It is a hectic time of the year in golf, with LIV Golf’s season starting under the lights in Riyadh. It’ll only get busier as the year goes on, and we take a look at the latest news, headlines, and results from the weekend.
PGA Tour’s Superfluous Memo On The Future Of Men’s Professional Golf
Thursday morning, the PGA Tour released a statement for an update “regarding the future of men’s professional golf.” The update said:
What did we learn from this update? Well, the PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan, and Australian golfer Adam Scott, who lives in Switzerland, met with the newly elected President Trump. Other than that, this word salad statement didn’t produce any news. There isn’t an update on the negotiations with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), there isn’t any clarity as to who is involved in the negotiations with the PIF, and there weren’t any details as to what the President’s involvement will be. It was particularly interesting that a non-American was the player representative that was sent to meet with the… American President. Before his appearance at the Super Bowl, President Trump played a round of golf with Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie. Perhaps the President was relaying the same message he had for Jay Monahan and Adam Scott.
There is a lot of politics that plays into the negotiations. The previous administration, under President Biden, wasn’t too willing to negotiate with Saudi Arabia and its Public Investment Fund. Meanwhile, this current administration, under President Trump, is. President Trump has hosted multiple LIV Golf Tournaments and will host another tournament at Trump National Doral in Miami the weekend before The Masters. The Department of Justice has been monitoring the developments in the men’s professional golf world, specifically regarding antitrust laws.
Regardless of where you stand politically and which Tour you support, this “update” didn’t offer much. If anything, it was another reminder that we are still some time away from seeing the best in the world consistently playing against each other. Last week is a great example. If we had Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Rory McIlroy going at it for the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, that would’ve been must-see-TV. Instead, Rahm and DeChambeau were gearing up for LIV Riyadh, while McIlroy was starting to lap the field before another TGL match.
With the USGA adding a pathway for the top performers during the LIV season and The Masters offering multiple special invitations, it appears the majors have it right. Get the best players in the world, competing in the game’s biggest events, regardless of when and where you’re playing.
As for those negotiations, who the hell knows when that will be finalized?
Hopefully, in 15 minutes.
LIV Riyadh Under The Lights, Adrian Meronk Finds Winner’s Circle
The first LIV Golf event took place this weekend, debuting on FOX Sports, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event was hosted at night, adding a uniqueness to the event, while attempting to show the first tournament of the season in a more optimal time slot, rather than in the middle of the night, and relying on re-airs to try and capture an audience.
For me, I don’t know what it was, but Thursday scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. I was skeptical of the night golf, but it actually looked good and was presented very well. The golf was on at 7 AM locally, which is always enjoyable to wake up to golf. I have no idea exactly what or why I enjoyed Thursday more than other LIV broadcasts, but it had me reeled in, and the golf was entertaining. Maybe the broadcast showing shot after shot after shot after shot played a role. Whatever it was, Thursday definitely had me looking forward to their next coffee golf event.
As for what transpired on the course, Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII clobbered the team competition. Legion XIII made the biggest on-course signing in the offseason, adding Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin to their team, who was impressive and tied for 15th in his LIV Golf debut. Legion XIII finished at 50-under while Ripper GC and Rangegoats GC finished 11 strokes behind in second place.
Before LIV Riyadh, LIV announced that all four players’ scores would count towards the team competition. In the first two full seasons, the top three players’ scores would count towards the team contest, with the lowest score being thrown out. This adjustment was well-received and could add some additional drama, should a team competition come down to the final few holes.
The Individual Tournament was won by Adrian Meronk, who stormed out to a 10-under, 62 on Thursday, and clutched the lead wire-to-wire. Meronk is part of Cleeks GC, cruised on Saturday to a 1-under 71, to win by two strokes at 17-under over Jon Rahm. It was Meronk’s first LIV Golf victory.
Ratings were a topic of conversation this week, as a report came out that LIV’s Thursday broadcast on FS2, drew in 12,000 viewers. In fairness to LIV, I can’t remember the last time I watched anything on FS2. However, having that few viewers is concerning for their first broadcast of the year. With how many big names LIV has, the change to playing the entire tournament at night and the timeslot moving to a more favorable U.S. audience is a compound issue.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that LIV Golf might need a deal with the PGA Tour as much, if not more, than the PGA Tour for this very reason. If they can’t draw an audience, advertisers won’t hop on board, and eventually, the PIF will have to make some hard decisions on the future of LIV Golf. While the PIF is closing in on $1 trillion, they don’t waste money. They use every cent with a purpose, and that purpose is to make money. If the return on investment is looking more and more bleak, LIV and the PIF might need to broker a deal with the PGA Tour more rapidly than anticipated.
It’s easy to overreact to the first ratings of the year on a channel that is seldom used for live events for a large audience. The ratings will definitely be interesting to monitor as the season goes on, and what the jump will be in ratings from FS2 to FS1, and FS1 to FOX. I would anticipate events on FOX and even FS1 should draw a substantial audience, and that’s when we can start comparing LIV’s ratings to the PGA Tour’s.
WM Phoenix Open, Thomas Detry Pulls Away On Back Nine
The WM Phoenix Open, or “The People’s Open” is a rare PGA Tour event with a true identity. The 16th hole, a par 3 with rowdy, sometimes heavily inebriated fans, is what people tune in for. Emiliano Grillo showcased that in the third round, as he recorded an ace on the hole, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Drinks came raining down, while Grillo had an epic reaction to his hole-in-one, running around as if he won the whole tournament on that shot. Grillo finished 76th out of 77 who made the cut, but he owned Saturday.
Owning the week, was Belgium’s Thomas Detry. Detry’s highest round of the week came in the first round when he shot a 5-under 66. Detry followed that up with a 64 on Friday, and 65’s on Saturday and Sunday to win his first PGA Tour event. Detry, who’s 32 years old, is one of those players before this week that would probably surprise golf fans if you told them he hadn’t won on Tour. Detry finished T-4 last May at the PGA Championship, T-9 at the Olympics in August, and T-5 at The Sentry in January. After a stout career at the University of Illinois, the Belgian gave Belgium their first PGA Tour victory.
Justin Thomas hopped on the CBS broadcast on Sunday, and he should go into TV when he’s done playing full-time. He has the personality, the insight, and the credentials to be a great analyst for broadcasts down the road. Daniel Berger and Michael Kim finished tied in second, seven shots behind Detry, as the race for second was an interesting battle. Michael Kim is known for posting frequently on X and was one of the multiple great stories to follow throughout the final round.
Another great story this week was Will Chandler, who Monday qualified for the tournament. The PGA Tour is eliminating Monday qualifiers, and the Phoenix Open has held Monday Q’s for 77 years. Monday qualifiers have provided opportunities for many golfers, many of whom have stories that are incredible, yet the PGA Tour is getting rid of them. Frank Nobilo on the broadcast was saying that he didn’t want these stories to go away and that the PGA Tour should keep Monday qualifiers. Frank is 100% correct. It’s enjoyable seeing these players who grind their asses off, qualify for a PGA Tour event, make the cut, and in Chandler’s case, finish in the top 10. Mark Baldwin, with Monday Q Info, wrote more about Chandler and his background, here is the link to what Baldwin wrote. Long live Monday qualifiers.
The WM Phoenix Open didn’t deliver a close finish, however, there was plenty of action throughout the week, and most importantly, fans appeared to be just rowdy enough to still be respectful and not like last year. Overall, it was a positive week on the course at TPC Scottsdale, which is what the PGA Tour needed.
Registration Open For 2026 Drive, Chip And Putt Qualifiers
Registration for the 2025-2026 Drive, Chip, and Putt qualifying is open, as this is the 12th season of qualifying events for boys and girls ages 7-15. The local qualifying sites for Washington are:
The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge (Redmond) – May 25th
Meadow Park Golf Course (Lakewood) – June 14th
The Creek at Qualchan (Spokane) – June 24th
Meadow Springs Country Club (Richland) – June 25th
Mount Si Golf Course (Snoqualmie) – June 29th
Lake Padden Golf Course (Bellingham) – July 9th
The Sub-Regional Qualifying will be held at The Home Course in DuPont, on August 27th. The Regional Qualifying will be held at Pebble Beach Golf Links (Pebble Beach, CA) on September 21st.
For more information on Drive, Chip and Putt, or to register, click here.
Good luck to all golfers!
Foster Golf Links Turns 100, Great Deals On Wednesday
On Thursday, Foster Golf Links in Tukwila will be celebrating 100 years! The course will have a 9 AM ceremonial first shot on the first tee, guest speakers, and presentations with snacks and drinks at 9:15 AM, and special pricing for the day. Nine holes will be $3.50 and 18 holes will be $7.50 for just Thursday. With how frequently golf courses are closing down in the country, it’s a great way to support a course that has provided the area with a century of golf.
Congratulations to Foster Golf Links on 100 years, and here’s to 100 more!
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