current liv tour golfers

Players - Current Rosters

LIV Golf Now Has 26 Of The World’s Top 100 Golfers. Here’s Who They Are.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

At 29 years old, Cameron Smith has six wins on the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf has landed another superstar.

On Tuesday, the breakaway Saudi-backed tour announced the signing of six new golfers. Headlining the group is Australia’s Cameron Smith, the No. 2 ranked golfer in the world who won the British Open in July. He will be joined by fellow countryman Marc Leishman, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, India’s Anirban Lahiri and Harold Varner III and Cameron Tringale of the United States.

Financial details for any of the signings were not immediately available. However, The Telegraph previously reported that Smith has a $100 million-plus agreement with LIV, which is now well known for offering players enormous guarantees. Forbes estimates that upfront payments from LIV Golf boosted the earnings of the world’s ten highest-paid golfers by $370 million this year.

Like Smith’s reported figure, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka all reportedly landed upwards of $100 million from the new tour, with half believed to be upfront. Mickelson’s $138 million haul before taxes and agents’ fees over the last 12 months is $8 million more than what the highest-paid athlete in the world, soccer legend Lionel Messi, was paid over the 12 months through May.

After much speculation, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Cameron Young of the U.S. will both still call the PGA Tour home for now. Matsuyama reportedly had a $400 million guarantee on the table from LIV. Young reaffirmed his decision while speaking to reporters at the Tour Championship, but didn’t shut the door entirely. “Frankly, throughout the whole process with them I was very interested,” Young said. “I think they have a bunch of good ideas.”

With $2.4 billion in backing from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund over the next couple of seasons, LIV aims to reshape the professional golf landscape. The outfit hired Greg Norman as CEO and Commissioner in August 2021, after the former No. 1 golfer in the world had toyed with a similar idea for nearly 30 years .

Much remains to be sorted out, including how LIV can balance its exorbitant spending with potential profitability.There’s also a legal battle playing out. In August, a contingent of LIV golfers led by Mickelson sued the PGA Tour in antitrust court over the latter’s decision to ban any LIV defectors. Several players have since dropped the suit, but LIV officially joined as a plaintiff on Friday, alleging that its “ability to maintain a meaningful competitive presence in the markets will be destroyed.”

So far, LIV has held three of its eight scheduled events for 2022. Smith and the other new signings will debut at the next event in Boston on September 2.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

LIV Golf's final rosters set as four more jump from PGA Tour

The final four golfers who are making the switch from the PGA Tour to the LIV tour were announced as play is set to start for the controversial tour's second season. 

Thomas Pieters , Dean Burmester,  Brendan Steele and Danny Lee are the final members of the 12-team, 48-player field.

The LIV tour starts Friday and will be played at the El Camaleón Golf Course in Mayakoba, Mexico.

"In less than a year, LIV Golf has reinvigorated the professional game and laid the foundation for the sport’s future. In 2023, the LIV Golf League comes to life," said Greg Norman, LIV Golf CEO, and Commissioner said in a statement. "The most popular sports in the world are team sports, and our league format has already begun to build connections with new audiences around the globe. Major champions, current and future Hall of Famers, and up-and-coming stars are all committed to creating this new platform for world-class competition as the sport evolves for the next generation."

STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!

Pieters will join teammates Harold Varner III, and Talor Gooch on a team captained by Bubba Watson.

Burmester teams up Louis Oosthuizen (captain), Charl Schwartzel, and Branden Grace, while Steele joins Phil Mickelson's team with Cameron Tringale and James Piot. 

Kevin Na (captain), Sihwan Kim, Scott Vincent, and Lee make up the final new team.

LIV Golf Teams: All 13 Rosters For 2024

All 13 team line-ups for the third season of the LIV Golf League

• Sign up to Golf Monthly Newsletter Newsletter

After an off-season that included LIV Golf's first-ever transfer window, some significant player recruitment, and the addition of a 13th team, the rosters are set for the 2024 season. 

The biggest new arrival is Masters champion Jon Rahm , who has formed a brand new team, Legion XIII . Alongside him is arguably the second-biggest signing of the off-season, Rahm's Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton. Rising star Caleb Surratt and Kieran Vincent, who was one of the three to earn a LIV contract from December's LIV Golf Promotions event, complete the Legion XIII line-up.

Another big name joining LIV Golf is four-time DP World Tour winner Adrian Meronk , who will fill one of two vacant spots at Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC after the departures of Bernd Wiesberger, who is now back on the DP World Tour, and Graeme McDowell, who has joined Smash GC. Kaymer's final change sees another promoted player, Kalle Samooja, sign for the team.

CONFIRMED: 2024 LIV Golf Rosters 🔒#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/a5FGd5F6zG January 31, 2024

As well as McDowell, Brooks Koepka 's Smash GC has also recruited the 2023 individual champion, Talor Gooch, with Matthew Wolff heading the other way to Bubba Watson 's Range Goats GC. In another swap deal involving Watson's team, Peter Uihlein has changed places with Harold Varner III, who has joined Dustin Johnson 's 4 Aces GC.

Meanwhile, another swap saw David Puig join Sergio Garcia 's Fireballs GC, with Carlos Ortis filling the gap at Joaquin Niemann 's Torque GC.

Cameron Smith 's Ripper GC had an open slot after Jediah Morgan's departure, and fellow Australian Lucas Herbert replaces him.

Elsewhere, Kevin Na's Iron Heads GC has brought in another promoted player, Jinichiro Kozuma, to replace the relegated Sihwan Kim, while Andy Ogletree, who won the International Series Order of Merit, joins Phil Mickelson 's Hy Flyers GC as a replacement for another relegated player, James Piot.

Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter

Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.

Crushers GC is one of three unchanged teams heading into the new season

That leaves just three teams unchanged heading into the 2024 season - Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC, who won the Team Championship in 2023, Louis Oosthuizen 's Stinger GC, and Majesticks GC, which is co-captained by Lee Westwood , Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson.

2024 LIV Golf League Rosters

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

Fleetwood’s close friend and caddie confirmed the news on Instagram after being absent from the last three events

By Mike Hall Published 30 April 24

The four-time Major winner claimed his 25th PGA Tour win alongside Shane Lowry at the event, and the TV-watching public responded by tuning in

• Contact Future's experts
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Accessibility statement
• Cookies policy
• Advertise with us

Golf Monthly is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

• Live on Sky
• Get Sky Sports
• Sky Mobile Apps
• Kick It Out
• Black Lives Matter
• British South Asians in Football

LIV Golf Invitational Series: Players, teams, results and all you need to know from inaugural season

Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson have won the first four LIV Golf events, while Johnson's 4 Aces side - also containing Patrick Reed, Pat Perez and Taylor Gooch - have topped the team competition three times already this season

Tuesday 13 September 2022 12:55, UK

The inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series has reached its halfway point, with the fifth of the eight scheduled events set to take place at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago this week.

The Saudi-backed circuit has caused controversy within the golfing world since its launch this year, with the PGA Tour suspending indefinitely players who elected to compete in LIV Golf events.

Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were among the first wave of players to join the series, consisting of 54-hole events limited to a 48-man field, with Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Champion Golfer of the Year Cameron Smith all signing since.

• PGA Tour: 'Top players' commit to 'elevated' events
• PGA Tour, DP World Tour expand and strengthen 'strategic alliance'
• Keith Pelley defends DP World Tour over 'nonsense' feeder tour claims

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Eligible LIV Golf members can currently still compete on the DP World Tour, with Poulter one of 15 golfers to travel from the LIV Golf event in Boston to play at the BMW PGA Championship last week, with fines and sanctions for joining the breakaway tour temporarily lifted until a hearing next February.

There have been no additional signings for this week's LIV Golf event, with 46 of the 48-man field returning from the Boston tournament earlier this month and the two changes being golfers who have already competed on the tour this season.

• Neville meets Ten Hag: Kane, Hojlund & Man Utd's style of play
• Papers: Chelsea send Conte 'lucrative offer' for return
• Angry Ange: Chelsea defeat on me | Redknapp: He looks a beaten man
• Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham - highlights and recap
• Jackson on target as Chelsea sink sorry Spurs
• Littler wraps up play-off place as he wins in Premier League again
• PL Predictions: Everton to send Luton packing
• Poch: I don't know if I'll get time | Nev: Sacking him would be madness
• Max: I don't blame Newey for leaving Red Bull | F1 is a shark tank
• Transfer Centre LIVE! Brighton eye McKenna as De Zerbi replacement
• Latest News

The field is set ✅ #LIVGolf #LIVGolfChicago pic.twitter.com/j8zq0y33Gw — LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) September 12, 2022

Henrik Stenson returns from injury to replace Shergo Al Kurdi in Majesticks GC, while David Puig comes in for Spain's Adrian Otaegui in the roster and joins Torque GC after turning professional this week.

The story so far

The series launched in June at Centurion Club near London, with South Africa's Charl Schwartzel winning the individual event as well as being part of Stinger GC who cruised to victory in the team contest. Schwartzel's double success saw the former Masters champion pick up a total of $4.75m in prize money, including $4m for the individual prize.

Latest LIV Golf Invitational Series news

LIV golfers barred from PGA Tour return

DJ's Boston double after play-off win

Smith: No world ranking points 'unfair'

Another South African, Branden Grace, prevailed in the second tournament at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland with 4 Aces GC, consisting of Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez snaffling the team prize.

The big controversy ahead of the third tournament at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster was the decision of Henrik Stenson to switch to the Greg Norman-fronted tour, with the Swede being stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy as a result.

Stenson's move paid instant dividends for him, though, as he earned a bumper $4m payday by winning the tournament by two strokes, with 4 Aces once again taking the team honours.

The series remained in the United States for the fourth tournament, with another six new names in the field, the most controversial of them being Open champion Cameron Smith, who had confirmed his long-rumoured switch after the Tour Championship.

Smith tied for fourth place at The International in Boston, finishing just one shot behind Johnson, and two fellow newcomers in Anirban Lahiri and Joaquin Niemann, with Johnson prevailing after the first play-off in the series. The American also added $750,000 to his $4m pay packet with another victory for 4 Aces in the team event.

The win elevated Johnson to the top of the individual standings with 94 points, ahead of Grace (77), Carlos Ortiz (48), Talor Gooch (48) and Matthew Wolff (47). The top three finishers at the end of the seven-event regular season will receive bonuses from the $30m purse, with the winner taking $18m and the runner-up earning $8m.

2022 event-by-event teams and results

Event One - June 9-11 - Centurion Golf Club, England

Individual winner - Charl Schwartzel (-7). Team winner - Stinger GC (-20)

4 Aces GC - Dustin Johnson, Shaun Norris, Oliver Bekker, Kevin Yuan

Cleeks GC - Martin Kaymer, Pablo Larrazabal, JC Ritchie, Ian Snyman

Crushers GC - Peter Uihlein, Richard Bland, Phachara Khongwatmai, Travis Smyth

Fireballs GC - Sergio Garcia, David Puig (AM), James Piot, Jediah Morgan

HY Flyers GC - Phil Mickelson, Justin Harding, Ratchanon 'TK' Chantananuwat (AM), Chase Koepka

Iron Heads GC - Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Hideto Tanihara, Viraj Madappa

Majesticks GC - Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield, Laurie Canter

Niblicks GC - Graeme McDowell, Bernd Wiesberger, Turk Pettit, Oliver Fisher

Punch GC - Wade Ormsby, Matt Jones, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Blake Windred

Smash GC - Sihwan Kim, Scott Vincent, Jinichiro Kozuma, Itthipat Buranatanyarat

Stinger GC - Louis Oosthuizen, Hennie du Plessis, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace

Torque GC - Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Adrian Otaegui, Andy Ogletree

Event Two - June 30-July 2 - Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, Portland, USA

Individual winner - Branden Grace (-13). Team winner - 4 Aces GC (-23)

4 Aces GC - Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch, Pat Perez

Cleeks GC - Martin Kaymer, Scott Vincent, Ian Snyman, Turk Pettit

Crushers GC - Bryson DeChambeau, Shaun Norris, Justin Harding, Peter Uihlein

Fireballs GC - Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra

HY Flyers GC - Phil Mickelson, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff, Itthipat Buranatanyarat

Iron Heads GC - Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai, Sihwan Kim

Niblicks GC - Graeme McDowell, Hudson Swafford, Travis Smyth, James Piot

Punch GC - Wade Ormsby, Matt Jones, Jediah Morgan, Blake Windred

Smash GC - Brooks Koepka, Adrian Otaegui, Richard Bland, Chase Koepka

Stinger GC - Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Henni du Plessis

Torque GC - Hideto Tanihara, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Yuki Inamori, Jinichiro Kozuma

Event Three - July 29-31 - Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, USA

Individual winner - Henrik Stenson (-11). Team winner - 4 Aces GC (-25)

Cleeks GC - Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Laurie Canter, David Puig (AM)

Crushers GC - Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Shaun Norris

HY Flyers GC - Phil Mickelson, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff, Justin Harding

Iron Heads GC - Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Phachara Khongwatmai, Scott Vincent

Majesticks GC - Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Sam Horsfield

Niblicks GC - Graeme McDowell, Hudson Swafford, James Piot, Turk Pettit

Punch GC - Wade Ormsby, Matt Jones, Travis Smyth, Jediah Morgan

Smash GC - Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Richard Bland, Chase Koepka

Event Four - September 2-4 - The Oaks Golf Course at The International, Boston, USA

Individual winner - Dustin Johnson (-15, play-off). Team winner - 4 Aces GC (-32)

Cleeks GC - Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Laurie Canter, Richard Bland

Crushers GC - Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri

HY Flyers GC - Phil Mickelson, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Tringale

Majesticks GC - Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sam Horsfield, Shergo Al Kurdi

Niblicks GC - Harold Varner III, Hudson Swafford, James Piot, Turk Pettit

Punch GC - Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Wade Ormsby, Matt Jones

Smash GC - Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Peter Uihlein, Chase Koepka

Stinger GC - Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Shaun Norris

Torque GC - Joaquin Niemann, Scott Vincent, Adrian Otaegui, Jediah Morgan

Event Five - September 16-18 - Rich Harvest Farms Golf, Chicago, USA

Torque GC - Joaquin Niemann, Scott Vincent, David Puig, Jediah Morgan

What are the future plans?

Stonehill Golf Club in Bangkok will be the venue from October 7-9 and Royal Greens Golf Club - the site of the Saudi International in recent years - hosts the following week, with the season-ending Team Championship at Trump National Doral Miami from October 27-30.

The format changes in the Team Championship, which is a seeded four-day, four-round, match play knockout tournament. The top four seeds automatically receive a bye through the first round, with the remaining eight teams playing against each other to see who reaches the quarter-finals.

LIV Golf has announced that the LIV Golf League will officially launch in 2023 with 48 players and 12 established team franchises competing in a 14-tournament schedule.

The full slate of events will be announced at a later date and is expected to expand LIV Golf's global footprint across North and Latin Americas, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.

How to watch Premier League, EFL, WSL, Scottish Premiership, F1 and more

• Stream with NOW

• Upgrade Now

The CJ Cup Byron Nelson

TPC Craig Ranch

LIV Golf announces teams, players for 2023; Four PGA Tour players, Pieters officially join league

Charlie Crowhurst/LIV Golf

LIV Golf is rolling out its teams and rosters this week on the eve of the circuit’s second season.

Rather than announce its members at once for the 2023 campaign, the Saudi-backed league sent out a press release stating its players and squads will be trickled out just days before the 14-event season begins in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The team names and captains have been previously announced, and nearly all of the LIV’s marquee attractions from its inaugural season are expected to return.

Unlike last season, it is not expected that players and teams will change every event. There are at least two team name changes, with the Niblicks turning into Range Goats GC and Punch going to Ripper GC.

Torque, captained by Joaquin Niemann, was the first team announced on Wednesday, with Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz and David Puig rounding out the team. Golf Digest has previously reported that Pereira and Munoz were expected to join the league in Year 2, but their moves became official on Wednesday. Smash GC, headlined by Brooks Koepka, added Matthew Wolff to the roster, after Wolff played last year with Phil Mickelson’s team. Brooks' brother Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak are also on the team. The Majesticks, led by Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter, are bringing back the same team as last year with Lee Westwood and Sam Horsfield. The 4 Aces return with Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez, with Peter Uihlein taking the place of Talor Gooch.

In total four new players from the PGA Tour signed with LIV Golf ahead of its second season, as Danny Lee and Brendan Stelle joined Munoz and Pereira in defecting. Former Ryder Cup star Thomas Pieters, who earlier in the week complained about not getting invited to the Genesis Invitational, has also jumped to LIV. Pieters, No. 34 in the world, played mostly on the DP World Tour.

RELATED: Inside the LIV Golf-PGA Tour battle

Below are the team names, team captains, rosters and schedule for the 2023 season. The names and rosters will be updated as they are announced. Both individual and team competitions similar to the inaugural season will return to LIV Golf in 2023. Last month the league announced a multiyear media deal with the CW, giving LIV Golf its first traditional television broadcast partner in the United States.

LIV Golf Teams and Rosters

Torque GC : Captain Joaquin Niemann, Mito Pereira, Sebastian Munoz, David Puig Majesticks GC : Captains Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield Smash GC : Captain Brooks Koepka, Chase Koepka, Matt Wolff, Jason Kokrak 4 Aces GC : Captain Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Peter Uihlein Fire Balls GC : Captain Sergio Garcia, Abe Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra HY Flyers GC : Captain Phil Mickelson, James Piot, Brendan Steele, Cam Tringale Iron Heads GC : Captain Kevin Na, Scott Vincent, Danny Lee, Sihwan Kim RangeGoats GC : Captain Bubba Watson, Talor Gooch, Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III Ripper GC : Captain Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones, Jed Morgan Cleeks GC : Captain Martin Kaymer, Bernd Wiesberger, Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell Crushers GC : Captain Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey, Anirban Lahiri, Charles Howell III Stinger GC : Captain Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace, Dean Burmester, Charl Schwartzel

Feb. 24-26: El Camaleón Golf Club, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico March 17-19: The Gallery Golf Club, Tucson, Ariz. March 31-April 2: Orange County National, Orlando, Fla. April 21-23: The Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, Australia April 28-30: Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore May 12-14: Cedar Ridge Country Club, Broken Arrow, Okla. May 26-28: Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C. June 30-July 2: Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain July 7-9: Centurion Club, London, England Aug. 4-6: The Old White Course, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Aug. 11-13: Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, N.J. Sept. 22-24: Rich Harvest Farms, Sugar Grove, Ill. Oct. 20-22: Trump National Doral, Miami Nov. 3-5: Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

More from Golf Digest

Trending now.

UK Edition Change

• UK Politics
• News Videos
• Paris 2024 Olympics
• Rugby Union
• Sport Videos
• John Rentoul
• Mary Dejevsky
• Andrew Grice
• Sean O’Grady
• Photography
• Theatre & Dance
• Culture Videos
• Fitness & Wellbeing
• Food & Drink
• Health & Families
• Royal Family
• Electric Vehicles
• Car Insurance Deals
• Lifestyle Videos
• UK Hotel Reviews
• News & Advice
• Simon Calder
• Australia & New Zealand
• South America
• C. America & Caribbean
• Middle East
• Politics Explained
• News Analysis
• Today’s Edition
• Home & Garden
• Broadband deals
• Fashion & Beauty
• Travel & Outdoors
• Sports & Fitness
• Sustainable Living
• Climate Videos
• Solar Panels
• Behind The Headlines
• On The Ground
• Decomplicated
• You Ask The Questions
• Binge Watch
• Travel Smart
• Watch on your TV
• Crosswords & Puzzles
• Most Commented
• Newsletters
• Ask Me Anything
• Virtual Events
• Betting Sites
• Online Casinos
• Wine Offers

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

LIV Golf players: Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and full 2023 field for Saudi-backed tour

Charles howell iii and the crushers won the individual and team titles at the first event of the season in mayakoba, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing

Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news, thanks for signing up to the sport email.

LIV Golf is back for a second season in 2023 with the Saudi-backed venture looking to gain momentum with its players poised to play in the majors.

The Masters confirmed it will honour invitations to those exempt and those inside the top 50 players in the world according to the OWGR.

That means we may see more drama as the best from LIV take on the best on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour on the biggest stage, with Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed’s thrilling battle at the Dubai Desert Classic showcasing the theatre in the sport currently.

Charles Howell III was the surprise winner of the first event of the season in Mayakoba and helped lead the Crushers to the team title in Mexico.

Here’s everything you need to know about LIV Golf for season two in 2023:

• Rory McIlroy’s sweetest victory showcases golf’s unmissable theatre
• LIV Golf schedule: When is next event for Saudi-backed tour?
• LIV Golf offers up more questions than answers as second season begins

What is LIV Golf?

LIV Golf is the breakaway league fronted by two-time Open champion Greg Norman as chief executive and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The PIF has invested unprecedented sums of money into the sport, both for players to sign up and also purses for each event, attracting condemnation from human rights charities such as Amnesty International.

The new competition rules and format bring a fresh look to golf, with the team aspect emerging as its unique selling point.

There will be 12 teams and 48 players in each field, with the tournament played over 54 holes and three days - rather than the traditional 72 holes and four days. There is no cut, unlike the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, while LIV Golf also added the shotgun start, which they say promotes faster play with groups starting at different holes across the course and playing it in different orders.

LIV Golf schedule 2023

24-26 February: El Camaleon Golf Course, Mayakoba, Mexico - Individual winner: Charles Howell. Team winner: Crushers GC

17-19 March: Gallery Golf Club, Tucson, United States

31 March - 2 April Orange County National, Orland, United States

21-23 April Grange Golf Club, Adelaide, Australia

28-30 April Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore

12-14 May Cedar Ridge Country Club, Tulsa, United States

26-28 May Trump National Golf Club, Washington DC, United States

30 June - 2 July Real Club Valderrama, Sotogrande, Andalucia, Spain

7-9 July Centurion Club, St Albans, UK

4-6 August Old White Golf Course, Greenbrier, United States

11-13 August Trump National Bedminster, United States

22-24 September Rich Harvest Farms, Chicago, United States

20-22 October Trump National Doral, United States

3-5 November Royal Greens Golf Course, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Who is playing?

LIV Golf League 2023 - Full Field:

Dustin Johnson

Patrick Reed

Peter Uihlein

Martin Kaymer (replaced by Laurie Canter for first event of the season due to injury)

Bernd Wiesberger

Graeme McDowell

Richard Bland

Phil Mickelson

Cameron Tringale

Brendan Steele

Henrik Stenson

Ian Poulter

Lee Westwood

Sam Horsfeld

Byrson DeChambeau

Charles Howell III

Anirban Lahiri

Scott Vincent

Brooks Koepka

Matthew Wolff

Jason Kokrak

Chase Koepka

Sergio Garcia

Abraham Ancer

Carlos Ortiz

Eugenio Chacarra

Range Goats

Bubba Watson

Talor Gooch

Harold Varner III

Thomas Pieters

Joaquin Niemann

Sebastian Munoz

Mito Pereira

Cameron Smith

Marc Leishman

Louis Oosthuizen

Charl Schwartzel

Branden Grace

Dean Burmester

Players not retained from 2022 LIV Golf season

• Oliver Bekker
• Itthipat Buranatanyarat
• Laurie Canter
• TK Chantananuwat (Amateur)
• Hennie Duplessis
• Oliver Fisher
• Justin Harding
• Yuki Inamori
• Sadom Kaewkanjana
• Phachara Khongwatmai
• Ryosuke Kinoshita
• Jinichiro Kozuma
• Shergo Al Kurdila
• Pablo Larrazabal
• Viraj Madappa
• Jediah Morgan
• Shaun Norris
• Andy Ogletree
• Wade Ormsby
• Adrian Otaegui
• Turk Pettit
• Travis Smyth
• Hudson Swafford
• Hideto Tanihara
• Blake Windred

Is it on TV?

LIV Golf has yet to be picked up by a major broadcaster in the UK, but viewers can watch the coverage for free via the newly-launched LIV Golf Plus app and LIV Golf Plus website .

LIV has signed a TV deal with The CW network - compared to UK comedy channel Dave - in the United States. The first round of action will be available on The CW App through smart TVs and mobile devices, with login or subscription required to watch. The second and third rounds will be available on The CW, as well as the app.

How much is the prize money?

The prize money for 2023 is up 63 percent to $405 million.

Each LIV Golf event will have a purse of $25 million - $20m for the individual event and $5 million for the team event. The Team Championship will have $50 million up for grabs. In addition to the 14 LIV Golf events, there are 11 international series, each boasting a $5 million purse.

The individual winner of each event will take home $4 million, while the winning team adds $3 million - $750,000 per player. Last place, 48th, in the individual standings will still take home $120,000.

The winning team from the Team Championship takes home $16 million, or $4 million per player.

Individual season finish bonuses will be given to the top three players, first takes home an extra $18 million, the runner-up banks $8 million and third takes home $4 million from the $30 million bonus pool.

The individual events will see regular strokeplay scoring to decide the champion each week.

The team event will see the best two stroke play scores from each of the first two rounds count for each team. For the third and final round, the best three scores will count, with the lowest overall team score after 54 holes being named the team winner.

Each team has a captain with four players in total.

The Team Championship in Jeddah, the 14th event of the season, will see a seeded four-day, four-round, match play knock-out.

The winner each week will pick up 40 points and only those inside the top 24 players – half of the 48-man field – will earn points. The leading points scorer after the 13 regular LIV Golf events will be crowned individual champion.

• 1st – 40 points
• 2nd – 30 points
• 3rd – 24 points
• 4th – 18 points
• 5th – 16 points
• 6th - 14 points
• 7th – 13 points
• 8th – 12 points
• 9th – 11 points
• 10th – 10 points
• 11th – 8 points
• 12th - 7 points
• 13th – 6 points
• 14th - 5 points
• 15th - 4 points
• 16th - 3 points
• 17th - 3 points
• 18th - 2 points
• 19th - 2 points
• 20th - 2 points
• 21st - 1 point
• 22nd - 1 point
• 23rd - 1 point
• 24th - 1 point

To determine seeding for the Team Championship, teams will be awarded points for each event.

• 1st - 32 points
• 2nd - 24 points
• 3rd - 16 points
• 4th - 12 points
• 5th - 8 points
• 6th - 4 points
• 7th - 2 points
• 8th - 1 point
• 9th - 12th - no points

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

New to The Independent?

Or if you would prefer:

Want an ad-free experience?

Hi {{indy.fullName}}

• My Independent Premium
• Account details
• Help centre

PGA and LIV Merger Deal Increases Saudi Arabia’s Influence in Golf

The partnership is a major victory for Saudi ambitions in sports, but the announcement split players. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan described his meeting with golfers late in the afternoon as “heated.”

• Share full article

Alan Blinder

The alliance between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf ends a bitter fight in the sport.

The PGA Tour, the dominant force in men’s professional golf for generations, and LIV Golf, which made its debut just last year and is backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in Saudi money, will together form an industry powerhouse that is expected to transform the sport, executives announced Tuesday.

The rival circuits had spent the last year clashing in public, and the tentative agreement that emerged from secret negotiations blindsided virtually all of the world’s top players, agents and broadcasters. The deal would create a new company that would consolidate the PGA Tour’s prestige, television contracts and marketing muscle with Saudi money.

The new company came together so quickly that it does not yet even have a name and is referred to in the agreement documents simply as “NewCo.” It would be controlled by the PGA Tour but significantly financed by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund . The fund’s governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan, will be the new company’s chairman.

The deal, coming when Saudi Arabia is increasingly looking to assert itself on the world stage as something besides one of the world’s largest oil producers, has implications beyond sports. The Saudi money will give the new organization greater clout, but it comes with the troubling association of the kingdom’s human rights record, its treatment of women and accusations that it was responsible for the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a leading critic.

The agreement does not immediately amount to a Saudi takeover of professional golf, but it positions the nation’s top officials to have enormous sway over the game. It also represents an escalation in Saudi ambitions in sports, moving beyond its corporate sponsorship of Formula 1 racing and ownership of an English soccer team into a place where it can exert influence over the highest reaches of a global game.

“Everybody is in shock,” said Paul Azinger, the winner of the 1993 P.G.A. Championship and the lead golf analyst for NBC Sports. “The future of golf is forever different.”

Since LIV began play last year, it has used some of the richest contracts and prize money in the sport’s history to entice players away from the PGA Tour. Until Tuesday morning, the PGA Tour had been publicly uncompromising: LIV was a threat to the game and a glamorous way for Saudi Arabia to rehabilitate its reputation. The PGA Tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, had even avoided uttering LIV’s name in public.

But a series of springtime meetings in London, Venice and San Francisco led to a framework agreement that stunned the golf industry for its timing and scope. Monahan, who defended the decision as a sound business choice and said he had accepted that he would be accused of hypocrisy, met with PGA Tour players in Toronto on Tuesday in what he called an “intense” and “certainly heated” exchange.

The deal, though, proved right the predictions that there could eventually be an uneasy patching-up of the sport’s fractures. The PGA Tour’s board, which includes a handful of players like Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, must still approve the agreement, a process that could be tumultuous.

It was only a year ago this week that LIV Golf held its inaugural tournament, prompting the PGA Tour to suspend players who competed in it. But by the end of the year, even though the circuit was locked in an antitrust battle with the PGA Tour and its stars were confronting uncertain futures at the sport’s marquee competitions, LIV had some of the biggest names in golf on its payroll. Its players have included the major tournament champions Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith.

The players were familiar, but LIV’s 54-hole events — the name derives from the Roman numerals for that number — were jarring, with blaring music and golfers in shorts not facing the specter of being unceremoniously cut midway through. The PGA Tour, meanwhile, defended its 72-hole events, where low performers do not compete into the weekend, as rigorous athletic tests that adhered to the traditions of an ancient game.

The less-starchy LIV concept drew plenty of headlines, and the league won even greater attention because of its links to former President Donald J. Trump, who hosted LIV tournaments and emerged as one of its most enthusiastic boosters. The league, however, was still largely dependent on the largess of a wealth fund that had been warned that a rebel golf circuit was no certain financial bonanza. It stumbled to a television deal with the CW Network, and big corporate sponsorships were scarce.

The league accrued some athletic successes, even as its players faced the risk of eventual exclusion from golf’s major tournaments, which are run by organizations that are close to, but distinct from, the PGA Tour.

Last month, Koepka won the P.G.A. Championship , which was organized by the P.G.A. of America. Koepka, Mickelson and Patrick Reed were among the LIV players who fared especially well at the Masters Tournament, administered by Augusta National Golf Club, in early April.

Within weeks of the Masters, though, after a run of mutual overtures and months of bravado, PGA Tour and Saudi executives were convening in secret to see if there was a way toward some kind of coexistence, in part, Monahan suggested, because he did not think it was “right or sustainable to have this tension in our sport.” The result was an agreement that gives the tour the upper hand but is poised to make permanent Saudi Arabia’s influence over golf’s starry ranks.

Monahan, the tour’s commissioner, is in line to be the chief executive of the new company, which will include an executive committee stocked with tour loyalists. But al-Rumayyan's presence, as well as the promise that the wealth fund can play a pivotal role in how the company is ultimately funded, means that Saudi Arabia could do much to shape the sport’s future.

In a memorandum to players on Tuesday, Monahan insisted that his tour’s “history, legacy and pro-competitive model not only remains intact, but is supercharged for the future.”

That was hardly a consensus view. Mackenzie Hughes, a PGA Tour player, acidly noted on Twitter that there was “nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.” And Terry Strada, the chairwoman of 9/11 Families United, who had assailed the Saudi foray into golf because of misgivings about the kingdom after the 2001 terrorist attacks, said Monahan and the tour had “become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation.”

The tour and the wealth fund both had incentives to forge an agreement, besides the prospect of concluding a chaotic chapter marked by allegations of betrayal and greed.

LIV had faced setbacks in civil litigation against the PGA Tour that threatened to drag al-Rumayyan into sworn testimony and force the wealth fund to turn over documents that could have become public. The tour has been under scrutiny from Justice Department antitrust investigators , who had examined in recent months whether the tour’s tactics to counter LIV had undermined golf’s labor market.

The litigation between the tour and LIV will end under the terms of the agreement announced Tuesday. The fate of the antitrust inquiry was less clear — experts said the new arrangement would not automatically immunize the tour from potential legal trouble — but LIV’s standing as its leading cheerleader evaporated.

For this year, the world’s professional golfers are unlikely to see seismic changes in their schedules or playing formats, with LIV and the PGA Tour expected to hold competitions as planned. There may be far more consequential changes later, though, chiefly because the new PGA Tour-controlled company will determine whether and how LIV’s team-oriented format might be blended with the tour’s more familiar offerings.

LIV players are expected to have pathways to apply for reinstatement to the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, circuits from which some had resigned when faced with fines and suspensions, but they could face residual penalties for leaving in the first place. Through a spokeswoman, Greg Norman, the two-time major tournament champion who has been LIV’s commissioner, declined to be interviewed on Tuesday.

No matter what comes of the LIV brand or style, Tuesday’s announcement is a singular milestone in the Saudi quest to become a titan in global sports. With the deal, the kingdom can move, at least in golf, from a well-heeled disrupter to a seat of power at the establishment’s table.

Saudi officials have repeatedly denied that political or public relations motives undergird their eager pursuit of sports investments. Instead, they have framed the investments as necessary for shoring up the resource-rich kingdom’s finances and to enhance its standing on the world stage.

Beyond its imprint on golf , the wealth fund previously purchased Newcastle United, a potent English soccer team, and a company with close ties to the fund has eyed investments in cricket, tennis and e-sports. And Saudi Arabia has tried to become a host of major sporting events, from boxing matches to its pending bid to host the World Cup in 2030.

But when Saudi Arabia barged into golf last year, it was nearly unthinkable that al-Rumayyan would so swiftly become a formal ally of Monahan and the sport’s other power brokers.

“Anybody who thought about it logically would see that something was going to have to happen,” Adam Hadwin, a PGA Tour player, said on Tuesday. It was inconceivable, he suggested, that the world’s best players would only compete against each other at the four major tournaments, but an armistice “happening this quick and in this way is surprising.”

For much of the last year, LIV players have deflected questions about Saudi Arabia’s history on human rights and other matters that helped make the kingdom’s surge into golf an international flashpoint. They were, they often said, merely golfers and entertainers.

Until Tuesday, Monahan had tried to use the stain of Saudi Arabia to undercut the new league and its golfers.

“I would ask any player that has left, or any player that would ever consider leaving: Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?” he said last year.

On Tuesday, when Monahan declared that the leaders of golf’s factions had “realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart,” it was his tour’s players facing questions about lucrative connections to Riyadh.

“I’ve dedicated my entire life to being at golf’s highest level,” Hadwin, the tour player, said. “I’m not about to stop playing golf because the entity that I play for has joined forces with the Saudi government.”

Reporting was contributed by Andrew Das , Kevin Draper , Lauren Hirsch , Eric Lipton , Victor Mather , Ahmed Al Omran and Bill Pennington .

Kevin Draper

The PGA Tour commissioner acknowledges secrecy and hurdles on the deal.

Tuesday morning’s announcement from the PGA Tour hailed its deal to merge operations with LIV Golf as a “landmark agreement to unify the game” and end the contentious litigation between the competing golf tours.

But when Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, finally spoke to news reporters eight hours later, the agreement sounded far more tentative. He described his meeting with players about the agreement as “intense” and “certainly heated.” Monahan also acknowledged that most of the PGA Tour’s policy board — which is made up of five independent directors and five golfers — was kept in the dark about the tour’s negotiations with LIV over the last seven weeks.

He called the deal a “framework agreement” and said there were numerous issues that needed to be worked through before a “definitive agreement” was presented to the policy board to ratify, raising the possibility that it could be rejected and golf’s cold war could stretch on.

Among the issues that Monahan said were still unsettled included the future of LIV itself as an independent golf tour; the pathway for LIV players to rejoin the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour in Europe; whether PGA Tour players who declined to join LIV would somehow be financially compensated; and whether LIV players would have to forfeit some of their compensation.

“Ultimately, everything needs to be considered,” Monahan said.

Advertisement

Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said that many members of the PGA Tour policy board — more or less its board of directors — were kept in the dark about the negotiations. The agreement reached with LIV is only a framework agreement; once there is a finalized agreement, the policy board, which includes players, will have to vote to approve it.

Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, says there is no definitive agreement on whether PGA Tour players will somehow be made whole for money they turned down when they declined to join LIV, or whether LIV players will somehow have to give up money to rejoin the PGA Tour. “Ultimately, everything needs to be considered,” Monahan said.

Monahan is being asked repeatedly about his past criticism of the morals of taking LIV and Saudi money. “I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,” the PGA Tour commissioner said. “Anytime I said anything, I said it based on the information I had at the moment, and based on someone trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change.”

The PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan on his just-completed meeting with players: “I would describe the meeting as intense. Certainly heated.”

More details about the merger, and how PGA Tour players feel about it, should be emerging soon. Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, is hosting a players meeting in Toronto at the site of this week’s RBC Open. After that, Monahan will take questions from the news media.

The talks of a merger began in secret meetings after the Masters in April.

For month after month, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were content to bludgeon one another in news conferences and court filings. But in the weeks after the Masters Tournament in early April, rival executives began a series of private meetings.

Convening first in London and then Venice and ultimately San Francisco, PGA Tour leaders met with representatives of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, including Yasir al-Rumayyan, the golf fiend who is the wealth fund’s governor. According to a person familiar with the discussions, who insisted on anonymity to describe private talks, the sides effectively reached an agreement around Memorial Day but kept word of it secret from even leading executives and players until Tuesday.

The nature of the agreement — for now — keeps the PGA Tour in control, thanks to a provision that allows it to have a majority of board seats in the new company that will house the tour and LIV Golf. The wealth fund will control a minority stake in the new company, but its exclusive right to invest in it going forward opens the door for Riyadh to grow its influence in the years ahead.

But in the interim, the fate of the LIV Golf league itself appears to rest most clearly with the PGA Tour and its allies, with the new company expected to undertake an extensive analysis of the LIV format to determine whether and how it can coexist with the long-dominant tour.

A group of 9/11 relatives called the PGA Tour’s planned merger with LIV a ‘betrayal.’

A group of relatives of people killed on Sept. 11 issued a blistering criticism of the planned merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series and the PGA Tour, calling the tour and its commissioner “paid Saudi shills” for agreeing to it.

Relatives of 9/11 victims have been vocal in their opposition to the Saudi-backed LIV series almost since its inception. Most of the hijackers of the planes used in the 2001 attacks were Saudi. The 9/11 families have saved some of their harshest criticisms for those who have taken part in LIV events and hosted its tournaments. The latter group includes former President Donald J. Trump and his family, who were urged last year to cancel an event at a Trump golf course in New Jersey.

On Tuesday, one group of relatives, called 9/11 Families United, declared that its members were “shocked and deeply offended” by the merger deal. In a statement, the group called it a “betrayal” by the PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan.

“The PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation,” said the 9/11 Families United chairman, Terry Strada.

Critics of Saudi Arabia frequently deride its investments in teams and leagues as “sportswashing” and say it is a thinly veiled effort to rehabilitate the kingdom’s reputation amid accusations that it has financed terrorism and murdered a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi .

Strada criticized Monahan for “co-opting” the 9/11 community last year in the PGA Tour’s initial and strident opposition to the Saudi-backed golf tour, only to cut a merger deal this week.

“Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour,” Strade wrote. “They do now — as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed.”

Members of Congress from both parties weighed in.

“So weird. PGA officials were in my office just months ago talking about how the Saudis’ human rights record should disqualify them from having a stake in a major American sport,” said Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat of Connecticut, in a message posted on Twitter . “I guess maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”

And Representative Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas, added : “In the end, it’s always about the money. Saudi Arabia just bought themselves a one-world golf government.”

During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for human rights abuses, most notably the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, who lived in Virginia and was a columnist for The Washington Post who wrote critically of the Saudi crown prince and the country’s government.

As one of his first foreign policy actions in office, Mr. Biden authorized the release of a U.S. intelligence report that said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing.

Mr. Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents while visiting Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018 to get documents for his upcoming wedding. He was strangled by Saudi agents and then dismembered.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken happened to be in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks this week with Saudi leaders and other Gulf state officials about the possibility of the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel. It wasn’t clear if the PGA-LIV merger would be a part of discussions.

An earlier version of this blog item incorrectly stated Chris Murphy’s position in Congress. He is a senator, not a representative.

How we handle corrections

The deal sets up a structure combining nonprofit and for-profit entities.

The merger establishes an unusual structure for how golf will be governed going forward.

The PGA Tour, which is a nonprofit organization, will remain that way and retain oversight over the “sanctioning of events and administration of the competition and rules” for the tour, according to the release announcing the merger. Basically, the PGA Tour will still have full control over how its tournaments are played.

But all of the PGA Tour’s commercial businesses and rights — such as the rights to televise its tournaments, which garner hundreds of millions of dollars annually — will be owned by a new, as-of-yet unnamed for-profit entity. That entity will also own LIV Golf as well as the commercial and business rights of the PGA European Tour, known as the DP World Tour.

The board of directors for the new for-profit entity will be chaired by Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, who also oversees LIV. Three other members of the board’s executive committee will be current members of the PGA Tour’s board, and the tour will appoint the majority of the board and hold a majority voting interest.

With the PGA Tour controlling the for-profit holding company and remaining in charge of administering its own tournaments, it may seem as though the PGA Tour will forever remain the dominant voice in men’s professional golf. But that could change.

The Public Investment Fund will invest “billions,” according to al-Rumayyan, into the new for-profit entity, and it will also hold “the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that may be invested in the new entity, including into the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour,” according to the release.

If the Public Investment Fund invests more money — because the economy goes south and sponsors pull out of tournaments, for instance — in the for-profit entity, it will surely demand more board seats and greater voting rights, potentially tilting control of men’s professional golf toward Saudi Arabia.

The merger doesn’t end the U.S. antitrust inquiry into the PGA Tour.

What does this merger mean for the Department of Justice’s antitrust inquiry into the PGA Tour ? In short: Not much.

For about a year, cheered on by LIV Golf, the Justice Department has been investigating the tight-knit relationship between the PGA Tour and other powerful entities in golf, and whether there has been any collusion within the Official World Golf Rankings. A number of high-profile LIV players, like Phil Mickelson, have been interviewed in the inquiry, and lawyers representing the PGA Tour met with Justice Department officials in Washington as recently as last month.

But while Tuesday’s merger will end litigation between LIV and the PGA Tour, it will not necessarily change the Justice Department’s case. The department’s inquiry has looked into allegations of past conduct; if there was any illegal conduct, a merger does not prevent the PGA Tour from being punished for it.

“The announcement of a merger doesn’t forgive past sins,” said Bill Baer, who led the Justice Department’s antitrust division during the Obama administration.

In fact, the merger could cause the Justice Department to even more closely scrutinize the PGA Tour, for a separate but related reason.

The federal government, through the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, reviews over 1,000 mergers for approval each year. It is not yet clear which agency will lead the review of the PGA Tour and LIV’s proposed merger, but if it is the Justice Department, it will certainly scrutinize what looks to be on its face “a merger to monopoly, eliminating competition between these two competing professional golf organizations,” Baer said.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on the merger announcement.

Victor Mather

Here is what tour leaders and players are saying about the merger.

PGA Tour officials and LIV leaders hailed the announcement on Tuesday that their competing golf series would be joining forces, but players were split on the news. Here’s what they were saying:

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.” — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan , who is expected to be the chief executive of the new entity.

“There is no question that the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf. We believe there are opportunities for the game to evolve while also maintaining its storied history and tradition.” — The Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan , who will become chairman of the board of the merged tour.

“Awesome day today.” — Phil Mickelson , who left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.

“Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.” — Mackenzie Hughes , PGA Tour player.

“Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right?” — Michael Kim , PGA Tour player.

“This is one of the saddest days in the history of professional golf. I do believe that the governing bodies, the entities, the professional entities, have sacrificed their principles for profits.” — Brandel Chamblee , a Golf Channel analyst who has been sharply critical of the LIV Tour.

“Welfare check on Chamblee.” — LIV golfer Brooks Koepka , referring to Chamblee, who last week declared that “any yielding to or agreement with them is a deal with a murderous dictator.”

“Now that we’re all friends, is it too late for us to workshop some of these team names?” — Max Homa , PGA Tour player, referring to LIV teams like Crushers, Iron Heads and Majesticks.

While the merger is a tectonic shift for golf, nothing will change immediately in how fans watch golf. The PGA Tour, LIV Tour and DP World Tour are expected to proceed as scheduled and separately, at least through 2023. Afterward, it is unclear whether LIV will continue, and whether LIV golfers will apply to re-join the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.

Ahmed al-Omran

Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi state entity bankrolling LIV, the Public Investment Fund, said the agreement was reached after he held talks with PGA Tour officials in London. “The way we’re doing our partnership, it’s gonna be really big in many senses,” he said during an appearance on CNBC.

“We will be investing in the game of golf and doing many new things that I think will have better engagement from the players, the fans, the broadcasters, the sponsors, everyone else,” Al-Rumayyan said. He added that the PIF would invest “billions of dollars” into the sport without giving a specific timeline. “Whatever it takes,” he said.

Eric Lipton

Trump praises the PGA and LIV golf merger.

The Trump family, which has been the host of LIV tournaments in the United States and a big booster of the series’ efforts to break away from the PGA Tour, expects to continue to see tournaments played at its golf courses once the merger is complete.

“This merger is a wonderful thing for the game of golf,” Eric Trump said in an interview on Tuesday. “I truly believe that.”

His father, Donald J. Trump, also praised the deal. On Truth Social, the former president’s social media platform and personal megaphone, he wrote: “Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf.”

The LIV series has been a boon for the Trump family, which lost major tournaments after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the capitol, including the one of golf’s four majors, the 2022 P.G.A. Championship. That tournament had been scheduled to be played at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, but its organizer, the P.G.A. of America, stripped the club of the hosting rights days after the capitol attack.

Last July, just before the first LIV tournament was played at Trump National Bedminster, Mr. Trump predicted that the series would ultimately merge, and he suggested that players that stayed loyal to the PGA Tour were making a financial mistake.

“All of those that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you will get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social in July 2022 . “If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.”

LIV has tournaments scheduled this year at Trump-owned golf courses in Florida and New Jersey, and it just completed a tournament at a Trump course in Virginia. Negotiations are underway for more potential tournaments at Trump-owned facilities next year, though it is now unclear if the series will continue in its current format.

When asked if the Trump family had played a role in urging the PGA and LIV groups to merge, Eric Trump on Tuesday declined to comment. But he did say that the family has close friends developed over many years in the golf world, including those associated with the PGA and LIV groups.

Ahmed Al Omran

reporting from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The merger is seen as a victory for Saudi Arabia.

The deal to merge the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the rival league financed by billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, was seen as a victory for Saudi Arabia on multiple levels.

The merger marked the greatest success to date of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a player in global sports. From the outset, its billion-dollar play for control of golf seemed like nothing less than an attempt to seize control of an entire sport.

Now, by merging with the PGA Tour, the oil-rich kingdom has gained a foothold that guarantees it outsize influence in the game’s future. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi state entity bankrolling LIV, the Public Investment Fund, will become chairman of the new golf organization. The sovereign wealth fund will have right of first refusal on new investments in the merged tour, according to the statement announcing the merger .

The rival tours had clashed for months in litigation that will now draw to a close, so the deal will protect Mr. Al-Rumayyan, a golf aficionado, from the prospect of being deposed and scrutinized in American courtrooms. He also serves as chairman of Aramco, the Saudi state oil company, which has been a major sponsor of Formula 1 racing.

The deal could also lend legitimacy to the kingdom’s entry as a major player in global sports in the form of a serious partner and not just a well-funded disrupter.

Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of using its spending power in sports to distract from its poor human rights record, but Saudi officials have repeatedly rejected these allegations.

At the same time, this deal could serve as a blueprint for future moves as the kingdom grows its ambitions to further expand its influence and reach in sports and entertainment. ‌‌

By establishing a start-up golf tour that rose rapidly to become enough of a threat for the PGA Tour and bring them to the negotiation table, Saudi Arabia could see potential to do the same in other arenas. Under the terms of the deal, the Public Investment Fund holds veto power on bringing any new investors, giving themselves insurance from any possible dilution of their power in the new arrangement.

The sovereign wealth fund has already managed to achieve a quick return for their investment in Newcastle United as the English soccer club qualified for the UEFA Champions League merely 18 months after it was purchased.

The announcement of the merger with the PGA Tour comes less than one year since LIV’s first event in June 2022 .

In addition to soccer and golf, Saudi Arabia is eyeing investments in cricket, tennis and e-sports via Savvy Games Group, which is backed by the sovereign wealth fund. The group plans to invest $37.8 billion to make Saudi Arabia a global hub for gaming.

The kingdom has also served as host to major sports events including Formula 1 races, major boxing matches and WWE as part of plans to diversify its economy away from heavy reliance on oil.

Saudi Arabia is making a major push in soccer, too.

Golf is not the only sport where Saudi Arabia is looking to increase its influence: It is also making a major play in soccer.

Its most prominent investment to date was its purchase last year of the English Premier League team Newcastle United, a deal that gave the kingdom, through its huge Public Investment Fund, a foothold in the world’s richest soccer competition. But Saudi Arabia is also bidding to host soccer’s World Cup in 2030, and this week the country’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, announced that the PIF would invest more than $1 billion in the country’s domestic league in hopes of making it one of the 10 best leagues in the world.

As Tariq Panja and Ahmed Al Omran reported in The Times last week, the plan is focused on attracting more than a dozen of the world’s best players to the Saudi league by offering them some of the richest deals in sports history. Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time world player of the year, moved to Saudi Arabia in January, and reports of nine-figure offers to others — including Lionel Messi — are rampant. The French striker Karim Benzema accepted one this week : He will join the Jeddah-based club Al-Ittihad in a multiyear deal that will make him one of the world’s best-paid players.

Similar in ambition to the Saudi-financed LIV series in golf, the kingdom’s plan for soccer involves the PIF. This week it took a controlling stake in four of the Saudi league’s biggest clubs in what appears to be a centralized effort — supported at the highest levels of the Saudi state — to turn the country’s domestic league, a footnote on the global soccer stage, into a destination for top talent.

The basics of the sweeping golf merger.

After two years of sniping, lawsuits and ill will, the major men’s golf tours agreed to merge on Tuesday. The blockbuster announcement came as a surprise given the fierce competition and legal action among the tours. Here’s what we know, and don’t know.

What happened on Tuesday?

The PGA Tour, which runs golf in North America; the PGA European Tour, which is known as the DP World Tour and holds events in much of the rest of the world; and the upstart LIV Tour agreed to merge their operations.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which spent billions to launch the LIV Tour, will invest in the new company, and the governor of that fund will become its chairman.

All the lawsuits among the tours will be ended as part of the deal.

How did we get here?

The LIV Tour started last year and offered big-name players from the other tours huge sums to jump ship. Many did, notably Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith. Some veterans like Phil Mickelson also joined. Those players were suspended from the PGA Tour as a result.

Others, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, did not take reported offers. Many players and officials of the PGA Tour were sharply critical of LIV, both for dividing the golf world and for associating with the Saudi government and its poor human rights record.

How will things change?

There is a lot we don’t know at this point. The LIV Tour had team events as a focus of its model, and in its statement, the PGA Tour mentioned that the tours planned to “grow team golf going forward.”

But there are many unknowns. Will the tours continue to operate separately? The statement referred only to “a cohesive schedule of events.”

Will the enormous disparity between the LIV purses and the purses on the other tours remain? Will LIV continue to hold 54-hole, three-day tournaments with shotgun starts and no cuts, while the other tours maintain their traditional four-day formats?

The PGA Tour did say that the tours would develop a process for LIV players who want to reapply for membership with the two older tours after the 2023 season.

LIV Golf Singapore

Latest golf videos, mcilroy: there are still some hard feelings that need to be addressed.

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Disney Ad Sales Site
• Work for ESPN
• Corrections

• Associated Press ,

• Bruce Martin ,

• OlympicTalk ,

Trending Teams

Current major eligibility list for all liv golf players.

• Golf Channel Staff ,
• Golf Channel Staff

This week, the PGA of America published its eligibility criteria for the 2024 PGA Championship , meaning the pathways into the remaining men’s majors for this season are all confirmed.

After 13 LIV golfers teed it up at Augusta National (with a best finish of T-6 from Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau), fewer of the league’s members are in line for spots at Valhalla next month, depending on how many players secure invitations based on the world ranking (traditionally, while not a formal criteria, the PGA of America has invited top 100 players not otherwise exempt, and a few LIV players sit on this bubble).

While LIV players remain eligible for majors, no governing bodies to date have offered a direct pathway through performance on LIV, meaning qualification is difficult for those without previously existing exemptions.

To that end, two big streaks are on the line as the PGA approaches:

Patrick Reed has played in 40 straight major championships, but is not yet formally exempt into the PGA. He entered the Masters ranked 112 th in the world, and finished T-12 to jump inside the top 90, upping his chances at an invitation based on his world rank. The last major contested without Reed in the field was the 2013 PGA.

Also of note, two-time major champion Dustin Johnson is entering the final year of his five-year exemption into the PGA through his 2020 Masters win. Johnson will be competing in his 15 th PGA and has had several close calls having finished runner-up twice (2019, 2020) and tied for fifth in 2010 at Whistling Straits after a two-shot penalty on the 72 nd hole cost him a spot in a playoff with Bubba Watson and eventual champion Martin Kaymer.

This post, courtesy the Golf Channel research department, tracks future major eligibility for all 55 players who have made a LIV start in 2024 (the 52 players assigned to a team plus the three individuals who have competed so far). Updates will be made as necessary throughout the spring:

Past major champions with full major access (6)

Bryson DeChambeau (Won 2020 U.S. Open)

• U.S. Open through 2030
• Masters, PGA, The Open through 2025

Dustin Johnson (Won 2016 U.S. Open; 2020 Masters)

• Masters for life
• U.S. Open through 2026
• The Open through 2025
• PGA through 2024

Brooks Koepka (Won 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open; 2018, 2019 and 2023 PGA Championship)

• PGA for life
• Masters, U.S. Open through 2028
• The Open through 2027

Phil Mickelson (Won 2004, 2006 and 2010 Masters; 2005 and 2021 PGA Championship; 2013 Open)

• Masters, PGA for life
• The Open through 2030 (when he will be 60 years old)
• U.S. Open through 2025

Jon Rahm (Won 2021 U.S. Open; 2023 Masters)

• U.S. Open through 2031
• PGA, The Open through 2027

Cameron Smith (Won 2022 Open)

• The Open until age 60
• Masters, PGA, U.S. Open through 2027

Past major champions with some major access (7)

Sergio Garcia (Won 2017 Masters)

Martin Kaymer (Won 2010 PGA Championship; 2014 U.S. Open)

• U.S. Open through 2024

Louis Oosthuizen (Won 2010 Open)

Patrick Reed (Won 2018 Masters)

Charl Schwartzel (Won 2011 Masters)

Henrik Stenson (Won 2016 Open)

Bubba Watson (Won 2012 and 2014 Masters)

Past major champ whose exemptions have expired (1)

Graeme McDowell (Won 2010 U.S. Open)

Note: McDowell’s last major appearance came in 2020. The champion exemption for the U.S. Open is 10 years – by far the least favorable exemption for a past major champ. The Masters and PGA are “for life,” while The Open allows past champs to play until age 55 (reduced from age 60 starting in 2024 for all future Open champions).

Left for LIV in 2024 with exemptions already sealed (2)

Tyrrell Hatton

• 2024 Masters: Qualified for 2023 Tour Championship; OWGR top 50 at the end of 2023
• 2024 PGA: Finished T-15 in 2023 PGA
• 2024 U.S. Open: Qualified for 2023 Tour Championship
• 2024 Open: Top 30 in 2023 Race to Dubai and FedExCup standings

Adrian Meronk

• 2024 Masters: OWGR top 50 at the end of 2023
• 2024 U.S. Open: Top 2, not otherwise exempt, from 2023 Race to Dubai
• 2024 Open: Top 30 in 2023 Race to Dubai standings

Note: Meronk, hovering around 60 th in the world right now, is likely to gain entry into the PGA Championship as well.

Exemption(s) earned while on LIV through non-OWGR based criteria (3)

Dean Burmester

• 2024 Open: Won Joburg Open on DP World Tour in Nov. 2023 (part of Open Qualifying Series)

Joaquin Niemann

• 2024 Masters: Special invitation
• 2024 PGA: Special invitation
• 2024 Open: Won ISPS Handa Australian Open on DP World Tour in Dec. 2023 (part of Open Qualifying Series)
• 2024 Open: Won IRS Prima Malaysian Open on DP World Tour in Feb. 2024 (part of Open Qualifying Series)

Not currently exempt into any majors, but favorable positioning on certain criteria (2)

Lucas Herbert

• 2024 PGA: Likely via traditional OWGR top 100 pathway; ranked 84th as of this post

Andy Ogletree

• 2024 PGA and Open: Likely via OWGR International Federation Ranking (currently 2 nd ; top 3 are exempt into 2024 PGA and top 5 are exempt into 2024 Open)

Not currently exempt into any majors, slim prospects outside of open qualifying (34)

• Abraham Ancer
• Richard Bland
• Laurie Canter
• Eugenio Chacarra
• Talor Gooch
• Branden Grace
• Sam Horsfield
• Charles Howell III
• Anthony Kim
• Jason Kokrak
• Jinichiro Kozuma
• Anirban Lahiri
• Marc Leishman
• Sebastian Munoz
• Carlos Ortiz
• Mito Pereira
• Thomas Pieters
• Ian Poulter
• Kalle Samooja
• Brendan Steele
• Caleb Surratt
• Hudson Swafford
• Cameron Tringale
• Peter Uihlein
• Harold Varner III
• Kieran Vincent
• Scott Vincent
• Lee Westwood
• Matthew Wolff

Advertisement

Nfl draft: which pga tour and liv golf players would be drafted in the top 32, share this article.

The men’s professional golf season is picking up steam and features a unique team event in New Orleans this weekend, but let’s be real, chances are you’ll be following the NFL Draft this weekend on a second screen or at the very least your phone.

With the first round on Thursday night live from Detroit, I got to thinking … who would be in the top 32 picks if it were professional golfers and not college football players? How many LIV Golf players would feature? It’s tough to compare players across the various tours, and yes this is all very subjective, but let’s not let semantics get in the way of a little fun.

1st pick — Scottie Scheffler

Jon Rahm puts the green jacket on Scottie Scheffler for winning the 2024 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)

Do we really need to explain this one? Four wins in his last five starts, which includes his second Masters title in three years. He’s the undisputed world No. 1 and will be for quite some time it appears.

2nd pick — Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg reacts after making a birdie on the fifth hole during the third round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 20, 2024 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Two runner-up finishes and eight top 25s in 10 starts on Tour this season. The only person who beat him in his major championship debut at the Masters was Scheffler. Give me all the Aberg stock.

3rd pick — Wyndham Clark

Wyndham Clark walks off the No. 2 green during the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Network)

Yes, he ejected on Friday at the Masters, but on the season he has a win at Pebble Beach (in a shortened event) but also has two runner-up finishes and four top 10s in 10 starts. He’s consistently been in the mix for the last two years.

4th pick — Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy walks off the eighth green prior to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana on April 24, 2024 in Avondale, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The world No. 2 has six top-25 finishes in eight PGA Tour starts and bagged a win against a weak field in January on the DP World Tour in Dubai. Sure, he isn’t winning or competing at the clip he should be, but McIlroy has shown glimpses that make me believe he’s got the chance to rattle off a few wins this season.

5th pick — Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm tees off on No. 1 during a practice round at Augusta National Golf Club ahead of the 2024 Masters. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network)

Rahm’s Masters title defense didn’t go as planned (T-45, 9 over) but at his best he’s still a top player in the world. He hasn’t finished worse than eighth place in five LIV starts and has three top-fives. He’ll win at least one of those this year and should be a factor in the three majors still to come.

6th pick — Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

I mean, he’s gotta win again soon, right? The drought is pushing two years for Schauffele, two earned his 12 th major top 10 at the Masters. Nine top 25s and seven top 10s in 10 events on Tour. He’s due.

7th pick — Max Homa

Max Homa chips onto the No. 7 green during the final round of the Masters Tournament. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Network)

It’s Max Homa’s time to shine. He’s won on Tour every year since 2019 (the COVID-riddled 2020 season aside) and just earned his best-ever major finish with his T-3 at the Masters. Expect him to nab a PGA Tour win, and don’t be surprised if his ballstriking shines at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

8th pick — Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay plays his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

You may not love his pace of play but his game is undeniable. He hasn’t missed a cut in nine starts and has five top-25 finishes. Even a ho-hum Masters still saw him finish T-22.

9th pick — Joaquin Niemann

Joaquin Niemann of Torque GC poses for a photo with his trophy after winning the LIV Golf Invitational – Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on March 03, 2024 in King Abdullah Economic City , Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

With two wins in five LIV Golf starts this season and a win in December at the Australian Open, few players are hitting the ball as well as Niemann these days. After he earned a special invitation to the 2024 Masters, Niemann rebounded from a Friday 78 to finish T-22, his second-best major finish behind last year’s Masters (T-16).

10th pick — Bryson Dechambeau

Much like in the NFL Draft with quarterbacks or linemen, it’s a run of LIV players. His LIV team is rolling with two wins, and after a T-25 in the season opener, he’s gone on to finish T9-4-T6-T7 in the four events since.

Pick Nos. 11-15

Brooks Koepka seen on the eighth green during a practice round prior to the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)

No. 11 — Brooks Koepka

No. 12 — Collin Morikawa

Morikawa made some key changes and appears to be back to his competitive ways.

No. 13 — Viktor Hovland

No. 14 — Tommy Fleetwood

134 PGA Tour starts. 23 top-five finishes. Zero wins. If Schauffele is due, Fleetwood is well past due and racking up late fees. This season he has three top 10s in eight starts. If he keeps banging on the door, eventually it’ll open up.

No. 15 — Sahith Theegala

Pick Nos. 16-20

Tyrrell Hatton of Legion XIII gestures during day one of the LIV Golf Invitational – Mayakoba at El Camaleon at Mayakoba on February 02, 2024 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)

No. 16 — Tyrrell Hatton

He’s been okay so far with LIV Golf (T8-T12-T15-T21-T4) but did pick up a top 10 at the Masters ( despite hating the course ).

No. 17 — Matt Fitzpatrick

No. 18 — Hideki Matsuyama

No. 19 — Justin Thomas

No. 20 — Jordan Spieth

Every draft has a reach and Spieth may be it for this one. Yes, his tournaments are a roller coaster of “wow” and “yikes” performances but that’ll sell tickets.

Pick Nos. 21-25

Will Zalatoris plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the third round of the 2024 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Network)

No. 21 — Will Zalatoris

Zalatoris is still working his way back from injury but a runner-up and three top 10s (including the Masters) in nine events is a nice start.

No. 22 — Cameron Young

No. 23 — Denny McCarthy

No. 24 — Brian Harman

No. 25 — Min Woo Lee

Pick Nos. 26-32

Jason Day and his caddie, Luke Reardon, wait on the 15th hole during the continuation of the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

No. 26 — Jason Day

He might dress poorly but he’s playing well with three top 10s this season. Keep an eye on JDay the rest of this season (and once again, not just for his bad outfits ).

No. 27 — Sam Burns

No. 28 — Tom Kim

No. 29 — Tony Finau

No. 30 — Akshay Bhatia

No. 31 — Cameron Smith

No. 32 — Talor Gooch

I’d hate for this list to have an asterisk .

Check out the best equipment you can buy: Best drivers for 2024 | Best irons for 2024 | Best putters for 2024 | Best golf balls for 2024

Most Popular

Jim furyk, caddie mike 'fluff' cowan part amicably after 25 years as fluff takes permanent bag on pga tour, best golf sales in may 2024 - discount golf clubs, shoes & more, all the pga tour trophies for the 2020-21 season, jack nicklaus played augusta national three times after the 2024 masters. here's what he shot, tiger woods' brand, sun day red, releases first drop for the public, 2024 ncaa division i men's golf regionals full fields, seeds announced, best golf balls you can buy in 2024.

Follow Playing Through online:

• Follow Playing Through on Twitter
• Follow Playing Through on Instagram
• Follow Playing Through on Facebook

Site search

• Champions Tour
• DP World Tour
• Latest News

Filed under:

LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton shockingly granted Ryder Cup lifeline

Despite their affiliation with LIV Golf, both Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton can make the Ryder Cup team in 2025.

Share this story

• Share this on Facebook
• Share this on Twitter
• Share this on Reddit
• Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton shockingly granted Ryder Cup lifeline

Get ready to see Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton at Bethpage Black for the 2025 Ryder Cup , despite their affiliation with LIV Golf .

Many believed that LIV golfers could not compete in the last Ryder Cup, held at Marco Simone Golf Club outside of Rome, Italy. No European LIV players, such as Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, and Ian Poulter, made the roster in Rome, leading many to think that Team Europe barred LIV golfers from its team.

When in fact, those players rescinded their DP World Tour memberships and, thus, their Ryder Cup prospects.

That ultimately led to Garcia attempting to pay off his fines of $867,000 , but it was too little, too late.

As for the case of Rahm and Hatton competing in 2025, newly minted DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings cleared up this “misconception” in an interview with Golf Digest and other outlets.

“If we look at the eligibility criteria for 2023, I think there has been a slight misconception,” Kinnings said.

“The reality is that, under the current system, if a player is European and is a member of the DP World Tour and abides by the rules in place, he is eligible.”

Both Rahm and Hatton fit this billing, considering that both players have maintained their DP World Tour membership and hail from Spain and England, respectively.

Yet, these two players have not obtained an official release from the DP World Tour that would allow them to compete in LIV Golf events. As such, both players are liable to sanctions from the DP World Tour, if they want to compete in the next Ryder Cup. That will likely include a financial penalty, which should not trouble Rahm and Hatton too greatly, considering the millions they received.

“If you don’t get a release, there are sanctions, so a player must accept those sanctions. And if he accepts the penalties, there is no reason why a player who has taken LIV membership and maintained his DP World Tour membership could not (a) qualify or (b) be available for Ryder Cup selection,” Kinnings explained.

“It requires a player to work within the rules, but the truth is that those rules have been looked at and tested. Everything is done in a fair, reasonable, and proportionate way. So, there is no reason why anything needs to change. It is wrong to think Jon Rahm has written himself out of the Ryder Cup. People instantly thought we would have to change the rules . But actually, we don’t. If Jon follows the procedures in place, there is no reason why he would not be eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup.”

To date, Rahm has followed these procedures, according to Kinnings. He has formally requested a release before each LIV event he has played, including this week before LIV Golf’s Adelaide event, but the DP World Tour has denied each plea.

“[Rahm] will likely have to serve a suspension. And if he does that, he will be eligible to play in the next Ryder Cup. He doesn’t actually have to enter a subsequent DP World Tour event to serve that suspension. He would be suspended from an event, even if he hasn’t entered,” Kinnings added.

“To be eligible for the Ryder Cup, a player must play in a minimum of four DP World Tour events. Any player will still be able to do that, even if he serves any and all suspensions levied. There are enough weeks in the year to do that. That’s not a loophole. Those are the rules we have always had.”

Instead of serving his suspension after the LIV Golf season wraps up, Rahm, in theory, could partake in his suspension during off weeks on the Saudi-backed circuit. Since LIV Golf has a two-week break between the PGA Championship in mid-May and its Houston event in early June, part of Rahm’s suspension could be honored through the Soudal Open in Belgium and the European Open in Germany, for example.

Rahm could continue to employ this strategy throughout the Summer, opening up the door for him to compete in two of his favorite events on the DP World Tour later this Fall: the Andalucía Masters and the Open de España.

Regardless, the path for Rahm and Hatton—along with Adrian Meronk and Thomas Pieters—to make the 2025 Ryder Cup team has been laid out before them. Whether these players follow that course remains to be seen.

But rest assured that all European fans, including fellow players like Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, want Rahm and Hatton on the team at Bethpage Black.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Next Up In Golf

• Byron Nelson: Matt Wallace leans on Masters contenders to jump to early lead
• Tiger Woods earns U.S. Open exemption sure to leave Talor Gooch saying WTF
• Brooks Koepka explains his poor play, ‘wasted time’ at Augusta National
• Gary Player chip-in leaves Donald Trump in disbelief, fans left with evil Dictator vibes
• Phil Mickelson dishes details of PGA Tour ruling with iron fist, being “shot down”
• Will Zalatoris back injury flares up, joins fellow Byron Nelson favorite to withdraw

Loading comments...

Sign up for the newsletter sign up for the playing through daily roundup newsletter, thanks for signing up.

Check your inbox for a welcome email.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Shunning Rory McIlroy would represent epic embarrassment for PGA Tour

World No 2 basically auditioning for acceptance to return to policy board is faintly ludicrous in increasingly fractured sport

T he most unpalatable and unlikely scenario could be a necessary one. Rory McIlroy to LIV has been rumoured, slapped down, rumoured and slapped down. Yet as the PGA Tour procrastinates over completion of a deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, and even the formal involvement of McIlroy himself, one wonders if it may take something nuclear to allow golf to wake up to the haplessness of its present, fractured state. Should McIlroy sign for golf’s rebel tour the establishment would be sent into a level of frenzy so serious that collaboration between the PGA Tour, LIV and the PIF would surely transpire in a heartbeat.

There is no suggestion this will happen. Still, Greg Norman knew precisely what he was doing in recent days. “If Rory was willing to sit down and have a conversation with us, would we be happy to sit down with him?” Norman said. “100%.” McIlroy is not actually the PGA Tour’s main concern. The live prospect of LIV continuing a talent drain on established tours into 2025 should be the prime cause for fear. While not McIlroy, it could be Viktor Hovland . If not Hovland, it could be Tommy Fleetwood. The PGA Tour and its marquee events are being materially harmed by golf’s lack of compatibility. This will continue to be the case while the PGA Tour wanders aimlessly on one path and LIV confidently on another.

A Monday morning conference call will determine whether or not McIlroy will make a return to the PGA Tour’s policy board and become a director of the recently established PGA Tour Enterprises. This vote should have taken place on Wednesday. It is a telling indicator of the corporate muddle that McIlroy – not the most famous individual in golf but surely the most influential – was not immediately welcomed with open arms. It is faintly ludicrous that the world No 2 and a proper needle-mover in golf has to hang around and audition for acceptance. The 34-year-old has connections across business and golf that should render a role for him a complete no-brainer. Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, will take McIlroy’s call; a courtesy unlikely to given to others not named Tiger Woods.

The only assumption to be drawn from the needless delay is that there are those who are hardly impressed by McIlroy stepping back into prominence. The Northern Irishman has been candid about his desire for a global game, where the best play the best in all corners of the globe. If top-level golf was created today, this is precisely the model that would be followed. Yet for too long – and still now – people involved in the PGA Tour are obsessed only by the PGA Tour. It is an insular standpoint which, combined with Saudi riches, has left the organisation forced into a commercial partnership with a group of US-based sports owners to keep heads above water. Even with that agreement in place the PGA Tour’s medium-term outlook, with $20m events not nearly enough people care about, isn’t positive.

As the sport loses eyeballs, players have become overly empowered. Golfers would never ask commercial types to line up putts for them but seem to believe they are qualified to make business calls. This is the reason a group of directors did not instantly tick a box and return McIlroy to the fold. Among them is Patrick Cantlay. McIlroy has already been plain about the fact he and the world No 8 “see the world quite differently”. Which is fine. In fact, it is perhaps essential in a boardroom.

Nobody knows precisely what Cantlay wants because he has passed up countless opportunities to articulate it. At Sawgrass, immediately before he joined a trip to the Bahamas to meet Rumayyan, Cantlay was so vague in response to questions about his sport’s future that it was tricky to keep eyes open while listening. A day after McIlroy’s potential reappearance was reported, Cantlay was on the interview schedule at the Zurich Classic. By total coincidence, Cantlay’s practice schedule meant he was not able to appear for questioning.

Woods is intriguing in this situation. It is only fair to believe fellow professionals who state the 15-time major winner takes his board position seriously, despite this being an individual who has had others basically wiping his backside since he shot to worldwide fame. Woods had no previous requirement to study spreadsheets. Despite not being a board member at the time, Woods was upset at having no prior knowledge of the 6 June framework agreement announced between the PGA Tour and PIF. This resentment seems to have lingered. If anyone had cause for anger, it was McIlroy; he earlier did so much of the PGA Tour’s public bidding against LIV. Rather than sulk, McIlroy wants to be a force for greater good.

JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL pic.twitter.com/NefSbCQjAk — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 29, 2024

The bigger issue is that Woods’s entire legacy is wrapped up in the PGA Tour. He needs the PGA Tour, above or even at the cost of all else, to thrive and prosper. If the shape of elite golf changes it would only be natural for Woods to ponder how his achievements may be viewed decades from now. Like Cantlay, though, Woods has been hopelessly opaque when placed behind a microphone.

There are other reasons for McIlroy to be involved. If the PGA Tour wants to present itself as an upwardly mobile organisation, it surely cannot operate without European presence in its decision making. There is scepticism about the value of a strategic alliance between the PGA and DP World Tour; that is only enhanced by such a US-centric boardroom.

A conference call on Monday will determine the next step. Shunning McIlroy would represent an epic embarrassment. Whether the four-time major winner is back to front and centre, this must also be the trigger for others on the PGA Tour to finally display the courage of their convictions. Minus McIlroy, golf is sleepwalking.

• Rory McIlroy
• LIV Golf Series

Most viewed

• FanNation FanNation FanNation
• Swimsuit SI Swimsuit SI Swimsuit
• Sportsbook SI Sportsbook SI Sportsbook
• Tickets SI Tickets SI Tickets
• Shop SI Shop SI Shop
• Golf Golf Golf
• Home Home Home
• News News News
• Leaderboard Leaderboard Leaderboard
• Schedules Schedules Schedules
• SI Rankings SI Rankings SI Rankings
• Travel Travel Travel
• Instruction Instruction Instruction
• Gear Gear Gear
• Betting Betting Betting

LIV Golf's Talor Gooch Will Not Try to Qualify for the U.S. Open

A number of players from the Saudi-backed league will attempt to play their way into the U.S. Open but not LIV's top player from 2023.

• Author: Bob Harig

Several LIV Golf League players will attempt to make the U.S. Open field via final qualifying next month.

Talor Gooch won’t be one of them.

The top player on LIV Golf in 2023 who won three times and captured the season-long points race said during a news conference in Singapore on Thursday that he would not be taking part.

He did not give a reason.

Gooch appeared alongside Smash GC teammates Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell and Jason Kokrak, and they were all asked if they would attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, which will conduct 36-hole qualifiers around the country on May 3.

Both McDowell and Kokrak said they would not only attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, but for the British Open as well—which will have final qualifying two weeks prior to the championship.

🏆🇺🇸 World #624 Talor Gooch on if he plans to play in a U.S. Open qualifying event: “I’m not.” Should the USGA give LIV Golf’s Talor Gooch a special exemption? pic.twitter.com/enhnD2SIwh — NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 2, 2024

A total of 35 players from LIV are scheduled to play in final qualifying. Koepka, a two-time major winner and the reigning PGA champion , is exempt.

Gooch simply said: “I’m not.”  And offered no explanation.

The one-time PGA Tour winner has been outspoken about not being included in the major championships.

Last year, he earned his way into the Masters and the British Open having finished in the top 30 in the 2022 PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings. But Gooch was miffed that the U.S. Open changed its rules to state that the same exemption would only go to a player “eligible” for the season-ending Tour Championship. Having gone to LIV Golf, Gooch was not eligible.

Earlier this year, Gooch made headlines when he said: “If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his (career) Grand Slam without some of the best players in the world, there is just going to be an asterisk. It’s just the reality.”

LIV Golf does not receive Official World Golf Ranking points for its events and many of its players have plummeted in the rankings while not earning points. Gooch, who was top 50 in the world around this time last year, has sunk to 624th in the OWGR. He is ranked 41st by Data Golf, which includes LIV tournaments.

He tied for 34th at the Masters last year and then missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He did not attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open and then missed the cut at The Open.

Gooch has no victories so far this year with LIV Golf but does have three top 10s. He is the defending champion of this week’s event in Singapore.

Among the LIV golfers scheduled to compete in final qualifying for the U.S. Open are Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and Henrik Stenson.

Latest News

A ‘Very Engaged’ Tiger Woods Hosted PGA Tour/PIF Bahamas Meeting and Played Golf With Yasir Al-Rumayyan

SI Golf Ranks Its Top 36 PGA Tour Players Who Should Get Equity Shares

TV Times: How to Watch the Valspar Championship, LPGA in California

Masters Champion Jon Rahm Expects to Be Nervous Early in the Week, Then All Business at Augusta

Power Rankings: Take Precision Over Distance at Valspar Championship

Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton eligible for 2025 Ryder Cup despite joining LIV Golf

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, both members of the victorious European Ryder Cup team at Marco Simone last fall, are still eligible for the 2025 team at Bethpage Black under the DP World Tour’s current guidelines. The pair left for LIV Golf earlier this year but have a pathway to be on the team, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings told reporters .

Advertisement

The newly appointed Kinnings dispelled previous concerns — which were even voiced by Rory McIlroy — that Rahm and Hatton’s defections to LIV Golf might prevent them from representing Europe in Long Island, N.Y., next year.

Rahm and Hatton must simply remain DP World Tour members to be eligible for the Ryder Cup, Kinnings said. That means the pair will incur fines every time they tee it up in a LIV Golf event, but if they pay those penalties and play in the minimum number of DP World Tour events each calendar year to retain membership (four), they can still be on the team.

“I think there’s been a slight misconception because the reality is, under the current rules, if a player is European, and is a member of the DP World Tour, and abides by the rules as they currently are — so if you don’t get a release and you accept the sanctions — there is no reason why players who’ve taken LIV membership and maintained DP World Tour membership, could not a) qualify and or b) be available to for selection,” the CEO said.

Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign up

The change from 2022

Rahm and Hatton’s eligibility situation is in direct contrast with that of several other LIV players who chose to withdraw their DP World Tour membership last year. Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia resigned from the tour last year, effectively ending their Ryder Cup careers to avoid paying large fines. Meanwhile, Rahm and Hatton (and other European LIV members such as Adrian Meronk and Thomas Pieters) have kept their memberships.

According to The Telegraph’s James Corrigan , Kinnings consulted the DP World Tour rules department to ensure that Rahm and Hatton could play in the four required events while also serving their LIV-related penalties. Since LIV Golf plays 14 events each year, Rahm and Hatton need to serve a 14-week ban to carry out their suspensions. But instead of serving those suspensions at the end of the LIV season, Rahm and Hatton can serve them whenever LIV has an off-week but the DP World Tour does not, as revealed by Kinnings. As long as both players pay the appropriate fines — which will likely total more than $1 million each — they will be eligible to either qualify for or be selected for the European Ryder Cup team.

“It’s not a loophole,” Kinnings said. “Rules are for all of the membership and it’s important for people to know how those apply and they apply to every member.”

What are the future implications?

Not every player will want to battle constant fines and suspensions to maintain their Ryder Cup eligibility, but the news reveals that joining LIV Golf doesn’t necessarily prevent pros from teeing it up in the biennial match-play event on either side — LIV’s Brooks Koepka made the United States team last year.

Although the Ryder Cup requirements were not changed, Kinnings was willing to read between the lines of the DP World Tour rules to ensure Rahm and Hatton have a pathway to Luke Donald’s 2025 team. That effort is noteworthy as the professional game continues to operate in a fractured system, and the road to unification remains murky.

Rahm and Hatton were critical parts of Donald’s plan at Marco Simone — Hatton was 3-0-1 and Rahm 2-0-2. The duo played together in foursomes twice, winning the first match of the Ryder Cup and halving their Saturday game.

Required reading

• What Jon Rahm’s shocking move to LIV means for golf’s future

(Photo: Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Gabby Herzig is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering golf. Before joining The Athletic, she worked as a breaking news writer for Sports Illustrated’s golf vertical and a contributing editor at Golf Digest. She is a graduate of Pomona College, where she captained the varsity women’s golf team.

• CBSSports.com
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• CBS Sports Home
• Kentucky Derby 
• Champions League
• Motor Sports
• High School

Men's Brackets

Women's Brackets

Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy football, football pick'em, college pick'em, fantasy basketball, fantasy hockey, franchise games, 24/7 sports news network.

• CBS Sports Golazo Network
• PGA Tour on CBS
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Europa League
• Italian Serie A
• Watch CBS Sports Network
• TV Shows & Listings

The Early Edge

A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast

With the First Pick

NFL Draft recap

• Podcasts Home
• The First Cut Golf
• Beyond the Arc
• We Need to Talk Now
• Eye On College Basketball
• NFL Pick Six
• Cover 3 College Football
• Fantasy Football Today
• My Teams Organize / See All Teams Help Account Settings Log Out

2024 Zurich Classic leaderboard, scores: Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry among leaders after Round 1

Mcilroy and lowry headline a crowded leaderboard as the competition moves to foursomes for friday.

There aren't many firsts left for Rory McIlroy to achieve in his PGA Tour career, but he checked one off the list Thursday at TPC Louisiana. Making his debut appearance in the Zurich Classic, the 34-year-old looked like the seasoned veteran he is alongside Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry. The two fired an 11-under 61 in the four-ball format amid the windy afternoon conditions to sit with the teams of Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard, Aaron Rai and David Lipsky and Ben Kohles and Patton Kizzire atop the leaderboard after Round 1.

While this week marks McIlroy's first attempt at claiming the PGA Tour's annual team event, it also represents his 11th start of the year as he continues to play through some relative early season struggles. McIlroy had no issues in the first round as he drove the ball beautifully, struck towering iron shots and picked apart the par-72 layout in unison with Lowry.

"You know that you sort of need to get off to a good start, and thankfully we did," McIlroy said. "We were 4 under through 4, which was really nice to see, and from there you've got some momentum and you're just trying to keep it going. But for the most part today, we kept both balls in play. We were having two looks basically on every hole at birdie, and that's the way you need to play better ball. Everyone thinks it's maybe a bit more gung ho than that, but as long as you have two balls in play off the tee, two balls on the green, I think you're always going to do pretty well in this format."

The two began their days with four birdies out the gate and tacked on a couple more to turn in 6-under 30. A birdie on No. 10 was followed with a disappointing par on the par-5 11th, but that did nothing to dampen their spirits. McIlroy struck his best iron of the day into the 12th when he feathered an 8 iron against the wind and to tap-in distance.

Rory McIlroy drops it close from 163 yards to set up birdie and move Lowry/McIlroy 8-under and three back. 🎯🤌 📺: Golf Channel & @peacock | @Zurich_Classic pic.twitter.com/Z4Bv95PD8m — Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) April 25, 2024

Lowry picked him up on the very next hole with a birdie of his own to get the team to 9 under and added another on the difficult par-3 14th to get to double digits under par. With four holes remaining, the two appeared likely to overtake the clubhouse lead, but a couple middling pars to go along with one last birdie on the par-5 18th meant there will be four teams sleeping on the lead tonight before the competition transitions to foursomes on Friday.

Let's take a look around the rest of the leaderboard after the first round in Louisiana.

The leaders

T1. Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry, David Lipsky/Aaron Rai, Ryan Brehm/Mark Hubbard, Ben Kohles/Patton Kizzire (-11)

Outside McIlroy and Lowry, the top of the leaderboard is surprising, to say the least. Hubbard has notched a couple top 20s, a top five and has yet to miss a cut this season while Rai has been solid, but the rest of the lot haven't seen the weekend with much consistency. Hubbard's teammate, Brehm, has seven missed cuts in 11 starts. Rai's teammate, Lipsky, has missed eight cuts in 11 starts and is without a top 40. Kizzire has six missed cuts and a withdrawal in nine starts, and Kohles has six missed cuts and a withdrawal in 11 starts. Four-ball can hide deficiencies, but the same cannot be said for foursomes, which will be played Friday and Sunday. 

"Just like usual, we ham-and-egged it," Hubbard said. "I don't think either of us were feeling amazing about our games coming into the day, but we just feed off each other really well. We relax each other out there, and best ball is just a fun format. I didn't putt great last week, but he had a lot of holes where he snuggled it up there nice and close for par and it really freed me up. You just kind of get confidence that way, and I think even you watching me make some putts gave you confidence and you poured them in at the end."

Other contenders

T5. Davis Thompson/Andrew Novak, Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre, Cameron Champ/MJ Daffue (-10) T8. Sam Stevens/Paul Barjon, Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox, Luke List/Henrik Norlander, Corey Conners/Taylor Pendrith, Zac Blair/Patrick Fishburn, Marc Meissner/Austin Smotherman, Callium Tarren/David Skinns, Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen (-9)

Detry and MacIntyre got off to a dream start by playing their first four holes in 4 under. After hitting a lull, the two turned it on and carded six back-nine birdies to shoot 10-under 62. MacIntyre has the team experience from this past fall's Ryder Cup, while Detry has been enjoying a very solid 2024 campaign. The staying power of all these teams on this leaderboard is interesting given the volatility of foursomes, but the two Europeans should be up to the task.

I think it's about leaving each other to it," MacIntyre said regarding Friday's strategy. "We're both good players, both know what we're doing with the golf ball. It's just trusting each other. If I hit a good shot, you hit a good shot. If you hit a bad shot, don't say sorry, you're not meaning to do it. You just keep walking forward and keep trying to hit good shots and committing to them and see where we end up. Can't really do anything about it. It's difficult because you might not hit a 5-foot putt until the 17th hole. It's completely different. All you can do is try your best."

2024 Zurich Classic updated odds, picks

Odds via Sportsline consensus

• Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry: 13/5
• Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay: 10-1
• Aaron Rai/David Lipsky: 15-1
• Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre: 16-1
• Andrew Novak/David Thompson: 16-1
• Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin: 18-1
• Corey Conners/Taylor Pendrith: 18-1
• Joel Dahmen/Keith Mitchell: 20-1

Let's roll with the 2022 champion at 10-1. Schauffele and Cantlay burned a ton of edges on Thursday but kept themselves in it with a late flurry of birdies. They now transition to foursomes for two of the next three days where they were dominant a year ago. In 2023, the two fired a 9-under 63 in Round 2 and a 6-under 66 in Round 4 in this format. If they card something similar in the mid 60s tomorrow, they should be in business heading into the weekend.

Our Latest Golf Stories

CJ Cup Byron Nelson: Reigning champ Day three back

Kyle porter • 4 min read.

Tiger Woods accepts exemption for 2024 U.S. Open

Kyle porter • 2 min read.

2024 PGA Championship odds, picks, best bets, field

Cbs sports staff • 5 min read.

How to watch 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Patrick mcdonald • 2 min read, 2024 cj cup byron nelson odds, picks, computer sims, cbs sports staff • 4 min read.

2024 LIV Golf Singapore preview, how to watch

Share video.

Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry leading after Day 1 at Zurich

Reigning champ Day three back at Byron Nelson

Tiger accepts exemption for U.S. Open

Rory rises, Åberg chases in rankings

Tiger on Scottie Scheffler: 'He's just that good'

Report: Woods, McIlroy set to receive loyalty bonuses

Rory McIlroy on expected return to PGA Tour board

2024 PGA Championship odds: Scheffler on top

Nelly Korda ties record with fifth straight LPGA win

Davis Love III enthused about golf's young stars