19th Hole

‘We all deserve more than that’ – Sergio Garcia rejects Rory McIlroy’s idea for LIV’s future

Published

2 years ago

Jan 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking on the “Stick to Football” podcast, Rory McIlroy suggested that LIV could become the “IPL of golf”.

Related: Korn Ferry Tour pro left ’embarrassed and ashamed’ following brutal DQ from event

“To me, what I would LIV love to turn into is almost the IPL of golf”, McIlroy said.

“IPL in cricket – they take two months off the calendar. You’ve got four weeks in May and four weeks in November and you do this team stuff and it’s a bit different, a different format.

“If they were to do something like that, I’d be like ‘yeah, that sounds like fun’ because at least you’re working within the ecosystem. It’s not like the Saudis in football are trying to take over the entire sport, where the Saudis exposed some of the flaws in the structure of professional golf.”

“They’ve been able to completely disrupt our game with that money so it exposed some of those flaws so hopefully we can put our heads together and think about what is best for the game going forward.”

Many in the golf world saw the McIlroy quote as the four-time major champion changing his stance on LIV and being accepting of what the circuit might offer the sport as a whole.

Greg Norman even praised McIlroy for the comment.

“I say ‘hey thank you Rory’. We all knew it was going to work within the golf ecosystem. We all want to be there; we are going to be there – he said that. To me, this is a significant turning point for everybody.”

“In 22 events we have proven to all the Rory McIlroy’s of the world that in that short time period, if we can have this much of an impact on the game of golf, imagine what we can do in 53 years like the PGA Tour does,” Norman said.

However, captain of Fireballs GC, Sergio Garcia, didn’t see Rory’s comments in such a positive light.

While speaking to The Standard, the Spaniard said that “we all deserve more than that”.

“I don’t think we want to be important for one month,” he said. “We all deserve more than that,” referring to Rory’s “IPL in Cricket” comparison.

Garcia also spoke about LIV’s addition of his good friend, Jon Rahm.

“It shows we’re here to stay for a long time. People were thinking this is going to be two or three years and then gone. You’re seeing guys sign through to the late 2020s and maybe even the 2030s.”

The former Masters champion added that he believes Rahm should “thank” the players that left in the initial wave.

“[Rahm] should probably thank us a little bit for that – we knew, being the first ones, we would take some heat,” Garcia said. “We believed in the product, we believed in how good LIV is, and it can become even better. We just had to ride the wave of criticism, but now people are starting to see the reality of it.”

LIV Golf will begin their season in Mayakoba in the first week of February.

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19th Hole

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.”