For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as next up on the PGA Tour is the American Express.

1. PIF chair being sued

Adam Crafton for the Athletic…”Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the chairman of Newcastle United and LIV Golf, faces being sued for allegedly “having carried out the instructions” of the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), with “the malicious intent” of “harming, silencing and ultimately destroying” the family of the country’s former intelligence chief, Dr Saad Aljabri.”

• “The claims are made in legal papers that were dispatched to Al-Rumayyan at multiple high-profile locations — including St James’ Park, Newcastle United’s home stadium, during the second week of January.”

• “Al-Rumayyan is the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the state’s sovereign wealth fund that acquired an 80 per cent stake in the English Premier League club Newcastle United in October 2021.”

2. On forgiveness and Grayson Murray

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall…”In a vacuum, it has the makings of a redemption narrative. Addiction issues are a beast so many battle in the shadows, and to do it on a public stage—and to come out the other side—is not only admirable but inspirational. Quick as sports fans are to judge, they are also happy to forgive, especially those who are contrite. Couple these serious affairs with the notion that golf loves its players who are able to return from a stay in the wilderness, Murray has all the makings of a tale worth rooting for.”

• “In that same breath, it’s fair to wonder if Murray truly is a changed man. Did he find religion, did he find stability … or is he simply off social media, his abrasive, divisive and conspiratorial thoughts no longer amplified? It’s also easy to seem at peace after victory; will he still be the same guy we saw in Hawaii if he begins to miss cuts?”

• “These are questions for Murray, but really they’re for us, those who watch this sport from close and afar. For all of its beauties, golf does not do well when things are not black-and-white, and you better believe Murray is painted in gray. And the short answer is, there is no universal answer, and that’s alright. We can admire the strength it takes to rebuild one’s life the way Murray has and hope that he can be a force of good while still being skeptical of how his life is lived. Or Murray can truly be clean yet still have a habit of making things a mess. These are not conflicting ideologies or mutually exclusive, for us or him. It’s OK to forgive, and it’s OK not to forget.”

3. Brutal DQ

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”According to a KFT media official – and first reported by Monday Q Info – Lyras teed off on No. 10 to begin his opening round at Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Club. He hit his drive, and then his next shot found the water – or so Lyras thought. He dropped another ball, only for one of his playing competitors, who was closer to the green, to find Lyras’ original ball in play.”

• “So, Lyras picked up the dropped ball and would eventually make bogey with his first ball.”

• “Later on his first nine, Lyras realized he’d made a mistake, and a rules official was first notified, per the media official, with Lyras’ group walking to the 18th hole, their ninth of the day.”

• “Initially, the rules official was unsure of the penalty, but after getting clarification, Lyras was disqualified because he didn’t play out the hole with his substituted ball, which was in play once he dropped it, and didn’t correct his mistake before teeing off on the next hole.”

4. Sergio doesn’t like Rory’s LIV take

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

• “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.”

5. RTR

PGATour.com staff…“In an Instagram story posted by Justin Thomas on Monday, Burns is seen with “RTR” shaved into the hair on the side of his head.”

• “I love your new haircut @samburns66,” wrote Thomas. “For sure didn’t lose a bet and did it on your own RTR.”

6. Niemann hits out at ‘unfair’ OWGR

John Turnbull for Bunkered…”Chile’s Joaquin Niemann played twice in November, winning the ISPS Handa Australian Open in the process, and returns for another crack at rankings points in Dubai this week.”

• “The 25-year-old, who is now ranked 70th in the Official Golf World Rankings (OWGR), has turned his attention to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, amid frustrations over an ‘unfair’ ranking system.

• “It is pretty unfair right now what the world rankings shows,” Niemann told the Mirror.

• “It says the top 100 players in the world right now, but I don’t think this is the right ranking…I am going to Dubai for the DP World [Tour] just because of [ranking] points and to try and get into the Masters.”

• Check out all of our galleries from this week’s event!