The first edition of the Liv International Golf Series never ceases to be talked about. But still not in the best of ways… After the multiple controversies inherent in the source of the funds or the abandonment of PGA Tour cards by the players involved, it is the turn of a reporter to bear the brunt of the astonishing how to proceed with this new circuit.
Alan Shipnuck is certainly not reputed as the most tender of journalists specializing in the microcosm of golf. It is thus the American who revealed the controversial remarks of Phil Mickelson around, precisely, the Saudi company at the end of last year. Words that had precipitated the left-hander into a media and financial storm and had kept him away from the fairways since the start of the year.
Logically, Shipnuck, who is also the author of a biography of Phil Mickelson, was part of the left-handed press conference before this first Liv Series tournament in London. But his presence was not to everyone’s liking. As evidenced by this video, the journalist was expelled from the conference normally open to all accredited media, of which the American is a part.
Even more embarrassing for the organizers of the Saudi tournament, when Alan Shipnuck demanded an explanation from Greg Norman, the director of the Liv Golf entity, the latter replied that he had not heard of the incident when he was clearly visible a few meters from the stage…
One more pebble in the already crowded shoe of this Saudi league which seems to be increasingly adopting a single rule both on and off the course: its own.
