Oh, Eamon Lynch, Golfweek’s resident venom-spitter, perched atop his crumbling soapbox, flinging bile at LIV Golf like a scorned soap opera villain who’s just discovered his lines are running out.
The man’s latest screed, a tired hit piece on LIV’s new CEO Scott O’Neil, is yet another chapter in his endless vendetta against anything that dares challenge the PGA Tour’s dusty throne. It’s not journalism, it’s a tantrum, dressed up in snarky prose and peddled as insight.
Let’s dissect the diatribe: the Golfweek writer sneers at O’Neil’s optimism, mocking his claim that LIV could be a “dominant global force” as if ambition itself is a crime.
O’Neil, a proven executive who’s navigated the NBA and NHL, dares to project confidence about his league’s future, and Lynch can’t stomach it. Apparently, only PGA Tour suits are allowed to dream big without being labeled delusional.
Lynch’s attack on O’Neil is vintage vitriol: snide quips about LIV’s broadcast reach, a non sequitur about Trump (“working harder than Donald Trump’s haircare product”) and jabs at O’Neil’s supposed “sweaty desperation for relevance.” It’s the kind of lazy wordplay that might impress a room of sycophantic golf insiders but falls flat to anyone with a pulse on the sport’s evolution. LIV’s packed crowds in Adelaide and a star-studded roster suggest a relevance that Lynch’s selective outrage can’t erase. But why let facts spoil a good rant?
Lynch’s rap sheet is long and ugly. He’s smeared Graeme McDowell as a “whore,” “stooge,” and “pariah,” scoffed at Dustin Johnson’s family-man status, hounded Phil Mickelson like a tabloid hack chasing a scandal, and libeled Greg Norman with some of the most vile accusations. His venom knows no bounds, dragging players’ personal lives into the mud with a glee that borders on psychotic.
Johnson’s decision to join LIV for a reported $125 million? A pragmatic move for a Hall of Famer nearing 40, yet Lynch paints it as a moral failing, as if PGA Tour loyalty pays players no longer relevant (just ask Nick Faldo). Meanwhile, Monahan’s Tour, cozy with its own questionable corporate giants, gets a free pass. Curious, isn’t it, how Lynch’s employer, Golfweek, sits under the Gannett umbrella, which has ties to SoftBank — a firm with Saudi investments of its own? Pot, meet kettle.
Lynch’s shtick is to play the sport’s moral arbiter, railing against LIV’s Saudi backing while ignoring the ethical gymnastics of Golfweek and the PGA Tour. Sportswashing? Sure, it’s a fair critique, but Lynch’s sanctimonious lectures conveniently sidestep the Tour’s partnerships with companies tied to questionable regimes. His outrage is as selective as his reporting, a one-man crusade to preserve a status quo that’s been forced to evolve — bigger purses, player equity — precisely because LIV shook the table. Yet in Lynch’s world, every LIV move, from OWGR bids to sponsor deals, is a “performative exercise” or a “sleight of hand.”
Projection much?
Eamon, here’s a tip from the Portrush locals you’re so fond of quoting: catch yourself on. Or better yet: you’re a melter.
