For comments: ben.alberstadt@golfwrx.com

Good Wednesday morning, golf fans, as we gear up for the tour finale at East Lake.

1. Monahan confident

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”The PGA Tour is engaged in multiple conversations per week with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia as both sides work to finalize an agreement that could reshape the landscape of men’s professional golf.”

• “Details have been sparse ever since the Tour announced June 6 that it had entered into a framework agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf following more than a year of contentiousness and divisiveness. As part of that deal, both sides agreed to immediately drop the litigation, and a new for-profit company, PGA Tour Enterprises, was formed, with the PIF signed on as a minority investor.”

• “The deadline to reach an agreement is Dec. 31, though it can be extended if needed.”

• “We’re confident that we’re going to reach a positive outcome for the PGA Tour,” commissioner Jay Monahan said.

2. Monahan’s take on the Tour season

Jay Monahan in a press conference…”this week is the culmination of a remarkable season, that thanks in large part to the performance of our players the PGA TOUR is in the driver’s seat, that as we look to the fall, the FedEx fall in 2024, there is tremendous momentum behind the PGA TOUR. The PGA TOUR is leading our sport forward. And as we sit here today at the TOUR Championship, this represents the very best of the PGA TOUR.”

• “So when you talk about the culmination of a remarkable season, this was a bridge year, a bridge year to the schedule that you now see for 2024, a year of designated events and full field events. And when we look back, we see that new stars have emerged, we have had iconic moments, we have had staggering performances, staggering comebacks, and I think we need to look no further back than Viktor’s performance on Sunday and Lucas’s wins at the Wyndham championship and the FedEx St. Jude championship.”

• “22 of 45 events have been decided by one or fewer shots. Seven of the last 13 events have ended up in a playoff. The meritocracy, the difficulty of winning on the PGA TOUR and the reward for the hard work that all of our players put in every single day has been front and center, and every single Sunday night when we crown a champion, it’s been very obvious the meaning that that has to all of our players.”

• “I would also say that when you look at our tournaments and the health of our tournaments, virtually every single tournament on the PGA TOUR has grown year over year. That’s been reflected in the crowds and in the fan base and the following. It’s something we’re very proud of.”

• “Additionally, I’m very proud of the way that our players have embraced our fans and our fans have embraced our players. That really gets to the remarkable setting that we’re walking into here at the TOUR Championship.”

• “When I talk about the PGA TOUR being in the driver’s seat, I think it’s important to think about and listen to and contemplate the facts. So as we sit here today, you look at the PGA TOUR fan base, it’s larger, it’s more diverse, it’s more youthful, and it’s more engaged than its ever been. PGA TOUR-only broadcasts we’ve had 87 million unique viewers. When those viewers watch, they watch an average of 71 minutes per week, which is pretty extraordinary.”

• “ESPN+, PGA TOUR live on ESPN+, I think you have heard me say, 25 million subscribers, 60 percent of those subscribers are under the age of 35. And from the Sentry to the BMW Championship, PGA TOUR live has been the most watched live sports content on ESPN+.”

3. Tour plans to play in Hawaii

ESPN’s Bob Harig…”The PGA Tour, for now, is planning on playing its 2024 season opener in January at the Kapalua Resort on the island of Maui, Hawaii.”

• “The wildfires that have caused considerable damage in the town of Lahaina as well as more than 100 deaths with dozens of people unaccounted for has the Tour monitoring the situation, trying to balance the idea of helping the community while also not impacting various efforts.”

• “We hope to be a source of inspiration for the great people of Maui and Lahaina by the time that we get to Maui in January,” commissioner Jay Monahan said Tuesday at a news conference in Atlanta, where the season-ending Tour Championship begins at East Lake on Thursday.

4. Pettersen’s picks

Max Schreiber for Golf Channel…”The European Solheim Cup team is set.”

• “Eight qualifiers were announced two days ago, and now captain Suzann Pettersen has rounded out her squad with four wild-card picks — Madelene Sagstrom, Gemma Dryburgh, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Caroline Hedwall.”

5. Rahm on heckling

Golf Digest’s Evin Priest…”Introducing real-time betting to the PGA Tour was always going to be a gamble, pardon the pun. Last Saturday at the BMW Championship outside Chicago, a fan at Olympia Fields berated Chris Kirk on the 17th green and moments later yelled “pull it” during playing partner Max Homa’s putting stroke. Homa later told reporters a fan said they bet $3 on him to make his putt, and that he called the fan “a clown” as he walked off the green.”

• “The incident got a lot of attention regarding fans potentially trying to alter shots, but Jon Rahm contends it has been happening for some time.”

• “I feel like we hear it every single round,” the Masters champion said Tuesday at the Tour Championship. “It’s very present. In golf, spectators are very close, and even if they’re not directly talking to you, they’re close enough to where if they say to their buddy, ‘I bet you 10 bucks he’s going to miss it,’ you hear it. Luckily golf fans are pretty good for the most part and you’re hearing the positive, ‘I’ve got 20 bucks you make birdie here.’”

6. How Scottie Scheffler’s incredible strokes gained tee-to-green season ranks against Tiger’s best

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Scottie Scheffler has had one of the best ball striking seasons of all time, and that isn’t hyperbole.”

• “On Monday, Justin Ray tweeted the best single-season averages in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, and Scottie’s 2023 season ranks 2nd behind only Tiger Woods is 2006.”

• “As Ray points out, tracking only began in 2003, so Woods’ historic 2000 season would not be included and figures to be better than his 2006 season.”

• “Scheffler has had a good season, winning the PLAYERS Championship and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. However, it doesn’t seem like enough considering he had the second-best tee to green season in twenty years. The number one player in the world has struggled with the putter since his PLAYERS win in March.”

7. Ogilvy: Not picking JT would be worst call ever

Adam Schupak for Golfweek…”U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson is scheduled to make his six captain’s picks on Aug. 29, which gives players competing this week at the Tour Championship one more week to make a lasting impression.”

• “But to hear PGA Tour veteran Geoff Ogilvy, who has served as a vice captain for the International Team at the last three Presidents Cups, tell it, choosing Thomas, slump or no slump, is a no-brainer.”

• “If they don’t take him, it’s the worst call ever,” Ogilvy said. “He’s the best head-to-head match player in the world.”

• “JT would be my first pick. I’ve been inside the ropes at enough Presidents Cups there’s just no chance you don’t take Justin,” said Ogilvy. “He does something to the team. He goes out front and leads and fist pumps and makes everyone behind him believe.”

8. Rahm has sights set on ‘incredible’ FedEx Cup win

James Nursey for Golfweek…”Jon Rahm thinks a first FedEx Cup title at this week’s Tour Championship would cap an excellent season after setting his sights on overhauling Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy who are above him in the standings. ”

• “Rahm is making his seventh consecutive appearance at the East Lake season finale – the joint longest active streak among the elite 30-man field. However, he is still chasing his first FedEx Cup title.”

• “That’s something he hopes to address this week. Speaking ahead of the tournament, Rahm said: “It’s already been a great year and to cap it off winning the FedEx Cup would be absolutely incredible.”

• “It would be something that very few players have done – win multiple tournaments, a Major and the FedEx Cup. So I’m hoping I can be the one that can etch his name next to that.”

9. Photos from the Tour Championship

• Check out all of our galleries from East Lake here.