In remarks to the media ahead of the Players Championship, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan reiterated a desire to reunify professional golf, but not if it means compromising the PGA Tour’s identity.
Monahan made it clear that negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the backers of LIV Golf, toward an agreement to reunify the pro game remain open but confirmed there are no subsequent face-to-face meetings scheduled between the two sides following a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House last month.
“As part of our negotiations, we believe there’s room to integrate important aspects of LIV Golf into the PGA Tour platform. We’re doing everything that we can to bring the two sides together,” Monahan said. “That said, we will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners. So while we’ve removed some hurdles, others remain. But like our fans, we still share the same sense of urgency to get to a resolution.
“Our team is fully committed to reunification. The only deal that we would regret is one that compromises the essence of what makes the game of golf and the PGA Tour so exceptional.”
Monahan also said the tour will begin publishing pace-of-play statistics later this year (though he did not specify when) and will implement stricter guidelines – including stroke penalties – on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas in April. Additionally, Monahan said players and caddies will be allowed to use rangefinders at six tour events between the Masters and PGA Championship as it evaluates whether to allow them at all events. READ MORE
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Texas golfer ejected for heckling McIlroy
A University of Texas golfer made headlines last week for an incident in which he reportedly heckled Rory McIlroy on the 18th tee during a Tuesday practice round at the Players Championship.
After McIlroy pulled his tee shot into the lake on the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass, Texas junior Luke Potter targeted the four-time major winner with a comment that referenced the 2011 Masters, which McIlroy famously lost, Golf.com first reported. Following the comment, McIlroy approached Potter and a teammate standing behind the tee and confiscated the teammate’s phone (which was later returned). Potter and his teammate were subsequently escorted from the property.
Potter, a junior who had won The Hayt collegiate invitational at Sawgrass Country Club the day before attending the Players, later apologized for the incident. “Look, I just made a mistake, and I take ownership for it,” he told GolfChannel.com. Asked about the incident at a Thursday press conference following his opening 67, McIlroy declined to comment. READ MORE
In an exchange about how difficult it is to retire from professional golf, McIlroy told the assembled media at his pre-tournament press conference that he has no plans to play the PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50. “Something has went terribly wrong if I have to compete at golf at 50,” the 35-year-old said. The comment prompted social-media retorts from a few Champions tour regulars, including four-time major winner Ernie Els. READ MORE
Jason Day withdrew from the Players before the first round, citing illness. He was replaced in the field by tour rookie Danny Walker, who acknowledged that he “maybe let a tear out” upon learning he’d be joining major champions Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark for an 8:46 a.m. tee time on Thursday. Clark later withdrew halfway through the second round due to a neck injury. READ MORE
Among others making their Players debut was Laurie Canter, a 35-year-old Englishman and two-time DP World Tour winner. Canter arrived at TPC Sawgrass as something of a curiosity, the first golfer to return to professional golf on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour following a spell on LIV Golf. Despite opening with a 68, Canter missed the cut after a second-round 76. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka said he plans to fulfill his contract with LIV Golf, which is believed to run through 2026. “I’ve got a contract obligation out here to fulfill, and then we’ll see what happens,” Koepka said at a press conference preceding the LIV Golf event in Singapore last Wednesday. Koepka was responding to recent comments from Fred Couples saying Koepka wants to come back to the PGA Tour. READ MORE
The Farmers Insurance Open will return to a Sunday finish in 2026 after concluding on Saturday for the last three years to avoid TV conflicts with the NFL’s AFC and NFC Championship games. The tournament will be played Jan. 29-Feb. 1 next year, a week later than the conference title tilts. READ MORE
JM Eagle, sponsor of the LPGA’s JM Eagle LA Championship, has pledged to donate $5 million toward rebuilding communities affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. In January, JM Eagle donated $1.5 million to support wildfire relief efforts in Los Angeles. READ MORE
LIV Golf announced a broadcast partnership with British streaming service DAZN. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity
