For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the Scottish Open.

1. Op-ed: Ron Price defends PIF deal

The PGA Tour COO in an op-ed for the Athletic…”Fundamentally, there are two reasons that the framework agreement with the PIF and DP World Tour marks not just a highly favorable outcome for the PGA Tour, but also the clear, best path forward for professional golf broadly. First, the agreement provides clear, explicit and permanent safeguards that ensure the PGA Tour will lead the decisions that shape our future, and that we’ll have control over our operations, strategy and continuity of our mission. Second, if we get a final agreement, it will allow us to further invest in the players who define our sport, and the events, venues, communities and technology that bring it to life. Working in partnership with the membership and Policy Board, we are stewards of the organization’s long-term health and leadership. Weighed against the prospect of a continued, unsustainable battle that threatened our very existence, given the safeguards that guarantee our self-determination and the possibilities afforded by new investments, “yes” was the clear answer to the framework agreement.”

• “It’s also important to set the record straight: This is not a merger. The PGA Tour remains intact. The subsidiary — PGA Tour Enterprises — will include PIF as a non-controlling, minority investor, as they are in many other American businesses. PGA Tour Enterprises will be led by a board of directors. The majority of that board will be appointed by the PGA Tour and that entity will be run by a CEO. That CEO will be PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. The PGA Tour’s controlling interest on that board of directors will remain constant going forward, regardless of the size of the PIF’s initial or any future incremental investments. The board of directors will also have the ability to decline any unwanted investment.”

2. Tour board member resigns

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”Randall Stephenson, a former AT&T executive and an influential voice in professional golf, resigned from his position on the PGA Tour’s policy board over the weekend, citing “serious concerns” with the tour’s proposed deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.”

• “Stephenson’s resignation, which was first reported by the Washington Post, has been confirmed by Golf Digest.”

• “Stephenson had been a part of the tour’s policy board for more than a decade. In a letter to the board, Stephenson pointed to Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, writing the partnership with the kingdom is “not one that I can objectively evaluate or in good conscience support.” Additionally, Stephenson advocated in the letter that the tour and its board reconsider how it runs its operations and makes decisions.”

3. ICYMI: Shy kids don’t get sweets

Elliott Heath for Golf Monthly…”Charley Hull’s fearless attitude was in full display on the 72nd hole of the US Women’s Open, where she took on a fairway wood shot in an attempt to chase down leader, and eventual winner, Allisen Corpuz.”

• “Hull found herself in the fairway on the 18th at Pebble Beach but hampered by an overhanging tree where many may have laid up. Instead, the two-time LPGA Tour winner decided to attempt to reach the par 5 green in two to try and make eagle or birdie to close the gap.”

• “The shot was proceeded by an epic conversation with her caddie, with Hull asking: “You know the saying ‘Shy kids don’t get sweets?’ Like if we lay up, when we’re three behind, do you think we might as well go for it?”

• “She struck a beautiful fairway wood shot but it just over-drew and ended in the bunker lining the hole down the left. Had it stayed straight, she may have got her ‘sweets’ and set up an eagle chance to put pressure on Corpuz.”

4. LIV championship moving to Doral

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”The LIV Golf League’s season-ending team championship will be played at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami for the second straight year.”

• “LIV Golf League officials announced Monday that the $50 million team championship will be played Oct. 20-22 at Trump National Doral, which is owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump.”

• “The three-day team championship was originally scheduled to be played Nov. 3-5 at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. LIV Golf League officials have been working to move it back to Trump National Doral, where it was staged in the league’s inaugural season in 2022. The Jeddah event, now scheduled for Oct. 13-15, will be the final regular-season tournament.”

5. Caught by the AirTag

Golfweek’s Todd Kelly…”General manager Phil Stika at Briarwood Golf Club in Sun City West, Arizona, grew tired of having his course getting hit by thieves so he decided to try a clever trick.”

• “Stika’s plan involved sticking a couple of Apple AirTags inside two golf bags. Anyone who has ever lost luggage with an AirTag in it knows how valuable the keychain-sized electronic device can be.”

• “According to 3TV/CBS 5 in Phoenix, Stika’s plan worked, as the next time it happened, he was able to track down the stolen clubs to a neighborhood.”

• “I was looking for cars that had golf clubs stacked in a pickup truck or something,” Stika told the TV station. “When I looked inside the window and found the member’s name on the bag and the logo of the club, I actually giggled.”

• “He then followed the clubs to a nearby casino and that’s where the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department got involved, arresting a man and a woman, and they are now facing felony charges.”

6. Some DP World Tour pros not happy

Ben Parsons for Bunkered…”Jordan Smith expects the proposed return of LIV golfers to boost the DP World Tour – but knows the rebels will be not be welcomed back with open arms to his circuit.”

• “Smith, a two-time DP World Tour winner, told bunkered.co.uk that he snubbed the Saudi-backed series last year amidst the threat of being blacklisted from the main tours.”

• “But a tour ban will no longer be enacted for LIV players under the “framework agreement” that has seen the PGA and DP World Tours join forces with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.”

• “There’s a few players that have p***** off a lot of people here,” Smith admitted.”

• “…But a few guys will be a bit annoyed with a select few that would be coming back. It hasn’t affected the tour massively but when those few guys do come back it will hopefully boost the tournaments and crowds.”

7. Royal Birkdale to host 2026 Open

Rex Hoggard for Golf Channel…”The 2026 Open Championship will be played at Royal Birkdale, the R&A announced Tuesday. It will be the 11th time the English course has hosted the game’s oldest major.”

• “The course hosted the 2017 championship, which was won by Jordan Spieth, and the list of Open winners at Royal Birkdale includes Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino and Johnny Miller.”

• “Royal Birkdale is a world class championship venue and its outstanding links will once again provide the world’s best men’s professional golfers with a tough but fair test of their talents and capabilities as they compete for the Claret Jug,” R&A CEO Martin Slumbers said in a statement.”

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