Is it just me or do the Shanghaiist comment threads get even more wacky when the posts are about sports? (Perhaps an unnecessary caveat, but this comment is not directed at T who seems to have a grasp on the situation.)
Should the 'league of golf' stand as a reminder to us all of the greed and avarice that plagues us in this world?
The 'League of Golf' sounds like a very old lost DC Comics superhero society...
T - yes that's right. Tiger Wood's dedication, talent and training methods brought new, wider respect for golf among a broader audience than ever before.
Damn him.
I'm hating on the game of golf. What's not to understand?
I have to admit this is not the reaction I was expecting when I posted this. I just wanted to portray Montgomerie (accurately) as a whiner who really doesn't understand the big picture here. In China, it's less about TV rights (very few Chinese will watch the Masters on TV) than it is about simply getting more global attention, which makes sense for both the Masters and professional golf. The Masters can invite whoever they want to the tournament. Monty could make a better case if he whined about all the former champions who get automatic invites and have no chance of winning whatsoever.
The League of Unintended Consequences.... As far as the Masters goes, didn't the Augusta club just get its first black member in the last ten years or so? Now they're kowtowing to the CCCP overlords! What a world, what world...
hey Dan
Yeah, from my point of view about the nature of golf (the organisation) it makes sense that this is the nature of an invitational and I think Monty is a whiner.
Liang Wenchong is actually not the first Chinese golfer to compete in the Masters — he's the second. And Zhang Lianwei's invite to play in 2004 was also considered controversial by some. See here.
There are similar debates in English Soccer too. One of my home town teams, Everton, bought Li Tie, on the strength of him winning Asian football awards that year.
However, he was never quite up to the standrad of that squad and the transfer came as part of a shirt sponsor deal with Ke Jian.
Man-U got accused of buying Dong Fangzhou to sell shirts in China too. The debate was a bit more nuanced over Li Tie though as he was a more complete footballer and a more legitimate buy for the team.