Good Thursday morning, golf fans, as we head into day one of the Bermuda Championship.

1. Report: DOJ investigation expanding scope of inquiry within golf

Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today…”The Department of Justice’s antitrust inquiry into professional golf is reportedly wider than previously thought.”

• “Citing anonymous sources, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Augusta National Golf Club, which operates the Masters Tournament, the United States Golf Association and the PGA of America are also part of the investigation. WSJ had previously reported in July that the DOJ was investigating whether the PGA Tour had engaged in anticompetitive behavior against the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf Invitational Series.”

• “According to the report, Augusta National had produced documents for the Department of Justice investigation. The WSJ reported that a spokesperson for Augusta National and a lawyer who represents the club both declined to comment.”

2. Latest on LIV, PGA Tour legal battle

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”It was a legal victory for LIV Golf and its attorneys this week in U.S. District Court, with a California judge giving the plaintiffs in the antitrust case against the PGA Tour more flexibility and breadth in the discovery process.”

• “Judge Susan van Keulen agreed with the LIV legal team that the PGA Tour needed to provide more detailed information regarding its internal and external communications about LIV Golf, including the identities of those who had been contacted by “authorized” employees, players and directors. The deadline for that discovery is Nov. 15.”

• “In this most recent exchange, LIV’s attorneys balked at the Tour’s claim that just 13 employees and officers were “authorized” to speak on behalf of the circuit regarding the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit. That number was later increased to 31 employees who the circuit claimed were “authorized” to speak with a wide range of constituents…”

3. Rory: “Us vs. them has gotten out of control”

Ewan Murray for the Guardian…”On media podiums, McIlroy confidently emerged as the popular voice of golf’s establishment despite others – primarily his wife, Erica – asking why he voiced such vociferous sentiment against the breakaway LIV tour. “Oh yeah, all the time,” McIlroy says with a laugh. “On the basis it literally does not affect us one bit. My life is not going to change whether people go to LIV or they don’t. But I care. It mightn’t change our life but it will the guys grinding their asses off to get a tour card. There’s a lot of people in the game who don’t have the voice or the platform I have so I am trying to speak up for them a little, too.”

• “McIlroy has no desire to fan the flames of controversy, though. Recent time spent with a “cool head” in Europe, away from the “echo chamber” of the United States golf scene, offered fresh perspective. The 33-year-old recognises the PGA Tour is not completely innocent in golf’s civil war and, more importantly, wants peace to break out. “This ‘us versus them’ thing has gotten way out of control already,” McIlroy says. “If the two entities keep doubling down in both directions, it is only going to become irreparable. We are going to have a fractured sport for a long time. That is no good for anyone.”

4. Ian Poulter takes offense to Rory McIlroy’s Ryder Cup ‘betrayal’ comment

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…Rory McIlroy, the most outspoken advocate for the PGA Tour, added to that divide with comments this week to The Guardian: “I think it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal, in a way,” he said. “It’s an unfamiliar feeling to me. You build bonds with these people through Ryder Cups and other things.”

• On Wednesday at Doral, the site of the LIV Golf team finale, Ian Poulter was asked about McIlroy’s comments.

• “A betrayal? We can still qualify for the team as far as I’m aware. Unless we’ve been told we can’t qualify, then I’m still ready to play as much as I possibly can and try and make that team,” Poulter said. “My commitment to the Ryder Cup I think goes before me. I don’t think that should ever come in question. I’ve always wanted to play Ryder Cups and have played with as much passion as anyone else that I’ve ever seen play a Ryder Cup.

• “I don’t know where that comment really has come from, to be honest.”

5. Phil on Rory

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”At a press conference ahead of the upstart circuit’s season finale, Mickelson was complimentary of McIlroy, who said the “us versus them” dynamic between LIV Golf and players on the PGA and DP World tours has gotten out of control.”

• “You know, I think a lot of Rory. I really have the utmost respect for him, and I look at what he’s done in the game and how he’s played this year and his win last week and No. 1 in the world now, and I have a ton of respect for him,” said Mickelson. “We’ll have three months off after this event to talk about things like that and so forth, but this week something is happening that I don’t want to deflect focus on, which is we’ve never had a team event like this in professional golf.”

6. RIP Titiya Plucksataporn

LET report…“The LET family is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former member Titiya Plucksataporn, who passed away on 22nd October aged 39 from cancer.”

• “Titiya turned professional in November 2005 and was a member of the LET for 14 years, until December 2019, during which time she played in 186 LET tournaments, with 13 top 10 finishes, her best result being tied for third in the 2013 Ladies Norwegian Challenge. She went on to coach in her native Thailand.”

• “Titiya started playing golf at the age of 12 and was coached by her father, Mr Tarat, who also often acted as her caddie on Tour.”

• “Another of her caddies, Gary Wildman, posted on her Facebook page: “Very sad news. One of my favourite players to have caddied for. A lovely person and an excellent player.”

7. “Not sure it’s possible to play any slower”

GolfWRX staff report…”The LIV Golf series returns this week at Trump National Doral Golf Course for the scene of the finale of the new tour’s inaugural season.”

• “Unlike previous events staged by the Saudi-backed Tour, this week incorporates a mix of both match play and stroke play.”

• “Also in a changeup this week, Ian Poulter has replaced Lee Westwood as team captain of the Majesticks GC.”

• “On Wednesday at the pre-tournament press conference, both the Majesticks and the Iron Heads, led by Captain Kevin Na, conducted their pressers together, and things got a little awkward.”

• “In the clip shown below, Na attempted to make a joke about the age of Lee Westwood, to which Ian Poulter responded that Westy is a former World Number One.”

• “After a couple of other back-and-forths, the topic of Kevin Na walking in putts came to the fore, and it was at this point that Poulter decided to go on the attack regarding Na’s pace of play.”

• “It could take him a while to walk a few in. It normally does,” said Poulter, which was met with some oohing and awkward reactions from those in attendance.”

• “We’ll let that one stew a little bit,” said the moderator attempting to move the conversation on, but when Kevin Na kiddingly asked official Slugger White, can he “play slower on purpose?”, “Poulter decided to go for the knockout blow, saying “I’m not sure it’s possible to play any slower, Kev.”

8. “Maybe I shouldn’t have…”

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…”On Wednesday at the LIV Golf team finale at Doral, Mickelson offered another contrite response following his comments earlier this month that he was glad to have chosen the “winning side” in the divide between LIV and the PGA Tour, and that the Tour is “trending downwards.”

• “Maybe I shouldn’t have said stuff like that, I don’t know,” Mickelson said. “But if I’m just looking at LIV Golf and where we are today to where we were six, seven months ago and people are saying this is dead in the water, and we’re past that, and here we are today, a force in the game that’s not going away, that has players of this caliber that are moving professional golf throughout the world and the excitement level in the countries around the world of having some of the best players in the game of golf coming to their country and competing.”

9. Harry’s ominous major warning

• Late Sunday night, I texted his caddie, Harry Diamond, to ask how this little spurt of golf compares to other runs Rory’s had in his career.

• “Yeah, close to his best,” Harry wrote. “Still room for improvement, though. Time for some majors.”