19th Hole

Report: LIV rebels fly in for meeting with DP World Tour Chief Keith Pelley to discuss concerns over ‘strategic alliance’

Published

4 years ago

Sep 6, 2022

This week’s BMW PGA Championship may well be the DP World Tour’s flagship event, but it has again been the scene of much controversy.

Back in 2010, players heavily criticized Ernie Els for his redesign of the Surrey track – Miguel Angel Jimenez saying, “If you had a Picasso in a frame would you say ‘Now I want to see a line there?” – and 12 years later it is again the scene of tension amongst players – this time between the 17 LIV players permitted to play, and the tour itself.

Already we have seen the DP World Tour place restrictions on all the LIV players, with organizer’s sending out notifications such as, “You will not be required to play in the Wednesday pro-am and out of respect for our broadcasters and your fellow competitors we would kindly ask you to consider not wearing LIV-golf apparel.”

Regular DP players Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, winners of the FedEx Cup and U.S. Open respectively, also made their feeling known.

World No. 2, McIlroy, openly said,”Like it’s going to be hard for me to stomach going to Wentworth in a couple of weeks’ time and seeing 18 of them there. That just doesn’t sit right with me,” whilst Fitz commented that it would be “odd,” to be playing alongside the so-called rebel golfers.

Sergio Garcia, one of the most heavily criticized and outspoken of the LIV players, said over the weekend that he was sure there would be tension but, “whoever doesn’t like it, too bad for them,” before flying out from Boston with several fellow LIV golfers to arrive in time for the DP World Tour’s AGM.

As reported by The Telegraph, players such as Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Garcia, challenged DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley to reveal more about the “strategic alliance” with the PGA Tour “as well as issues such as potential sanctions coming the LIV players’ way after the U.S. circuit issued indefinite bans.”

The publication spoke to one anonymous player, who revealed that Pelley “battled well.” However, another was more disappointed, saying, “We didn’t get in as many questions as we wanted and Keith just kept replying that ‘we’re in the middle of an ongoing legal case, so I can’t give you an answer.’ He also said that the DP World Tour was a pathway to the PGA Tour, but wouldn’t say “feeder tour.” At least his answers are down in writing now.”

Lee Westwood, embroiled with a few players on social media regarding the rights and wrongs of current golf politics, is reported as staying silent about the meeting but was happy to make a comment about the new ruling that awards the top-10 DP World Tour players a card for its U.S. partner.

“I mean, what company or organisation gives away its 10 best assets at the end of every year – especially to a rival or competitor?” Westwood said. “I’m not convinced by the strategic alliance because I’ve seen how the PGA Tour has behaved over the years. There’s not been much ‘give.’ They have always been bullies… I have been telling Keith and other members of his board how this is all going to go for 12 months now. I told him that getting into bed with the PGA Tour was a mistake.”

The Telegraph report that Westwood’s main issue is the reluctance of the then European Tour to accept a substantial offer from Saudi Arabia, allowing the formation of a substantial rival to the PGA Tour.

The report gives the reasons for the refusal:

“Pelley, however, has dismissed this, informing his members in June that “materially this was not a good deal for the European Tour” and that “the figures were nowhere near those being bandied about in the media and in the players lounge over the past couple of months”.

With tensions running high, and with no need to get up for Wednesday’s pro-am, many of the LIV contingent will appear at Tuesday evening’s players meeting, at which “Keith has said he will spend the entire hour taking questions on the ‘strategic alliance’ and LIV and any other concerns.” The rebels might find it easier to probe for their answers in that less formal setting. It should be even spicier.

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”