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Good Friday morning, golf fans, as day two of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am gets underway.

1. Detry leads, Cantlay lurks at Pebble Beach

AP Report…” Patrick Cantlay has spent about as much time on the phone as the golf course this week as a PGA Tour board member trying to nail down a deal for a $3 billion investment. It didn’t seem to affect his day job at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

• “On a surprising day of weather when umbrellas gave way to sunglasses, Cantlay saved par five times and had eight birdies at Spyglass Hill for an 8-under 64 that left him one shot behind Thomas Detry of Belgium.”

• “Detry worked his own short-game magic at the end, chipping in from thick, damp rough for birdie on the 18th at Spyglass to finish with three straight birdies and a 63. Torrey Pines winner Matthieu Pavon had the best round at Pebble Beach, closing with four birdies over the last five holes for a 65.”

2. Player reactions to SSG deal

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard…“Reactions from players to the PGA Tour’s announcement on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to make Strategic Sports Group an investor into the circuit’s new for-profit arm were predictably mixed.”

• “For those who have been involved in the negotiations with SSG, which is led by Fenway Sports, the news of a $1.5 billion investment was historic and a reason to celebrate.”

• …”There were also those who were concerned with the lack of details as well as lingering distrust towards the Tour’s leadership following last June’s framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which was negotiated in private…”

• “Most players, however, were willing to take a wait-and-see approach to the deal with SSG as well as a potential deal with the PIF and the likelihood of intensified scrutiny from federal regulators.”

3. Norman: LIV full steam ahead

Ryan Lavner for Golf Channel…“In a letter to LIV employees, obtained by Golf Channel, Norman boasted the strength of the rival league and suggested that the Tour’s additional funding wouldn’t have happened without LIV’s arrival…”

• “Let me make one thing very clear: nothing announced by other tours or investment groups changes LIV Golf’s positive trajectory or future plans,” Norman wrote in the memo.

• “Golf is now viewed as an asset class. We proved this was possible and are now in a unique position to mold and drive this incredible growth opportunity. This broader interest and commitment to the game, and investment in its future, would not have happened without the emergence of LIV Golf as an innovative force in the golf ecosystem.”

4. FAQs on SSG deal

Golf Digest rounded up some FAQ’s, such as…

• What is PGA Tour Enterprises?…”Officially, it’s an entity that houses the PGA Tour’s commercial businesses and rights, as well as those of the DP World Tour. Which is a fancy way of saying, it’s a division that’s meant to maximize revenue for the tours and their players.”

• “The $3 billion will be funneled here while allowing the tour to keep its non-profit 501(c)(6) classification that carries tax exemptions for “business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards, boards of trade, and professional football leagues.” Initially, PIF was expected to infuse, at minimum, another $1 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises, and LIV Golf would be folded under the Enterprises umbrella as well. The tour says PGA Tour Enterprises has a valuation of $12 billion.”

5. Cash infusion, new sponsor for USWO

Madeline MacClurg for Golf Digest…”The USGA announced that Ally Financial will become the presenting partner for the U.S. Women’s Open and the purse for this year will be the largest in women’s golf at $12 million. Ally also will be a founding partner of the U.S. National Development program. The partnership comes almost a year after the USGA parted ways with ProMedica, the former U.S. Women’s Open presenting sponsor.”

• “Ally also announced that it reached an endorsement deal with Lilia Vu, the California native who is the current World No. 1 and captured two LPGA major championships in 2023.”

6. Spieth doesn’t think a PIF deal is necessary

Golf Digest’s Dave Shedloski…”Jordan Spieth, a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board that approved the agreement with SSG, flatly said on Wednesday at Pebble Beach Golf Links, “I don’t think that it’s needed,” referring to a deal with PIF.”

• “I think the positive [of a deal with PIF] would be a unification [of PGA Tour and LIV players], but I just think it’s something that is almost not even worth talking about right this second,” said Spieth, who assumed a seat on the board vacated late last year by Rory McIlroy. “The idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it’s operating right now without anything else.”

7. “Any shot, anytime”

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard…”A new multi-year agreement with Google Cloud and PMY will allow LIV Golf fans to watch any player live during a tournament broadcast.”

• “The partnership deal was announced on Thursday morning just one day before the league begins its 2024 season at Mayakoba’s El Camaleón Golf Course in Mexico.”

• “LIV’s new “Any Shot, Any Time” feature will launch later this summer on its LIV Golf Plus app, where “fans will be able to select exactly which golfers, teams, or groups they want to watch at any given time, as well as searchable and customizable on-demand highlight reels from any round of any LIV tournament.” Fans will be able to watch as many as four windows at once within the app.”

8. Bryson: “I hope at some point we’ll come back together”

BBC report…”Former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau says a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf “needs to happen” to bring the sport “back together”…”

• “We’re just going to continue down our own roads and how it all integrates and comes together is something to be seen,” said American DeChambeau, 30, who joined LIV last summer.

• “I hope at some point we’ll come back together. It needs to happen. I hope people can just put down their weapons and come to the table and figure it out.

• “As time goes on, I think things will settle down in a positive way for both.”

9. AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am photos

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