Six fights including multiple double-digit UFC veterans have been added to the March 16 event in Las Vegas.
Six more fights have been added to the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for March 16 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Five of the six bouts were officially announced Tuesday by the promotion, while the six was revealed on social media by the fighters involved.
The event is currently headlined by a heavyweight bout between Tai Tuivasa (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Marcin Tybura (24-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC). Light heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Ovince Saint Preux (26-17 MMA, 14-12 UFC) will also fight each other on the card.
Under the new rules, everyone is going to transition into the balls tested in a new, distance-reducing way.
The United States Golf Association and R&A jointly announced that the rules governing how golf balls are tested will change starting on Jan. 1, 2028. It’s how the governing bodies intend to stop the trends of golfers hitting the ball farther and golf courses getting longer.
The announcement came after years of debate, study and communications between the USGA and R&A with stakeholders like golf equipment manufacturers, the PGA Tour, the PGA of America and other prominent groups in the golf world.
Initially, the USGA and R&A proposed the creation of a Model Local Rule that would have resulted in only elite men being required to use distance-reducing balls. But under the new rules, everyone is going to transition into the balls tested in a new, distance-reducing way.
Here are my takeaways from the USGA and R&A’s decision:
The Minnesota Vikings continue to search for depth at the running back position by bringing in two running backs for a workout
After bringing in Kareem Hunt for a visit last week, the Minnesota Vikings continue to look at the running back position. According to KPRC2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson, the Vikings hosted running backs Ronald Awatt and Mike Davis for a visit.
Awatt was an undrafted free agent out of UTEP this past season. During his senior season, he recorded 163 rushes for 734 yards and two touchdowns as well as six receptions for 76 yards. He split time with Deion Hankins at UTEP but was always the first guy to get touches.
Davis has been around the league a couple of times over and has seen some level of success wherever he has gone in rotational roles. Over the course of his eight-year career, Davis has 2,052 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.
LOS ANGELES – In 2020, COVID-19 tried its hardest but it could only postpone the U.S. Open, not cancel it. The 120th U.S. Open, which was won by Bryson DeChambeau at Winged Foot in New York, was held in September rather than June. Things were somewhat better a year later when the national championship was contested at Torrey Pines in June. Still, the USGA took a bath on its big moneymaker – due to limited or no tickets, merchandise and corporate suite sales.
Or did it?
The USGA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to champion and advance the game of golf. As previously reported by Golfweek in 2020, the U.S. Open generates $165 million in revenue annually, or about 75 percent of the USGA’s total revenue. That money funds among other things, the 13 other national championships the USGA conducts annually. But a portion of the losses associated with the COVID Opens was offset by the USGA’s insurance against such an event. According to its 2021 Internal Revenue Service Form 990, the USGA filed an insurance claim for business interruption and received $29.5 million in 2020 which helped it continue core services and the cost of conducting a limited number of championships, in spite of a significant loss of fan-based revenue.
In 2021, the alteration of the U.S. Open fan/hospitality experience due to California COVID law restrictions led to the USGA being paid $25.5 million based on the validity of the claim and the estimated claim total value by Sentry, which also is one of the USGA’s corporate sponsors.
“We were way down,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships, of U.S. Open revenue during COVID years. “But the one thing we had was business interruption insurance. Several years ago, our organization through great leadership decided to purchase that. At the time, there was a lot of skepticism why we needed it. Everyone used to think we were crazy. Now everybody’s patting themselves on the back.”
But it does beg the question: Why does a non-profit 501-C3 need to file a claim with about $740 million in net assets, according to its 2022 filing?
Susan Pikitch, the USGA’s chief financial officer, who earned approximately $725,000 in 2020, was unavailable to speak to Golfweek last week but responded to multiple email questions.
“The USGA currently has approximately $400 million in reserves that our Finance Committee recommends as a fiscally responsible best practice. That $400M represents less than two years of operating funds,” she wrote. “It is a prudent business practice for organizations to have at least three years of operating expenses as contingency reserves to continue critical services and mitigate the overall risk for catastrophic or long-term effects to affect the business operations. As we learned during the pandemic, having such funds on hand is critical to ensure continuity.”
“The USGA has had event cancellation/curtailment insurance for at least 10 years. We continue to hold that insurance as a financial best practice, but it no longer covers pandemics,” she added.
“Our business was significantly impacted in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, especially when we postponed the U.S. Open and conducted it without normal fan and hospitality functions that drive significant annual revenue for our programs,” she wrote. “In spite of returning all 14 championships in 2021 and continuing our work in golf course sustainability, growing the game, governance, GHIN/handicapping and significant support to our Allied Golf Association network, the financial outcome of our two key revenue-generators – The U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open – were heavily influenced by California-based COVID restrictions. This reduced the amount of corporate hospitality, ticket and other revenue we normally receive. Based on projections of revenue loss, our insurance policies enabled us to recoup a portion of that revenue to continue our core services.”
When the question about the reserves was proposed to Bodenhamer on Wednesday, he said, “You think about the U.S. Open, it means more than the trophy we present and the gold medal. This championship means a lot for the game. When you think about everything we’ll do for amateur golf, the Adaptive Open, to educate on the Rules of Golf, there’s not a golf course in this country that hasn’t benefited from our turf-grass research fund, which we’ll spend I think $3 million this year. Nobody knows about this stuff but those are things that don’t make money. It’s the power of the U.S. Open.”
“The USGA’s Finance Committee recommended business disruption insurance several years ago for exactly these reasons, to continue core functions when key revenue sources – with the U.S. Open being the primary source – are disrupted,” Pikitch added. “We felt fortunate, like many other sports organizations, to have this insurance in place so we weren’t faced with layoffs and other hard decisions.”
The USGA declined to disclose its insurance premiums, but on page 71 of its 2022 public filing, it cites a payment of $135,122 to Sentry Insurance.
Mike Davis addresses the media in a press conference during the practice rounds on Monday of the 2016 U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont CC. (Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports)
Here are some other relevant and interesting figures that are detailed in the USGA’s full-year 2021 Form 990, which is the most recent year available to the public:
Longtime chief executive officer Mike Davis earned $4.4 million ($895,252 in base compensation, $2,122,548 in bonus and incentive compensation and $1,440,292 in other reportable compensation) plus $89,000 in retirement and other deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits in his final year with the association. As Pikitch noted, “Davis completed 31 years of service when he departed the association on June 30, 2021, and served in an advisory capacity through the remainder of 2021 as part of the leadership transition process. His reportable 2021 compensation includes base salary, bonus, ancillary benefits and an initial distribution from the USGA’s retirement plan.”
Quoting from the 990 Form includes a few more details: “Michael Davis served as CEO of the USGA through June 30, 2021. Also served in an advisory capacity to the USGA and the new CEO Mike Whan from July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. Davis received two payments in early 2022 which have been reflected and reported in his 2021 compensation. Davis received a distribution from the USGA 457F Plan in January 2022 of approximately $1.2 million. This payment is reported on schedule J Part II columns B (II) and F. In addition, Mr. Davis received a discretionary bonus of approximately $1.7 million in January 2022 related to his position and length of service with the USGA. This payment was reviewed and approved by the compensations committee of the This payment is included in schedule J Part II B (II).”
Mike Whan, who replaced Davis, was paid $884,000 for less than six months of work plus $55,000 in other payments.
Revenue totaled $304 million, with 37 percent from broadcast and media rights, $30 percent from championships, and 15 percent from corporate partnerships.
The USGA netted $45 million on sales of securities in 2021.
The USGA listed $36 million in gifts and contributions for 2021, and a five-year total of $122 million.
Membership dues totaled $13.2 million in 2021. “As a non-profit organization,” Pikitch noted, “we are thankful for the private donors who support our mission and work for the game…Most donations are pledges for USGA core programs that do not generate revenue.”
The FOX TV termination fee was $323.44 million. “When the USGA renegotiated its domestic broadcast rights in 2020, switching from Fox Sports to NBC Sports, we received a lump-sum payment related to the termination of the Fox contract,” Pikitch explained. “While paid upfront, this payment has been set aside in a board-designated reserve set up by the Finance/Audit Committees to be used annually through 2026 (covering the full term of the original contract) and solely for operational expenses that were otherwise affected by the switch…They annually transfer each year’s allocation back into the operations budget, so we can continue core services at the same budgeted amount”.
The USGA also confirmed that its TV rights fee was reduced by moving the championship to September in 2020 when it had to compete against football, but didn’t disclose how much.
The USGA lists 95 different Allied Golf Associations and schools with turfgrass research programs that it gives grants to further its mission to champion and advance the game. Many of these missions support junior programs and golfers with disabilities.
“It would be a mistake to rest on our laurels,” USGA’s Mike Whan wrote in his CEO message posted online. “In fact, when golf is this strong we have a heightened responsibility to nurture its growth, and make sure we leave this game even better for the generations that will follow.”
Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum talks about the success of the running game
Early in the 2022 season, the Baltimore Ravens weren’t having much success running the ball. It was a running back room composed of Kenyan Drake, Justice Hill, and Mike Davis while J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards worked back into game shape after suffering ACL tears right before the 2021 season.
Since Dobbins and Edwards have returned to the lineup, the running game has put up over 100 yards in each of the last three games. Rookie center Tyler Linderbaum was asked about the offensive line and how the running game has been a success lately, talking about how the offensive line has been coming together and meshing together well.
“Yes, especially this time of year. Being able to run the football, being capable of running the football is important. I think we’re starting to gel together and improve on some things, but the good thing is there is a lot of stuff that we can still get better at, and there are still more yards out there for us to get. So, when the time comes, and they need us to run the ball, I think we have the guys to do it, but it’s just all about going out there and actually working together and doing it.”
If the Ravens can continue to run the ball effectively, they will control the time of possession and help keep the defense fresh. Those two factors will help them out come playoff time, as the more time they spend on offense, the less the other team will be able to get in rhythm during a game.
The Baltimore Ravens announced the inactive players for Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Baltimore Ravens are set to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12 of the 2022 season. The team is looking to improve to 8-3 and stay in first place in the AFC North division while extending their winning streak to five games.
Before the contest, Baltimore announced their inactives for the game, which include safety Kyle Hamilton, running back Mike Davis, inside linebacker Josh Bynes, tight end Charlie Kolar, and outside linebacker David Ojabo. Head coach John Harbaugh mentioned throughout the week that Hamilton would be “day to day” after getting injured last Sunday, but it didn’t seem likely for him to play due to not practicing all week.
Offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, tight end Isaiah Likely, and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis were already ruled out for the Ravens beforehand, as they were announced before traveling with the team.
Rookie linebacker David Ojabo is once again inactive. He’s been added to the 53-man roster, but still hasn’t had the opportunity to make his Ravens debut. I’m sure they are doing everything they can to not rush him back, but this week is the best week to activate him and play him against the Jaguars in sunny Florida.
The Baltimore Ravens were driving early in the fourth quarter with a 17-10 lead. Running back Gus Edwards who was questionable to play throughout the week due to his knee went down after a 22-yard run.
He stayed down on the ground, but was able to walk off of the field and into the blue medical tent. He didn’t re-enter the game after, likely for precautionary reasons.
RB Gus Edwards (hamstring), return is questionable.
The Ravens announced their inactives for their Week 7 matchup with the Browns
The Baltimore Ravens will take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 7. The Ravens had a plethora of players listed on the final injury report for this matchup on Friday with some of them being forced to sit out on Sunday.
On Baltimore’s final injury report on Friday, the team announced that running back J.K. Dobbins (knee) would miss Week 7. The following day the team announced that Dobbins was placed on injured reserve and that running back Gus Edwards would return off the physically unable to perform list.
On Sunday, Baltimore released their inactives list ahead of the Week 7 matchup. Cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis, outside linebacker A.J. Klein, wide receiver Tylan Wallace, running back Mike Davis and guard Ben Cleveland will not suit up in Week 7.
The first course at the new Apogee Golf Club is slated to open as soon as 2023, with two more courses on the way.
When Mike Davis announced in September 2020 his plan to retire as CEO of the U.S. Golf Association, he said he intended to launch a second career as a golf course architect and partner with Tom Fazio II. A little more than a year after he officially stepped down, those plans are coming to fruition with an ambitious project.
Davis and Fazio – who often goes by Tommy and whose uncle is famed architect Tom Fazio – are set to embark on building the private Apogee Club, which will consist of three 18-hole courses in Hobe Sound in southeast Florida.
“I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version. It’s 1,200 acres. It’s three 18-hole golf courses, it’s two short courses, it’s cottages. There’s no housing to it, so there’s not a real estate play. There’s one big practice range, almost 360 (degrees), and a performance center and another smaller practice range,” Davis said in a recent phone interview. “One of the courses is going to be designed by Gil Hanse, one designed by Kyle Phillips, and then Tommy Fazio and I are doing the third. But we’re overseeing the in-house construction, and I’ve been very involved with the permitting process.”
Davis said he’s been doodling golf courses since he was a kid and that during his tenure with the USGA he was a student of architecture, benefiting from staging championships and playing at most of the best courses around the planet. After the 2019 Presidents Cup, for instance, he toured New Zealand and played many of its esteemed layouts. Davis said he had a few different architects approach him about partnering, but the logistics seemed to work well with Fazio, who is based in nearby Jupiter, Florida, where Davis owns a home. (He and his wife rebuilt it since his retirement.)
Mike Davis (left) and Tom Fazio II have broke ground on an ambitious project named Apogee Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. (Courtesy Fazio-Davis)
“I knew Tom had skill sets that not only I don’t have, but I’ll probably never have, where he’s just spent his life building golf courses,” Davis said. “It’s just been fun coming up with the vision and then turning a vision into a master plan and then going from a master plan to literally finding the site, negotiating it, buying it, and just the whole thing, the permitting process. It’s been so much fun where even to retain Gil Hanse, to retain Kyle Phillips, to kind of master plan the property and say, OK, Gil’s course is going to be over here, Kyle’s is going to be here, ours is going to be here, how will we make them different from one another?
“But at the same time the vision is to make it a very golfer-friendly facility that’s fun to play, that doesn’t beat you up, that you’re not losing a bunch of golf balls. It’s very walking friendly; they’ll have caddies. And as much golf as there is in the greater Jupiter area, it’s underserved right now. You can’t get into clubs. You can’t get on golf courses. It’s a hotbed for golf, but even before COVID it was underserved.”
Such a huge undertaking requires deep pockets, and Davis and Fazio found not one but two principals who fit the bill. As they began quietly looking for land, Davis approached Mike Pascucci, who made his fortune in the car-leasing business and founded Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., and asked if he’d be interested in a project of this magnitude.
“He jumped in immediately and said, ‘I’d love to do it.’ As this thing grew and we knew what kind of capital it would take, and not just capital but how much time it was going to take, he kind of said, ‘Listen, I’m not sure we don’t need a partner here just to help with the enormity of this project,’ ” Davis recalled.
Steve Ross, the largest private real-estate developer in the country and owner of the Miami Dolphins, stepped in.
“You couldn’t pull this off without people like Mike Pascucci and Steve Ross. You couldn’t do it,” Davis said. “What’s really cool about it is they’re doing it more as a legacy project. They don’t need to do this. But they just want to leave something behind that they and their families can look at and say, hey, this is something we created from scratch. It’s just fun to be around people that successful who aren’t resting on their laurels.”
Besides the financing, Pascucci and Ross are responsible for the name, Apogee Club.
“I’m not sure I’d heard the word before, but its meaning really is the pinnacle of something. They wanted something unique, and obviously the name is unique,” Davis said.
Mike Davis (right) and Tom Fazio II visit the grounds of what will become Apogee Club. (Courtesy Davis-Fazio)
Following a public hearing Sept. 27, clearing and grubbing began on a piece of land featuring live oaks, pine trees and very sandy soil.
“Gil is going to do the first golf course that will start construction (this) month, and if everything goes according to time frame, we should have a golf course hopefully at least in part ready to play by the end of 2023,” Davis said. “Tommy and I will start the second golf course basically a year later, so it will open and be ready to play by the end of ’24. Kyle Phillips will do the third course, which will be open for the end of ’25. That’s what’s so neat about Steve Ross and Mike Pascucci is they want to see this thing done. They’re not doing one of these things where let’s see how many members we get before we build the next golf course. They’re saying, let’s do it and we’ll get members in due course, and if it takes a while, if we have a recession, so be it. We want to do this thing right.”
It’s got the potential to be quite the second act for Davis and a special place to celebrate the game he has enjoyed since his youth in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
“It’s going to be kind of this oasis for great golf,” he said. “The amount of work is staggering, but I’m just loving it. It’s fun.”
UFC has paid out $6.5 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay to its athletes this year after UFC Fight Night 211.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 211 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $164,500.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC Fight Night 211 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 211 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2117 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2111 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
