19th Hole

LIV pro tells anti-Saudi players that they need to go to Japan to stay true to their word

Published

3 years ago

Jun 12, 2023

Martin Kaymer says that players who initially objected to LIV “blood-money” should now move to Japan to avoid being labelled hypocrites.

The two-time Major champion and former world number one told James Corrigan of The Telegraph that the recent, stunning, news of the merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF means that those that refused to follow the 38-year-old and fellow major winners Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith “need to move to Japan [for the Japan Tour] in order to stay true to their word.”

Following the proposed merger, the 2014 US Open champion proposed the notion that players were in a quandary, but with only one real option – to go along with what will become the new status quo.

“I’m really looking forward now to the reaction of all the people who said, ‘We don’t want to play for blood money, we don’t want to sell our soul.”

Kaymer signed up for LIV in May 2022, a move that he says considered all the negative comments surrounding the Saudi Arabia human rights record.

“I stood up to my values and stood up to the feeling in my heart,” said Kaymer, appearing this week in his 15th consecutive US Open. “I was brave enough and stood up for myself to a lot of people, also here in Germany who criticised me and gave me shit.”

Since Monday’s announcement, though, he says he has plenty of encouraging messages, theorizing that, “It’s such a hypocritical world that we live in, so, it’s even more important to make your own decisions.”

The last time Kaymer played an ‘official’ event was his home BMW International in June 2022, some eight years since his last victory at Pinehurst. Finishing in a tie for 36th place saw him drop to his lowest ever world ranking of 231st, a figure that has not been able to be improved given the OWGR do not award points for LIV tournaments.

Since then, he has taken part in 10 LIV events, recording only a pair of top-20 finishes in the limited fields. The German Ryder Cup hero finished 42nd in the 2022 LIV table with a total of around $1.8 million, only a couple of hundred-thousand off his earnings for beating Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton in his second major all hose years ago.

After taking in four of the seven 2023 events, he languishes in 51st place (of 53 players) with a haul of just under $600k.

Given his fall from the top, perhaps the move to the Saudi-led tour was a gift horse he could not refuse.

Either way, after the tumultuous week that means nobody is quite sure who owns or runs what exactly, Kaymer, who believes LIV players should be permitted at this year’s Ryder Cup, is keen to point out:

“Don’t judge too much because when all is said and done, you might do the same thing.”

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.”