Exorbitant purses, team golf and shotgun starts: Where does LIV Golf go from here?

MIAMI -- During Wednesday's pairings enactment astatine the LIV Golf Team Championship, held wrong the Ivanka Trump ballroom astatine Trump National Doral Golf Club, 8 squad captains sat successful beforehand of a radical of reporters, portion a moderator announced the matchups, successful which the higher-seeded teams were allowed to prime their opponents.

After four-time large champion Brooks Koepka announced that his Smash GC squad would beryllium playing Niblicks GC, the 12th seed, two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, a non-playing skipper for the Niblicks, was asked for his thoughts connected the matchup.

"I'm not worried," Watson said to Koepka, who was sitting astatine the different extremity of the dais. "You mightiness person much injuries than me. You are getting older."

Majesticks GC, the sixth seed, was up adjacent and decided to play the ninth-seeded Iron Heads GC, which is captained by five-time PGA Tour victor Kevin Na.

"Well, I figured Kevin and I deed it truly short, and we could conscionable clasp hands down each fairway, truthful if I prime 1 of the different boys they're going to beryllium 50 yards successful front, and it's going to beryllium a beauteous miserable day," Majestics GC skipper Ian Poulter said.

When asked astir Poulter's stellar vocation grounds successful singles matches, Na responded: "I heard that he's the skipper this week due to the fact that cipher wanted to play the foursomes with him. You know, their squad mean property is similar successful the 50s, wherever I've got immoderate young guys, and I deliberation we're each right."

Later during the quality conference, Na joked astir Majestics subordinate Lee Westwood "being connected crutches."

"He's getting old," Na said. "He needs a cane retired there."

The light-hearted banter seemed similar a batch of fun, but it besides was a microcosm of 1 of the biggest criticisms of LIV Golf during its inaugural season. While play has so been (much) louder connected the circuit being funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, with euphony blaring from speakers connected the driving scope and philharmonic acts similar Nelly, Snoop Dogg and The Chainsmokers entertaining fans astatine tournaments, however superior are LIV Golf's (very) highly paid players astir the existent golf?

Last nighttime was a vibe 🪩#LIVGolf #LIVGolfMiami pic.twitter.com/5S70pgVzh5

With $50 million, the largest purse successful nonrecreational play history, connected the enactment astatine the inaugural squad championship, the players displayed a jarring dose of levity during the quality conference. Three years ago, portion Koepka was trying to triumph a 3rd consecutive PGA Championship oregon U.S. Open, his strength mightiness person burned holes done reporters who asked astir his chances of winning. He erstwhile said different PGA Tour players didn't similar him due to the fact that of his confidence.

"The satellite of play is mode overreacting to this LIV thing," said erstwhile PGA Tour subordinate Peter Jacobsen, present a commentator for NBC Sports and Golf Channel.

"It's not a menace to the PGA Tour. It's a menace to the players' careers that are leaving. It's astir similar they're retiring from golf. They're highly paid and highly skilled -- and the result is of nary consequence."

The ambiance astatine past week's LIV Golf enactment quality league begged the question: Does this ragtag clump of erstwhile large champions, satellite No. 1 golfers and aging PGA Tour defectors inactive attraction astir playing elite golf? And what's adjacent for the upstart circuit that has embraced 54 holes, squad play and shotgun starts? Does LIV Golf person a semipermanent future, oregon is it simply a flash-in-the-pan endeavor successful which already-wealthy golfers are getting adjacent richer?

That seems to beryllium the lone certainty: LIV golfers are getting filthy rich. Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces, which besides includes erstwhile Masters champion Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez, won the inaugural squad title Sunday and divided the winner's $16 cardinal purse. Johnson, a two-time large champion, collected much than $35 cardinal successful prize wealth successful the inaugural season.

"[Look at] Tom Brady's contract," said LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau, who reportedly received a multiyear, guaranteed declaration worthy much than $125 million. "He's inactive trying to triumph a Super Bowl. We person a clump of guys successful MLB that are making a brainsick magnitude of money. You don't deliberation they privation to triumph a World Series?

"You don't deliberation we privation to triumph the squad championship? We're competitors astatine heart. That's what makes america who we are. That's wherefore we're great. Yeah, the wealth is amazing, but erstwhile we get nether the gun, we get frustrated, we get mad, we get passionate. We attraction astir it due to the fact that it's our job."

MONEY HAS BEEN flowing connected the LIV Golf circuit this year. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealthiness fund, which reportedly manages $620 cardinal successful assets, was prepared to dump astatine slightest $784 cardinal into its caller sporting task successful its inaugural season, according to an LIV Golf quality merchandise earlier this year.

But LIV Golf president and COO Atul Khosla, a erstwhile enforcement with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, told ESPN that full expenditures person really been overmuch much than that. The $784 cardinal full includes worker salaries, build-outs astatine tournaments and accumulation costs for broadcasting LIV events connected societal media and its authoritative website.

That full does not see the guaranteed, multiyear contracts for players, which mightiness beryllium astatine slightest one-third of that. Along with DeChambeau's whopping contract, the PIF has reportedly bankrolled arsenic overmuch arsenic $200 cardinal for six-time large champion Phil Mickelson, astatine slightest $150 cardinal for Johnson and astatine slightest $100 cardinal for reigning Open Championship victor Cameron Smith. LIV Golf officials declined to supply details of the players' contracts.

Aside from the headliners, capable wealth was offered to lure erstwhile large title winners Sergio Garcia, Reed and Louis Oosthuizen distant from the PGA Tour. Chile's Joaquin Niemann and Mexico's Abraham Ancer were ranked among the apical 25 players successful the Official World Golf Ranking erstwhile they defected to LIV Golf.

Spending truthful overmuch to lure players distant from the PGA Tour was the outgo of doing business, Khosla said.

"I'm not definite if everyone has benignant of understood that erstwhile you person a startup, erstwhile you disrupt a space, it's nary antithetic than I would imagine, you know, decades ago, Amazon coming successful and disrupting the publication manufacture astatine that constituent successful time, oregon Uber coming successful and disrupting thing else," Khosla said. "There is superior required. There's a pain complaint required. There's a tenacity that's required to enactment done the archetypal mates of years. That's what we are, that's what we're doing."

When erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump walked disconnected the 18th greenish during Thursday's LIV Golf Pro-Am astatine a play people helium owned, helium complimented the Saudis for what they're doing successful men's nonrecreational golf.

"It's large clip and it's big-time money," Trump said. "It's unlimited money."

Trump besides suggested LIV Golf wasn't done luring distant apical PGA Tour players. He hosted LIV Golf's 3rd lawsuit astatine his play people successful Bedminster, New Jersey. There's besides speculation different 1 of his courses, Trump National extracurricular Washington, D.C., volition articulation the LIV Golf docket adjacent season.

"A batch of different radical are coming over," Trump said. "Big names, they're coming over. The prima strategy is precise important successful sports. If you don't person the prima system, you're not going to beryllium successful."

Khosla insists LIV Golf isn't immoderate benignant of assemblage shot NIL corporate wildly spending millions of dollars for players with nary fiscal concern. Majed Al Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation and a precocious schoolhouse person of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, told The New Yorker that the PIF had backing for LIV Golf done 2025. At immoderate point, Khosla knows, the Saudis volition expect a instrumentality connected their investment.

"We study into a board, and that's the expectation," Khosla said.

Will the Saudis play with their caller artifact for a mates of years, suffer involvement and determination on?

"I don't judge that astatine all," Khosla said. "You know, they are prudent investors. They've made investments each implicit the world, galore successful the United States, with large American companies. We are intelligibly viewed successful that lens."

Just successful August, the Public Investment Fund spent different $7.6 cardinal connected shares successful U.S. companies similar Amazon, Home Depot, Microsoft and Zoom.

HOW QUICKLY LIV Golf tin make astatine slightest a fraction of the wealth it's spending remains to beryllium seen. The main gross sources for nonrecreational sports leagues are TV/streaming rights and sponsorships. So far, astatine least, LIV Golf has struggled to onshore partnerships successful some areas, and it has mostly struggled to pull viewers to its broadcasts connected societal media, the streaming work DAZN and its authoritative website. The manager of 1 of LIV's apical players says the deficiency of a TV oregon streaming spouse was his biggest interest heading into the adjacent 2nd twelvemonth of the league.

"It's hard to find [LIV Golf], adjacent if you're looking for it, fto unsocial conscionable tally crossed it," said Golf Datatech enforcement Tom Stine, a erstwhile co-founder and steadfast of Golfweek. "You've got to beryllium hooked up with the close work and past spell hunting for it."

A caller survey of play fans by Golf Datatech, which provides marketplace probe to the play industry, recovered that lone 12% of respondents watched the LIV Golf lawsuit extracurricular Chicago connected Sept. 16-18. The canvass recovered that 80% of the respondents, which included 641 "serious golfers" who averaged 70 rounds per year, hadn't watched immoderate of the LIV events. The canvass was conducted Sept. 20-25.

According to information obtained by ESPN, the LIV Golf tourney extracurricular Boston successful aboriginal September averaged 114,000 concurrent viewers connected YouTube successful the last round. The mean dropped to 20,000 concurrent viewers for the last circular of the Bangkok lawsuit and 26,000 for the tourney successful Saudi Arabia. By comparison, the last circular of PGA Tour events this past season, excluding the majors, averaged astir 2.6 cardinal viewers connected web TV.

About 72,000 radical were watching connected YouTube erstwhile Johnson made a abbreviated putt to triumph the squad title Sunday.

"According to our survey, [LIV Golf] doesn't look to beryllium gaining crushed oregon gaining acceptance," said Stine, who besides worked astatine Golf Channel erstwhile it launched successful 1995. "My sentiment is the aforesaid arsenic LIV Golf's opinion: They request a tv declaration successful bid to beryllium successful. I don't deliberation anybody disputes that, bash they?"

Various published reports person noted that LIV Golf was incapable to unafraid a media rights woody with aggregate TV networks and fashionable sports streaming platforms specified arsenic ESPN+, Apple TV+ oregon Peacock. The TV networks that person traditionally broadcast nonrecreational men's play -- ESPN, CBS Sports and NBC Sports -- struck a nine-year, $6.1 cardinal woody with the PGA Tour successful March 2020.

On Sept. 27, Golfweek reported LIV Golf was adjacent to finalizing a woody with Fox Sports 1 to acquisition airtime to broadcast its events successful the U.S. Two weeks earlier, Norman told an ESPN vigor presumption successful Chicago that the circuit was inactive talking to 4 antithetic networks. In a statement, LIV Golf called the Golfweek study "incomplete and inaccurate."

At the CAA World Congress of Sports successful New York connected Oct. 11, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks told Sports Business Journal newsman John Ourand that determination was "not a batch of heat" astir a imaginable media rights woody with LIV Golf.

Sources told ESPN that purchasing airtime connected a cablegram sports web to broadcast a play tourney connected the play mightiness outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic $900,000 per hour. That doesn't see accumulation costs, which are considered immoderate of the astir costly successful sports due to the fact that of the fig of cameras and unit required to broadcast 18 holes. Sorour, the Golf Saudi CEO, suggested to the New Yorker that LIV Golf would make its ain web if it couldn't find a spouse successful the U.S.

"If it was up to me, I'd marque it in-house," Sorour said.

Khosla told ESPN that LIV Golf was inactive having conversations with linear and non-linear TV and streaming outlets successful the U.S., and that the process would play itself retired implicit the adjacent fewer months. DeChambeau said LIV Golf didn't yet person a broadcast spouse due to the fact that of "strategic reasons," but didn't item why.

"By adjacent year, I wholeheartedly judge we volition person a tv partner," DeChambeau said.

Even if LIV Golf doesn't pull a TV spouse and has to bargain airtime, Watson said that doesn't needfully mean the caller circuit isn't a bully product.

"There's entities retired determination successful the U.S. that had to wage for their broadcasting astatine first, and past it's grown into something," Watson said. "We tin beryllium present and sanction the entities that person done that and we each cognize who they are. [LIV Golf] is broadcast successful galore countries; radical are loving it. I deliberation we'll get there."

In the past, determination person been examples of brokered programming successful sports, successful which leagues paid a TV web for airtime, including Major League Soccer, assorted iterations of nonrecreational shot leagues not named the NFL, car racing and nonrecreational wrestling. But nary of them were paying the exorbitant salaries LIV Golf is doling retired -- oregon the tremendous purses. During adjacent year's 14-tournament schedule, LIV golfers volition vie for $405 million, $150 cardinal much than they did this season.

"As with thing that is simply a venture-capital benignant of structure, determination is an anticipation of instrumentality connected investment," Stine said. "But arsenic everyone has known from the precise commencement with LIV Golf, their concern superior is endless astatine this point. When the concern money gets bushed of supporting it is the question; not erstwhile they tally retired of money."

As acold arsenic sponsorships, Khosla said LIV Golf has entertained assorted imaginable partners astatine its events. Up until this point, the circuit had conscionable 1 presenting sponsor: ROSHN, Saudi Arabia's starring existent property developer, which is besides mostly funded by the Public Investment Fund. As portion of the Saudi Vision 2030 campaign, which seeks to trim the country's dependence connected lipid and diversify its economy, ROSHN hopes to bring location ownership to 70% of the colonisation by 2030.

"It takes clip to person radical that this is present to stay, which I judge we person done," Khosla said. "We are launching the league adjacent twelvemonth with 12 teams. Those are each fundamentals that we person to establish. And past I deliberation brands travel connected committee due to the fact that they spot what the merchandise is."

LIV GOLF'S VISION for 2023 and beyond is arsenic bold arsenic Saudi Arabia's. LIV Golf volition alteration into a league adjacent twelvemonth and play a 14-tournament schedule. The league volition beryllium built connected a franchise model, successful which apical players volition ain 25% of their teams and the league volition support 75%. It volition beryllium the captain's work to merchantability sponsorships for his team, portion LIV Golf volition besides beryllium seeking leaguewide partnerships with advertisers and sponsors of its own. Starting adjacent season, LIV's teams volition run arsenic autarkic entities, with LIV Golf providing immoderate enactment for their operations, but teams volition beryllium liable for their travel, lodging, carnal trainers, coaches and different expenses. Teams tin besides make gross done their ain merchandise income and apparel deals.

Watson said helium plans to physique his squad similar a franchise successful immoderate different sport. He'll person a president, wide manager and enactment squad successful place. Watson already plans to alteration the sanction of his team, which is presently being called the Niblicks, aft the aboriginal play clubs that were the equivalent of modern-day wedges oregon 9-irons.

"We're gonna conscionable commencement making a team," Watson said. "We're gonna commencement having our ain logo, similar the Yankees [and] the Lakers, each the teams that we're utilized to seeing with that logo. That's what we're trying to do. We're trying to make a league conscionable similar the NBA, conscionable similar Major League Baseball, conscionable similar the NFL."

Watson, 43, besides envisions a time erstwhile he'll measurement distant from his franchise, merchantability his stakes and crook it implicit to different golfer.

"These young kids now, they're pulling for a team," Watson said. "It's conscionable similar the Yankees. If Aaron Judge leaves oregon helium stays, they're inactive going to beryllium Yankee fans. And truthful that's what we're creating. We're creating franchises, teams that you're going to follow, nary substance who's connected there, due to the fact that you're going to person alteration over, right? Phil's getting older. I'm getting older. There's going to beryllium radical changing implicit passim the years. And truthful you're creating a brand, a team, an ambiance that you privation to beryllium portion of."

World No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy is skeptical that the LIV Golf franchises volition beryllium worthy much.

"People person to remember, play is simply a niche sport," McIlroy told The New Yorker. "All you're getting is 4 golfers. And I get it, immoderate MLS teams are worthy 700 cardinal dollars. But it's each tied to the economics of the league, and close present that league doesn't person immoderate economics."

Some LIV golfers mightiness beryllium forced disconnected rosters sooner than they would like. Relegation and promotion are portion of the franchise model, and lesser-known players who struggled this play mightiness not beryllium backmost adjacent year. LIV Golf plans to person a 60-man roster adjacent year, with 4 progressive players and 1 reserve connected each team. Watson, who was a non-playing skipper this play due to the fact that of a genu injury, hopes to instrumentality to the people adjacent year. That means astatine slightest 1 of the existent 4 players won't beryllium back. "We person 3 close present connected the table," Watson said. "We're looking for the fourth."

That mightiness not beryllium arsenic hard a stroke for nondescript erstwhile PGA Tour players specified arsenic Perez, who earned much than $8 cardinal contempt not playing precise good until Sunday, and Charles Howell III, who made astir $3 million, than it would beryllium for younger players who haven't been pros for precise long. For example, erstwhile U.S. amateur champion Andy Ogletree played successful the archetypal LIV Golf lawsuit successful London, finished dormant past astatine 24 over, collected $120,000 and hasn't played connected the circuit since. He has made 3 starts successful the LIV-affiliated International Series connected the Asian Tour.

Khosla said LIV Golf hopes to make a developmental and promotion way for players done its alliances with the Asian Tour and little-known MENA Tour, which is simply a developmental circuit that plays successful the Middle East and North Africa. Players who are relegated disconnected rosters astir apt won't beryllium allowed to instrumentality to the PGA Tour.

DeChambeau has an adjacent bigger imaginativeness for his franchise, which is presently called Crushers GC. His semipermanent plans see inferior play academies, fittingness and sports complexes, and possibly adjacent his ain play course. He believes having Anirban Lahiri connected his squad volition unfastened opportunities successful India that helium different wouldn't have.

"One of the reasons wherefore I picked Anirban is he's a immense subordinate successful the Indian market, and we privation to assistance spell implicit determination and turn golf-build driving ranges, possibly adjacent play courses," DeChambeau said. "The existent property implicit determination is precise hard to get due to the fact that of however jampacked it is. There's opportunities to not lone instrumentality definite players but utilize them successful a affirmative mode successful their country of the globe."

WHETHER NORMAN REMAINS part of LIV Golf's semipermanent imaginativeness remains to beryllium seen. When his caller circuit was attempting to poach the PGA Tour's champion players with tremendous guaranteed contracts, helium took connected the astir forward-facing role, fueling the ongoing rivalry against the tour. At a quality league earlier the inaugural LIV Golf tourney extracurricular London successful May, Norman referred to the Saudi Arabian monarchy's alleged engagement successful the decease of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. citizen, arsenic a "mistake," a remark that drew wide criticism.

"I conjecture I've been a pinata for a agelong play of clip due to the fact that of my occurrence and the mode I've approached life," Norman told ESPN successful May. "It's nary antithetic present today. People person a slanted presumption connected me."

Since then, Norman hasn't done galore interviews with journalists extracurricular of his autochthonal Australia.

It's not the archetypal clip the 67-year-old Australian, wide known arsenic the "Shark," has attempted to person golfers to interruption distant from the PGA Tour. Before the Shark Shootout astatine Sherwood Country Club successful Thousand Oaks, California, successful November 1994, Norman invited the tour's apical players to a closed-door gathering to perceive his plans for an eight-tournament circuit that would statesman play the adjacent year. Fox Network had signed a 10-year woody with a absorption institution to signifier 8 tournaments, successful which 30 to 40 players would vie for $3 cardinal purses.

Jacobsen, a seven-time victor connected the PGA Tour, was among what helium believes were 15 to 18 players successful the gathering that day.

"My spouse was Arnold Palmer," Jacobsen said.

"When we got up there, [Norman] presented america with a docket of events astir the world. Tournaments successful places similar Singapore and Hong Kong and Montreal and Johannesburg, places each astir the world. He was talking astir this bid of tournaments and however we were each invited to play."

Jacobsen remembers idiosyncratic -- but doesn't retrieve who, astir 28 years aboriginal -- asking Norman however they were going to unafraid releases from the PGA Tour to play.

"Maybe you misunderstand, we're going to renounce our PGA Tour rank and articulation this tour," Norman told the players successful the room, according to Jacobsen.

"The somesthesia successful the country dropped by astir 15 degrees," Jacobsen said.

Palmer, who won 62 times connected tour, including 7 majors, was the adjacent idiosyncratic to talk up.

"How galore times bash you deliberation we were offered the accidental to permission the circuit and make our own?" Palmer asked Norman.

"Probably rather a fewer times," Norman replied.

"And bash you cognize wherefore we didn't?" Palmer asked him. "It's atrocious for golf, atrocious for the players and I don't privation thing to bash with it."

According to Jacobsen, Palmer got up and walked out.

"And that beauteous overmuch spoke volumes for astir of america successful the room," Jacobsen said.

"Maybe immoderate players liked the idea, but everybody successful my generation, we learned astatine the feet of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. We looked astatine those players arsenic our mentors. Let's not forget, Arnold and Jack had started the PGA Tour backmost successful 1968, '69 erstwhile they defected from the PGA of America."

Norman's expansive program for a satellite circuit died connected the vine that day. He waited astir 3 decades to motorboat it again, with the assistance of Saudi Arabia's seemingly endless proviso of money.

And now, with Norman threatening the PGA Tour's aboriginal again, the tour's apical players, similar Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and others, are pursuing the footsteps of Tiger Woods and McIlroy, who organized a gathering of apical players earlier the BMW Championship successful August successful Wilmington, Delaware, which led to wide changes and accrued purses connected the tour.

One twelvemonth agone contiguous we changed the scenery of golf. Proud of what we person done to execute it. #LIVGolf @LIVGolfInv pic.twitter.com/KUASZTOVOk

"I deliberation the radical that person decided to enactment present and play these tournaments, they oregon we haven't done thing otherwise than what we've ever done, right?" McIlroy said astatine the CJ Cup earlier this month.

"We're playing these events, we're PGA Tour members, we're sticking to the strategy that has traditionally been there. The guys that person [gone] implicit to LIV, they're the ones that person made the disruption, they're the ones that person benignant of enactment the play satellite successful flux close now."

OF COURSE, TO execute its dreams, LIV Golf volition person to go wide accepted by play fans, and it's not determination yet. If LIV Golf doesn't instrumentality disconnected and survive, it's unclear if the defectors are excessively acold down the roadworthy to spell backmost to the PGA Tour, which has indefinitely suspended them for competing successful LIV Golf events without conflicting-event releases.

DeChambeau was among 11 LIV golfers who sued the PGA Tour successful national tribunal Aug. 3 successful California, alleging the circuit was utilizing its monopoly powerfulness to squash contention and that it had discouraged vendors, TV networks and different companies from moving with LIV Golf. The PGA Tour filed a countersuit, successful which it accused LIV Golf of interfering successful its contracts with players. A national justice ordered the sides to spell done mediation by May 1; a assemblage proceedings is scheduled to statesman connected Jan. 8, 2024.

The PGA Tour besides sued the Public Investment Fund and Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, politician of the fund, successful national tribunal successful New York. The ailment remains nether seal. Sources told ESPN that the PGA Tour's attorneys are attempting to get a question to compel from a national justice that would necessitate Al-Rumayyan to beryllium deposed and necessitate the Public Investment Fund to crook implicit documents arsenic portion of the national lawsuit successful California.

Along with the ineligible conflict with the PGA Tour, LIV golfers look an uncertain aboriginal erstwhile it comes to the large championships and premier squad events, similar the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. LIV Golf has applied for designation from the Official World Golf Ranking governing board, which is simply a dilatory process. LIV Golf tried an end-around with its escaped affiliation with the MENA Tour, which is recognized by OWGR, but it didn't work. LIV Golfers didn't person world-ranking points for wherever they finished successful LIV events, truthful they've plummeted successful the rankings, which puts those without antecedently earned exemptions successful majors successful information of not getting in.

"If [LIV golfers] don't person satellite ranking points, past the world-ranking strategy is flawed," Watson said. "It's broken. When you deliberation astir the golfers that are here, if you're going to play against the champion successful the world, you person to fertile us, too, due to the fact that we're immoderate of the champion successful the world. So it's a flawed strategy if you accidental no."

This past season, LIV golfers who had exemptions oregon were different eligible were permitted to play successful the 4 large championships -- the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship. But the PGA of America has indicated that lone its members are eligible for its championship, and the lone mode for nonrecreational golfers to person rank is done the PGA Tour. In its ailment against the PGA Tour successful court, LIV Golf accused Augusta National Golf Club president Fred Ridley of threatening to "disinvite players from the Masters if they joined LIV Golf."

Last week, the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had expanded its probe into the PGA Tour's alleged antitrust behaviour to see Augusta National and the USGA, which oversees the U.S. Open.

Watson, a two-time victor of the Masters, said helium thinks he'll beryllium backmost successful Augusta successful April.

"I'm confident. I am," Watson said. "I deliberation I'll beryllium astatine Augusta. I don't spot wherefore they wouldn't fto maine play. I've earned the close to beryllium there. I deliberation I'll beryllium determination astatine Augusta trying to triumph different jacket."

Playing for the U.S. oregon Europe successful the Ryder Cup, which is staged by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, mightiness not beryllium arsenic easy. Before past week's LIV Golf squad championship, Garcia, a longtime Ryder Cup subordinate and imaginable aboriginal skipper for the Europeans, said helium didn't program connected playing successful the required 4 DP World Tour events adjacent season, which would marque him ineligible for the team.

"I knew immoderate of the things that mightiness hap if I joined [LIV Golf], but astatine the extremity of the day, arsenic we're seeing, you tin spot that immoderate of the guys connected the different broadside don't truly privation maine there," Garcia said. "I don't privation to beryllium a load to anyone and adjacent little successful a Ryder Cup. I'd alternatively beryllium distant from that arsenic overmuch arsenic it hurts and marque definite that Europe has the champion accidental of winning than maine being determination and 3 oregon 4 guys that are going to beryllium determination are going to beryllium upset oregon something."

That is the uncertain aboriginal LIV Golfers look implicit the adjacent respective months -- and they look good with it.

At the squad title enactment quality league Wednesday, Koepka jabbed Mickelson astir ne'er being ranked the No. 1 subordinate successful the world. Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, complimented Koepka's greenish shirt.

"That's a beauteous greenish shirt, bash you person a greenish jacket?" Mickelson asked Koepka.

"I bash not, but I will, though, don't worry. I will," Koepka said.

Like everything other successful men's nonrecreational play these days, that mightiness not beryllium truthful certain, either.

ESPN's Mark Fainaru-Wada contributed to this story.