Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is scaling back LIV Golf funding due to fiscal pressure, according to a New York Times report. TJ Walker argues that sports engagement is preferable to isolation, and that global exposure can gradually shift Saudi Arabia's conservative institutions toward more progressive norms.
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Ultimize. Saudi Arabia is now reportedly pulling back from LIV Golf after pouring billions into the league, signing some of the biggest names in the sport, and basically saying to the PGA Tour, a nice little monopoly you've got here, be a shame if someone showed up with unlimited money. Now apparently they're rethinking it. According to reporting from The New York Times, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is under financial pressure and reassessing priorities. Here's the translation: even a trillion-dollar fund eventually looks at the credit card bill and says, hmm, do we really need another $200 million golfer who still can't putt? So that's the news. LIV Golf may be scaling back. But here's what's interesting— the reaction. Because from the moment Saudi Arabia got involved in golf, there's been outrage. Especially from the left. Sportswashing. This is immoral. This is an attempt to clean up their image. And look, that's not wrong. Of course it is. You don't spend billions on golf tournaments because you suddenly love the back nine. You do it because it makes you look better. That's called public relations. And America largely invented this. But here's where I'm going to take a slightly different view. If Saudi Arabia has billions of dollars to burn, I would much rather they burn it on golf courses than on bombs, tanks, and, well, bone saws. I mean, if there are the options, if those are just the options, I'm going with 18 holes and a clubhouse. Call me crazy, but because think about what we're actually comparing here. On one hand, you got authoritarian governments spending money on weapons. On the other hand, authoritarian governments spending money on Bill Mickelson. That's not a tough call. Now, let's talk about golf for a second, because golf is not exactly known as a progressive utopia. Golf has historically been the most conservative country club, closed-door culture imaginable. This was the world of no Blacks allowed, no Jews allowed, no women allowed. It wasn't a sport. It was a gated community with a dress code. And not that long ago, this isn't ancient history. Augusta National, where the Masters is played, didn't even allow women as full members. Well, that's changed. Why? Because even the most exclusive conservative institutions eventually get dragged kicking and screaming into the modern world, usually because of exposure. Because when you mix money, global attention, and outside pressure, things change. Not overnight, not perfectly, but they change. And that's the part people miss about international sports. When you bring in global audiences, global players, global sponsors, you're forcing interaction, you're forcing exposure, you're forcing people who would normally stay in their own bubble to deal with other cultures, other expectations, other norms. It's not a revolution, It's not democracy overnight, but it's movement, and I'll take movement over isolation any day. Because what's the alternative? The alternative is saying, "No, no, Saudi Arabia, you stay over there. Don't engage, don't interact." That's not it. More in just a moment on this important issue. Realistically, you're probably not going to remember most of what you hear today, not because it's not useful, just because that's how the brain works. Unless something shows up again and again and again, it disappears. So instead of hoping you'll remember this later, just give yourself a system that keeps it in front of you. That's why I've built Ultimize. If you're getting any value from this program, go to ultimize.com, that's U-L-T-A-M-I-Z-E dot com, and grab the free course. There's one on communication skills, habit building. It's designed to reinforce the right ideas that actually stick. It's free, takes just a minute, ultimize.com. Here's something I've learned after years of doing this: the people who actually improve don't necessarily hear better advice, they just stay around it longer. They keep exposing themselves to the same useful ideas until it finally clicks. Most people don't do that. So if you want to be in the small group that actually follows through, go to ultimize.com. That's ultimize.com and get the free course. There's one on communication, one on building better habits. Nothing fancy, just something you can keep coming back to. If you're already there, you're doing the hard part. Just go to ultimize.com and build on it. Okay, this Saudi Arabia thing. Again, I, I'm a little bit out of the mainstream among those left of center, and I'm here as a sane, sensible centrist. By the way, if you're new to Filtered, thank you so much for joining me. This is the show where we look at the top news stories of the day and then filter them through the lens of personal development skills and communication skills, all with the desire of helping you live a more effective life. So, back to this issue of Saudi Arabia. No one's naive. If anything, it keeps Saudi Arabia in the spotlight and their crimes. I'm not forgetting the fact that they took a bone saw and cut up a journalist and killed him. Now, you hear about Saudi Arabia more because of these events, not less. I think that's a good thing. You hear about the controversies, the criticisms. The human rights issues, the idea that hosting a golf tournament is going to erase all that, that's giving golf way too much power. Golf can't even fix slow play. It's not going to fix geopolitics. So the choice isn't between a perfectly moral system and a corrupt one. The choice is between engagement and isolation, between influence and irrelevance, between spending money on sports or spending money on things that are often a lot worse. So Yeah, I'm fine with Saudi Arabia funding golf. I'm fine with them funding soccer. I'm fine with them hosting events. Because if you're going to have a trillion-dollar fund and a desire to shape your image, I'd rather see you building stadiums than stockpiling missiles. And if along the way, a few old conservative institutions like golf clubs get dragged a little further into the modern world, that's not a loss. That's progress. Slow, imperfect, slightly ridiculous progress, but progress nonetheless. I'm TJ Walker. I want to thank you for joining me today. If you're new to the program, and I can see from our stats, we do have a number of people here today. I typically come to you live every day, Monday through Friday. You can also watch on demand on any social media platform and on podcasting platforms. You can listen. We look at the top 3, sometimes 4 or more stories of the day, dissect those from a sane, sensible, centrist position, and then give you analysis through the lens. It's filtered through the lens of personal development and communication skills because that's my background. That's what I do. I've personally worked with presidents, prime ministers, Nobel Peace Prize winners all over the world, billionaire business people, helping them on personal development skills and communication skills. I try to do the same for you right here every day. Thanks so much for joining. By the way, we are sponsored by Ultimize. And if you want a free on— which is my company. If you want a free online course on how to be a better communicator or how to have better habits, all you have to do is go to ultimize.com. And at absolutely no charge, you don't have to give a credit card or anything like that. You can get a free course right now and start improving your own skills. Ultimize.
