Young is the favorite to bring home the 2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award after collecting seven top-three finishes in 22 events, including a runner-up to Smith at the 150th Open Championship (his fourth of five runner-ups this season).
The 25-year-old won twice during his Korn Ferry Tour career but has yet to break through on the PGA Tour. He’s ranked 17th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
Rumors have circulated about Smith since his win at the 150th Open.
After his win at the 150th Open Championship, Cameron Smith was asked about the LIV Golf Series and if he plans on making the move to the Saudi-backed, Greg Norman-led breakaway circuit.
“I just won the British Open, and you’re asking about that?”
Well, rumors have continued to circulate around the 2022 Champion Golfer of the Year and we may now know for sure that he’s bag chasing.
Cameron Percy, an Australian golfer who just tied for eighth at the Wyndham Championship, did an interview with RSN Radio Australia and inferred Smith and fellow Aussie Marc Leishman are already gone.
🚨#NEW: Cam Smith & Marc Leishman are heading to LIV GOLF according to fellow Australian golfer Cam Percy, who finished T8 at the Wyndham. “Unfortunately, yeah they’re gone”, Percy said the deals are already done. (Via RSN Radio Australia)
Percy, however, said his source was not Smith or Leishman.
I was on the radio yesterday in Australia and l said it doesn’t look good for Leish and Cam going to LIV. My source is talking amongst other players. Not Cam and https://t.co/hlTdokweQO let me get back to my garden, it’s a mess.
If they do in fact make the move, it’ll be interesting to see if they wait until after the Presidents Cup. Smith is No. 1 in the International Team standings while Leishman is 16th.
Both players would be ineligible for the team event if they left after the FedEx Cup playoffs.
PGA Tour accuses LIV plaintiffs of ‘half-truths and falsehoods.’
After 11 LIV Golf players sued the PGA Tour last week, with three of them seeking entry into the Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs that start this week, the Tour on Monday sent to the U.S. District Court of Northern California a 32-page response plus a separate seven-page example of what it calls mischaracterizations and mistruths presented by the LIV players.
The court is scheduled on Tuesday to hear a complaint filed on behalf of suspended PGA Tour players Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones that seeks a mandatory injunction against the PGA Tour’s suspension of these players from the playoffs. Those three seek to be allowed to compete in the FedEx Cup Playoffs that begin with this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. Each of those players would have qualified for the playoffs based on points had they not been suspended.
Of particular interest in the Tour’s response is that it said 98 percent of its net profits are given to players, tournaments and charities. The Tour said that allowing suspended LIV golfers to compete for FedEx Cup Playoff purses would create financial harm to players who have remained committed to the Tour.
The Tour’s response Monday and Tuesday’s court hearing involve only the topic of allowing the three players into the FedEx Cup Playoffs and do not address the larger issue of Tour suspensions of LIV Golf players as a whole — any resolution in that case likely will take months or even years. Tuesday’s hearing likely will center on whether the three players will be irreparably harmed if they are not allowed to compete in the playoffs, meaning they should be allowed to play because any lost income from the playoffs would be irretrievably lost.
Keker, Van Nest & Peters – lead counsel representing the PGA Tour in the dispute – filed the Tour’s response to the court, with highlights as selected on the Tour’s behalf listed below. Parts of the Tour’s filing were redacted as sent to media.
The Tour is a membership organization that works on behalf of and for the benefit of its member players, unlike other sports governing bodies (like the NFL or NBA).
Members sign annual contracts committing exclusive media rights to the Tour so that that it may negotiate deals on their collective behalf (broadcast, sponsorship, merchandise, etc.). By enabling professional golfers to pool their media rights, the Tour has driven media and sponsorship money into the sport for the benefit of all Tour members.
Sponsorship, broadcast, and other revenues are distributed to members in the form of tournament purses, bonuses, retirement plan contributions, and other benefits. In 2021, $916 million—approximately 98% of the Tour’s net revenue—was allocated to players, tournaments, and charities. Of that, $770 million was allocated to players, including $443 million to player prize money and benefits, $110 million to player bonus programs, $17 million to Player Retirement Plan contributions, and $200 million to Player Retirement Plan earnings. As part of their annual contract, members agree not to play in, and thereby contribute their media rights to, non-Tour golf events held in North America that conflict with PGA Tour events.
Despite knowing full well that they would breach Tour Regulations and be suspended for doing so, Plaintiffs have joined competing golf league LIV Golf, which has paid them tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money supplied by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to procure their breaches.
The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) Plaintiffs have waited nearly two months to seek relief from the Court, fabricating an “emergency” they now maintain requires immediate action.
PGA Tour members and their agents were communicated with for more than year prior to the launch of the LIV Golf, and were made aware that participation would constitute a breach of contract and of the Tour’s rules.
TRO Plaintiffs have known since June 9—and indeed, earlier—that they would violate the Tour’s Regulations and forfeit their ability to play in the FedExCup Playoffs in exchange for accepting massive payments from LIV Golf.
In a telling sign, several other LIV players, including four other Plaintiffs in this case, recognize there is no emergency or irreparable harm; they too have “qualified” to play in the FedExCup but have not asked the Court for the extraordinary relief sought through this motion.
Unable to establish their claims based on any fair interpretation of admissible evidence, TRO Plaintiffs have resorted to mischaracterizing the record. The mischaracterizations, half-truths, and falsehoods are so numerous in Plaintiffs’ brief that the Tour couldn’t respond to all of them and instead had to create a separate chart identifying an exemplary set.
At the end of the day, the question is: why would a judge be convinced that these players were harmed after they were made aware of the rules and consequences, knowingly broke those rules, and now seek judicial permission to continue to break those rules? And with players making eye-popping guaranteed amounts of money, where is the demonstrated harm?
“The players’ participation in the LIV league is in violation of the PGA Tour’s Handbook and Tournament Regulations,” said Elliot Petersof Keker, Van Nest & Peters. “For enormous sums of cash supplied by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Plaintiffs willfully breached their agreements with the PGA Tour. The players’ purported harm is entirely self-induced. We will litigate this case vigorously to preserve the reputation of the PGA Tour and protect the benefits it offers to players.”
They joined for a better work/life balance. Now they want to play twice the amount of golf.
One of the main talking points since players began holding press conferences prior to LIV events is they’ve joined the new circuit partly because they’ll have to play less golf.
A better work/life balance, as many players mentioned.
“They cannot ban you for one day let alone life. It is a shallow threat.”
It’s been a busy few days on the LIV golf front.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that 11 LIV Golf Invitational Series players, including Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, filed a lawsuit against the PGA Tour in response to their banishment from the U.S. circuit after jumping ship and joining the Saudi-backed series.
They want to play PGA Tour events, even though that would add to their already existing 14 tournament schedule LIV has on the docket for 2023, ultimately going against many of their main arguments for joining the up-start league — we want to play less golf and spend more time with our families!
But the most fascinating are text messages between Sergio Garcia and Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf.
On May 31, Garcia was announced as one of the headline names for the first LIV event in London. But, according to these text messages, Garcia was planning his jump months in advance.
“I just wanted to see how things are going with the League cause it seems like a lot of those guys that were loving it and excited about it last week, now are sh**ing their pants,” Garcia wrote in a text on February 11.
Then, nearly a week later, Garcia wrote this: “Hi Sharky! It’s official, the Tour has told our managers this week that whoever signs with the League, is ban from the Tour for life! I don’t know how are we gonna get enough good players to join the League under this conditions.”
In response, Norman was adamant that the Tour couldn’t pull such a move: “They cannot ban you for one day let alone life. It is a shallow threat.”
Here is a look at all the messages:
Interesting to see how insistent Norman was (in these texts with Sergio) that the PGA Tour wouldn't and couldn't suspend players.
On June 9, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan banned 17 players from the PGA Tour after they played LIV London. Garcia is among the former Tour pros who gave up his membership.
Life comes at you fast.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
Forbes reported that LIV boosted the earnings of the 10 highest-paid golfers by an estimated $370 million since May.
They say money talks, which in part explains LIV Golf’s “Golf, but Louder” motto.
According to a report from Forbes on the highest-paid golfers in the world for 2022, the upstart series led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Invest Fund, “has boosted the earnings of the ten highest-paid golfers by an estimated $370 million since May, bringing their combined haul to a record $650 million.”
Let that sink in for a second.
Seven of the world’s top 10 highest-paid golfers now play for LIV Golf, leaving just Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth as the outliers. Check out each player’s on-course and off-course earnings over the last year below (all figures courtesy of Forbes).
“I’ve known these people for a long time in Saudi Arabia, they’ve been friends of mine for a long time,” explained Trump.
The LIV Golf Series is hosting its third event this week at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey. Before the 54-hole tournament gets underway on Friday, the field participated in the pro-am on Thursday.
Several notable names filled the amateur list, including former President Donald Trump, Caitlyn Jenner and Charles Barkley. In total, LIV only announced 10 amateur participants as all the others wanted to remain anonymous.
“I’ve known these people for a long time in Saudi Arabia, they’ve been friends of mine for a long time,” explained Trump. “They’ve invested in many American companies, they own big percentages of many, many American companies, and frankly what they’re doing for golf is so great.”
Watson will be the sixth Masters champion to make the move.
According to a report from The Telegraph, the next big name to make the move to the LIV Golf Series, a circuit funded by Saudi Arabia and led by Greg Norman, is another Masters champion.
Bubba Watson will join Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia as green jacket recipients to desert the PGA Tour.
Bubba Watson’s last solo top-10 finish on the PGA Tour came more than a year ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic (T-6). His last win came at the 2018 Travelers Championship. He’s fallen to No. 86 in the Offical World Golf Ranking.
Bubba Watson of the United States plays a shot during a practice round prior to The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 09, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
“I think that we just need to let the dust settle if you will and we’ll be just fine.”
As big names started to move on from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed, Greg Norman-led LIV Golf Series, rumors began to fly on which star would be next.
Will Zalatoris’ name was thrown in the mix.
However, he immediately shot down the notion with a social media post on June 30th: “I have dreamed of winning on the PGA Tour and winning majors since I was a little kid. I love where the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour and their associated tours are headed.”
Fast forward a month and he’s still being asked questions about LIV, but this time it’s about the potential distraction the newly-born league is causing.
“I’m a Player Advisory Council member, so we talk about it internally a lot,” he said Tuesday ahead of this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. “It’s a wild time for the PGA Tour and I guess golf as a whole, but the changes that I think are going to happen and everything that’s going to come down the road is only going to make us stronger.”
“And we are the best tour. Every week we’re playing the best courses on the planet…I just think that just let time come and let everything kind of settle and it will be very clear, but right now with all the changes and how everything has been just so wild and a lot of hearsay, I think that we just need to let the dust settle if you will, and we’ll be just fine.”
As for this week, the 25-year-old has his sights set on getting his first win.
“Yeah, obviously I’ve been really close to getting that first win, knocked on the door a bunch,” he said. “Just got to keep doing what we’re doing. Game’s been feeling really good. I think everything has been really starting to click, especially after this week off.”
Zalatoris has lost in two playoffs already this season. One to Luke List at the Farmers Insurance Open and another at the PGA Championship to Justin Thomas. In all, the Wake Forest product has eight top 10s, including another heart-breaking defeat at the U.S. Open.
Will Zalatoris reacts after missing a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. (Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)
Despite the winless 2021-22 campaign, Zalatoris sits ninth in the FedEx Cup standings. Last year, despite having enough points to make the playoffs, he was ineligible due to his lack of PGA Tour status. This season is a different story, as his spot at East Lake is all but locked up.
“You know, I don’t play this game for money,” he said when asked what he’d do with the $18 million dollars that goes to the winner of the Tour Championship. “Obviously, like I said, my career goal is to be a PGA Tour winner and a major champion at some point and the money comes with it.”
Zalatoris finished 77th at the 2021 Rocket Mortgage, stumbling over the weekend (74-76) after playing his first 36 holes 6 under. He enters as one of the favorites sitting at +1500, behind only Patrick Cantlay (+1000).
The correspondent quizzed a player on whether St. Andrews would be his last major for a while.
Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir has revealed how a LIV golf star told him to “go (expletive)’ himself after he asked a question.
The golf correspondent quizzed the golfer on whether The Open at St. Andrews would be his last major for a while. Weir did not reveal who the golfer was but he shared the exchange on Twitter.
He wrote: “Odd how one of the players listed below, when I asked him at The Open if he was at all concerned this could be his last major for a while, told me to ‘go (expletive) myself’ and that it was a ‘(expletive) (expletive) question.'”
LIV golfer Lee Westwood responded to the tweet saying: “It wasn’t me but I did overhear the conversation in question. Jamie works for Sky. They cover the PGA & DPWT. Where do you think their loyalties lie and what their agenda is?”
How is asking ‘are you concerned this could be your last major for a while?’ showing any ‘agenda’?!!
The 46-year-old Swede is understood to be on the verge of signing up for the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf Invitational Series and, after discussions with Ryder Cup Europe officials, the decision was made to effectively sack him as captain.
“In light of decisions made by Henrik in relation to his personal circumstances, it has become clear that he will not be able to fulfil certain contractual obligations to Ryder Cup Europe that he had committed to prior to his announcement as captain on Tuesday March 15, 2022, and it is therefore not possible for him to continue in the role of captain.
“Confirmation of the new 2023 European Ryder Cup captain will be made in due course. Ryder Cup Europe will be making no further comment on any aspect of the process until that time.”
Stenson’s appointment in March had appeared to end speculation about his involvement in the Saudi-backed breakaway as he insisted he was fully committed to the role.
But in a massive blow to the DP World Tour, of which players must be a member to compete in the Ryder Cup or captain the European side, the former Open champion signaled his intention to joined LIV Golf in a move which extends the deepening rift in the men’s professional game.
