Sam Torrance: Justin Thomas underlines Masters credentials with sublime showing at Sawgrass March 16, 2021 One moment in the final round on Sunday summed up the whole weekend for Justin Thomas at the Players Championship. Leading by one as he stood over the final tee, Thomas launched a perfect shot that sailed dangerously close to the water before skipping to safety after a kind bounce. There is no way he [...]
Week in Sportbiz: Formula 1 takes the pain; Budweiser buys NBA rights; watch every PGA Tour shot; World Rugby’s bad timing; squash, the great survivor March 4, 2021 “Our goal was to try and take the pain in 2020,” Greg Maffei, president of Formula 1 owners Liberty Media, told investors this week. Maffei can consider that mission accomplished after Liberty laid bare the devastating effect of the pandemic on F1’s finances last year. F1 slipped from a $17m profit in 2019 to a [...]
Doing good is now part of doing business: Why every sports brand and athlete needs to help society in order to find commercial success March 2, 2021 The influence and social media reach of sports women and men is incredible – and growing. But who is using it to greatest effect, both for their own benefit and that of society? Cristiano Ronaldo has 263m followers on Instagram and Lionel Messi has over 100m on Facebook. Manchester United, widely regarded as the biggest [...]
Sam Torrance: Megastar Collin Morikawa sharpening his game with saw grip; plus Viktor Hovland, Branden Grace and Tiger Woods March 2, 2021 I remember one of the first times I saw Collin Morikawa play, he was going head to head down the stretch with Matthew Wolff. Both were fresh out of college – this was Morikawa’s fourth start on the PGA Tour and Wolff’s third – so it was fairytale stuff. And although Wolff won the 3M [...]
How do sports teams and competition organisers defend against the threat of Covid-19 outbreaks? February 25, 2021 The Six Nations this weekend has been thrown into disarray with the postponement of France’s fixture with Scotland on Sunday after another French player has tested positive for Covid-19. At present a total of 11 players and three staff members in the squad have now tested positive and, due to the close contact proximity of [...]
Week in Sportbiz: The end of the Tiger Effect? Plus Olympic bid shake-up, drinks all round, Lord Coe’s scare and Eddie Jones’s debt to Van Gaal February 25, 2021 Tiger Woods survived a serious car crash this week, to the immense relief of the sporting world. But it might not be such good news for the fabled Tiger Effect, to the consternation of golf’s broadcasters and advertisers. While Woods may yet defy the odds once more and return to the sport he has redefined, [...]
Up to 10,000 sports fans to be allowed back to stadiums from 17 May, says Prime Minister February 22, 2021 Sports fans will be allowed to return to stadiums from 17 May, with up to 10,000 spectators permitted in the largest venues. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the relaxation of rules today as he laid out his plans for emerging from lockdown. The announcement means that crowds should be in attendance for Euro 2020 matches [...]
Week in Sportbiz: English football puts the boot into Twitter and Facebook; Rolex deal shows value of golf tours’ alliance; dystopian snack marketing February 11, 2021 It is rare to see all of English football sing from the same hymnsheet. But that was in evidence today as the game’s leading bodies joined forces to demand more action from Twitter and Facebook against racist, sexist and threatening behaviour. The Premier League, Football Association, English Football League, Women’s Professional Game, players’ union the [...]
Donald Trump course axed as host of 2022 US PGA Championship over fears of ‘irreparable damage’ to its brand January 11, 2021 US PGA Championship organisers have cancelled plans to stage the golf major at a course owned by Donald Trump next year. The PGA of America said it risked “irreparable damage” to its reputation if it did not terminate its agreement with Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey. The decision come days after Trump supporters stormed [...]
Opening golf clubs would be a hole in one for lockdown health January 7, 2021 It will come as no surprise that 2020 was a bittersweet year for the UK’s golfing industry. While the urbanisation and redevelopment of golf courses mean that many much-loved greenspaces are being lost in the bid for more housing, the sport saw a huge increase in uptake after the restrictions of the first lockdown were eased, as [...]