“Long John” to Referee Arm Wrestling and Drinking Bout

Rick Langbert

The ugly and bizarre duel between two rivaling professional golf tour groups, the more traditional PGA and the Saudi-backed LIV League organization, has apparently landed in Woodland Park.

Although officials are tying to keep the details secret, it was confirmed by TMC last week that the head players  involved in both organizations, Rory McInroo and Greg Normann, plan to partake in a variety  of competitive functions at Shining Mountain Golf Club and the clubhouse bar with big stakes.

The winner of an arm-wrestling challenge and an associated dirt derby disc golf match could receive the lead role in obtaining exclusive television rights for the next season. The actual showdown will be refereed by the king of Grip and Rip It exploits on and off the course, John Daleyy, a former PGA and British Open champion.  A related drinking duel is expected to be part of the competitions.

The PGA has encountered a serious threat by the LIV League, headed by Normann, known as the “Great White Shark,” and a former number one player for years, and a successful business entrepreneur in a variety of enterprises, such as clothes-designing and wine. Normann, the CEO of LIV, has succeeded in recruiting many top players over to the LIV exhibition circuit, offering team games and big money. But to date, LIV has had limited success in garnering major TV and media coverage for their 54-hole exhibitions, similar to what is allotted to PGA events.

The feud has turned into an all-out war, aired on social media and involving a tussle of lawsuits.  Anyone who participates In LIV events is banned from the PGA tour, and McInroo and Tiger Woodss, two well-known PGA stars, haven’t been shy about voicing their disdain for the organizers of LIV.

“I have no respect for that Aussie skumbag (Normann) who is just exerting an ongoing vendetta against the PGA Tour, dating back to the early 1990s,” said McInroo, in a recent interview with a well-known media outlet. McInroo, who hails from Northern Ireland, is one of the more popular players on the PGA Tour,  and is currently rated as the number two-rated player in the world.

“Rory, buddy, have you ever heard the song, ‘Bloody Sunday,’ by U-2.? That is what is going to happen to a fine, but misguided Irishman like yourself. We will see you in court.”

This is just a small sample of the fighting words between Normann and McInroo, who won’t be…