liv tour name meaning

What does the LIV Golf name mean? Why is it called that?

LIV Golf and the LIV Golf League are now in their third season, having started in June 2022 outside London with their Invitational Series, which ultimately became the LIV Golf League.

When the Saudi-owned concept was announced, there was confusion as to the name of the league, what it meant and how it should be pronounced.

What does the LIV Golf name mean?

The name LIV Golf is a play on the tournament format for their events. In Roman numerals, LIV is 54. L is 50, and IV is 4. LIV Golf tournaments are three 18-hole rounds, or 54 holes. That's 18 holes, or one round, less than the standard high-level professional golf tournament that is four rounds and 72 holes. In promotional material for LIV Golf, the Roman numeral and the Arabic number for 54 are shown interchangeably.

Why do this? Perhaps there was a sensitivity around using Arabic numbers. Maybe they thought it just sounded better to create a pun with the Roman numeral, LIV, and the verb "live" -- as in making a lifestyle choice about golf.

Starting in 2024, LIV Golf also has 54 players in their tournament fields, meaning there's symmetry between the number of holes played and the number of players competing. Two players are not affiliated with a team in each event, as there are now 13 four-person teams. Since LIV Golf goes off in threesomes for their shotgun starts, they needed to have a field size neatly divisible by three. Now each hole of the golf course has a threesome on it to start each LIV Golf tournament round, making pace a different factor than it was when just 48 players were competing and 16 holes started with players on them.

How is LIV Golf pronounced?

LIV Golf is prounced as "live golf," as in "live and breathe golf," the present form of the verb "live." Not as in "Saturday Night Live." It is also not an acronym, so it is not pronounced by individual letters: L-I-V.

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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What does LIV mean? What does it stand for? Here's everything you need to know

The LIV Golf Invitational Series very rarely finds itself out of the headlines these days, but what does the name mean and what does it stand for?

There has been plenty of discussion about the LIV Golf Invitational Series .

And while everyone is familiar with the source of the money thanks to the accusations of sportswashing , not everyone is familiar with the name. 

Where did LIV Golf come from? What does it mean? 

It may seem like it's an acronym, but in actual fact LIV is the Roman numeral for 54. 

It's important for two reasons. Greg Norman, the LIV Golf Investments chief executive, previously explained the meaning in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

Norman said: "It is the Roman numeral for 54, which has two meanings: 54 is the lowest score you could shoot if you were to birdie every hole on a par 72 course, so there is an aspirational aspect to the thinking. It is also the number of holes to be played in each event." 

LIV Golf have also outlined a bonus scheme whereby if one of its players shoots this number in one of their events, then they will be rewarded with a bonus check of $54million. 

This news was outlined by Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, which is bankrolling the series, after the first LIV Golf event at Centurion Club just outside of London which was won by South African Charl Schwartzel, where he claimed $4.75million. 

Hilariously, in response to the threat of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour announced increases to their prize purses in 2023-2024 by $54 million.

The second reason is that 54 relates to the series' format. Every LIV Golf event in the inaugural season is played over 54 holes in a shotgun start.

More: LIV Golf Invitational Series schedule 2022

Traditionally, golf tournaments are played over 72 holes in a stroke play format. 

One of the reasons LIV Golf have done this is to try and change the viewing experience for the consumer. 

At present, if you're going to watch another tournament on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour or indeed any of the majors, then the coverage can last more than 10 hours. 

Do you really want to sit and watch golf for that long? LIV Golf's tag line is "Don't Blink". 

With LIV Golf, the action is promised to be thick and fast. Everyone starts at the same time on different holes and finishes in close proximity to each other. 

It also could be argued in some ways it is fair for the entire field. Everyone is playing at the same time, meaning there is no morning wave and afternoon wave with different weather conditions leading to vastly different scores.

More: Court docs raise awkward questions for Bryson DeChambeau

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The 54-hole format is also a key component in trying to target a younger generation. 

They clearly want to get the kids coming to the events, watching online via streams and also buying into the team element that they have introduced. 

They've also offered children free tickets to events when accompanied by an adult in the first three tournaments. 

LIV Golf appears to be very open to change, though. Already they have announced plans for 2023-2204, which feature a promotion and relegation aspect as it switches over to a league format. 

Whether or not LIV Golf will be a success remains to be seen. Norman has said that the Public Investment Fund has pledged to invest a further $2billion into the venture over the next two years. 

They have already attracted some huge names to the circuit, such as Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau. 

There are rumours that 150th Open winner Cameron Smith is their number one target , while Japan's Hideki Matsuyama is rumoured to be in negotiations with the circuit for a deal that is reportedly worth twice as much as Mickelson's. 

But now you know. The LIV part of the name is not an acronym, it actually represents something that is absolutely crucial to the series that Norman hopes will flourish in years to come to realise his dream. 

Next page: LIV Golf's biggest earners after three events

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LIV Golf has been one of the biggest stories in the world of golf this year. But what is this new series that has garnered so much attention and is starting to reel in some elite players? In this space, you can find everything you’ll need to know about this new and controversial golf circuit financed by the Saudi Arabian government.

How to watch LIV Golf

LIV Golf does not yet have a television partnership with any major network or streaming service. However, the series will air on formats most golf fans have easy access to. LIV will broadcast its events on:

• LIVGolf.com

Calling the action will be the long-time voice of the Premier League games in the United States, Arlo White, and veteran Golf Channel reporter Jerry Foltz.

Which PGA stars are switching to LIV?

LIV Golf has drawn a great deal of attention in the sports world because of the major stars that are planning to play for the new tour in 2022, including several major champions. Here are some of the biggest names that will be competing for LIV this year.

• Cameron Smith
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Phil Mickelson
• Dustin Johnson
• Sergio Garcia
• Louis Oosthuizen
• Ian Poulter
• Talor Gooch
• Lee Westwood
• Martin Kaymer
• Graeme McDowell

What is LIV Golf?

The LIV Golf International Series is a new golf tournament circuit that is being led by CEO and retired legend Greg Norman. The eight-tournament series will include seven regular-season events, with the first taking place on Thursday, June 9 in London, England. The final event in October will be a team championship team contest in Miami.

LIV is being financed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. This essentially means the circuit is owned by the Saudi government, which has a pretty poor human rights record. One of the most recent instances saw Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman order the killing of Saudi native and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi .

What does LIV mean?

The LIV in this new tour’s name are actually the Roman numerals L, I, and V. Which when added up equals 54. The same amount of holes will be played at each LIV Golf tournament.

LIV schedule

LIV will feature eight events and take members of its star-studded roster, like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and Kevin Na, to major cities in the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Below you can find the LIV schedule with the dates and cities for the circuit’s inaugural eight tournaments.

2022 LIV Golf results

London: Centurion Golf Club

• Charl Schwartzel – 7 under
• Hennie Du Plessis – 6 under
• Branden Grace – 5 under

Portland: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club

• Branden Grace – 13 under
• Carlos Ortiz – 11 under
• Patrick Reed – 9 under

New Jersey: Trump National Golf Club Bedminster

• Henrik Stenson – 11 Under
• Matthew Wolff – 9 Under
• Dustin Johnson – 9 Under

Boston: The International

• Dustin Johnson – 15 Under (won playoff tiebreaker)
• Anirban Lahiri – 15 Under
• Joaquin Niemann

How does LIV work?

LIV Golf is meant to be an alternative to the world-famous PGA Tour and does so by differing in format. Each tourney will have 48 players in four teams of 12, selected via a draft the week of the tournament. Every team will also have a LIV-appointed captain.

Each event will have three rounds, and 54 holes in total. Every player will start at the same time at different holes, instead of staggered start times, and there will be no cuts

The individual elements of the event will be scored by traditional stroke play. The team part will be decided by counting the best two stroke-play scores over the first two rounds for each team. In the final round, the best three scores will count. The team that has the lowest total after 54 holes get the victory.

Why are PGA Tour players leaving for LIV Golf?

LIV Golf is handing out some sizable guaranteed paydays. A total of $255 million will be awarded over the first 8 tournaments and is a reason why Mickelson, Garcia, Johnson, and recently Bryson Dechambeau and Patrick Reed, are leaving the PGA for LIV.

As much as $25 million will be paid out at each event with $20 million going to individual prizes and $5 million to team winners. The top three players at the end of the regular season will also share a $30 million purse ($18 million for first, $8 million for second, and $4 million for third). Lastly, another $50 million will be awarded at the team match-play championship. 

In the PGA Tour if players don’t make the cut in various rounds they don’t get paid at all, but in the LIV there is no cut, and all 48 players bank bucks at each event.

Will players who compete on the LIV Golf circuit be eligible for majors?

In June, the PGA Tour officially suspended current members and those that recently resigned from competing in all future events and other series sanctioned by the professional golf body. However, most of what is considered golf majors are run independently of the PGA’s control.

That is why the likes of Mickelson and Garcia are expected to compete at this year’s US open since they meet the eligibility requirements of the tournament despite being in the middle of a building war between PGA and LIV.

However, time will tell if the majors decide to side with the PGA, especially considering the controversies surrounding LIV’s financial backers.

LIV Golf schedule expands to 14 events and $405 million in payouts in 2023

In July, LIV announced they plan to nearly double their slate of events next season. Going from the eight events in for their inaugural 2022 season to a whopping 14 tournaments in 2023. Along with that the 48 golfers the league has on its roster will stand to make much more. LIV guaranteed $255 million in individual and team purses for the first season. With six more events in 2023, the tour will add an extra $150 million to that pot for a total of $405 million that will be up for grabs next season.

More About: Golf

What Does LIV Stand for in LIV Golf?

Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sportscasting in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies . When Jack isn't writing about sports, he's watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He's also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sportscasting with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.  

Published 27 Feb 2023

The LIV Golf Invitational Series may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s not going away anytime soon. The Saudi-backed golf league, which is being spearheaded by 20-time PGA Tour winner Greg Norman , kicked off its second season at Mayakoba in February, and there are 13 more events remaining on this year’s schedule.

You probably know that LIV Golf is eating into the PGA Tour’s monopoly one nine-figure check at a time, but do you know what LIV stands for in the name? It actually has two meanings, but you probably can’t guess either of them.

What does LIV stand for in LIV Golf?

The LIV Golf Invitational Series began last year as a revenge tour headed by Greg Norman. Funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the rival golf league was able to poach Phil Mickelson , Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, and dozens more away from the PGA Tour by waving hundreds of millions of dollars in their faces.

LIV has become a controversial topic in the sports world because of where the money is coming from, but it was successful in its attempt to steal some of the top talent from the PGA Tour. Ahead of LIV Golf’s second season, it was able to ink a deal with the CW to air all 14 events on the 2023 schedule.

But where does the name come from?

For starters, the name is pronounced “live,” as in “I live in America.” Only, the meaning has nothing to do with the word “live,” and it’s not an acronym, either.

LIV is the roman numeral for the number 54, which has more than one meaning in the LIV Golf world. The Saudi-backed tour plays 54 holes every tournament, whereas the PGA Tour plays 72. The number 54 also stands for the score a player would shoot if he or she birdied all 18 holes in a round.

If a player is somehow able to shoot 54 at any LIV Golf event, the tour will reward him with a $54 million bonus. Don’t get your hopes up, though.

We’ve seen only 12 players in the history of the PGA Tour shoot a sub-60 round. The lowest score ever recorded was a 58 by Jim Furyk at the 2016 Travelers Championship.

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About LIV Golf

LIV Golf is here to modernize and supercharge the wonderful sport of golf. The LIV Golf League is for the millions of us who love golf already – and for millions more who are just getting started. Our mission is to build on and complement the existing format of professional golf and take it to new levels of excitement and engagement with generations of fans. With events across the world, the LIV Golf League is bringing the game – and those who love to play and watch it – to new places. 

Our events represent an opportunity to revitalize and reinvigorate golf, while helping to bring new audiences to the game. Golf is a sport full of existing traditions. The LIV Golf League intends to create new ones through our innovative and transformational approach. We believe our new format will bring fans closer to the game and generate fresh levels of excitement for the sport. And we’ll complement this using our social programs that are designed to change millions of young lives across the globe for the better.  

How It Works

This is golf, but not as you know it.  

13 teams. 54 Players.  

No cuts. And shotgun starts. 

Golf As You've Never Seen It

Jon Rahm Explains Meaning Behind LIV Golf Team Name Legion XIII

The Spaniard has outlined the meaning behind the name of the team he will lead in the new season of the LIV Golf League

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Just days before the opening LIV Golf League tournament of the 2024 season, Jon Rahm’s team roster has been confirmed , with his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton , amateur star Caleb Surratt and the promoted Kieran Vincent completing his line-up.

Along with the news of the three signings, it was also announced that, as had been widely reported in recent weeks, Rahm's new team would be named Legion XIII. 

Now, the Spaniard, who leads the 13th team on the circuit for the first time at LIV Golf Mayakoba , has detailed what inspired the choice, with the quality of loyalty at the forefront.

He explained: “I wanted to go down the warrior spirit mythology side for the team's name. The term loyalty is very important for me - I think it embodies the warrior spirit through its decisiveness and ready-for-battle mindset. During the Roman Empire, there was the iconic Legion XIII Gemina in Caesar’s army. They believed in the credo of faithful loyalty.”

Rahm then outlined the significance of the XIII in the name, revealing it has a double meaning: “The XIII portion of the name was appealing early in the process as it fit the structure of captain (X) and the three players in the lineup (III),” explained the 29-year-old. “Plus, we are the 13th team in the league.”

Rahm is a big fan of Spanish soccer team Athletic Bilbao and even performed the honorary kick-off before its game against Atletico Madrid shortly after his LIV Golf move, and he also revealed the club’s nickname helped inspire the logo chosen for Legion XIII.

The nickname of Athletic Bilbao, the soccer team Rahm supports, inspired Legion XIII's logo

He continued: “As for the logo, that was something I was also very passionate about. The soccer team I grew up following [Athletic Bilbao] is called the Lions. It’s just a fierce animal that everybody respects and fears at the same time.”

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With two-time Major winner Rahm in his peak years at the helm, PGA Tour winner Hatton on board and the potential of Surratt and Vincent, there’s little doubt that the team will command plenty of both, and LIV Golf creative director Will Newell added the team name epitomises its leader.

“Our first expansion team had to offer something new for fans to get involved with," he explained. "This Legion, this collective, is all about bringing people together as a force to be reckoned with. Jon’s no-nonsense attitude fuels Legion XIII – all-heart, no half-measures and never afraid to be exactly who you are.”

With the team line-up and its name now set in stone, thoughts will turn towards getting Legion XIII off to strong start, with the first round of the season opener coming on 2 February at El Camaleon Golf Club .

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

The outstanding rookie of the DP World Tour season wins the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award, which predates the inception of the circuit

By Mike Hall Published 31 August 24

A thrilling finish is in prospect at Sunningdale with the Sunday singles as Great Britain and the US compete for the Curtis Cup

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PGA and LIV Merger Deal Increases Saudi Arabia’s Influence in Golf

The partnership is a major victory for Saudi ambitions in sports, but the announcement split players. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan described his meeting with golfers late in the afternoon as “heated.”

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Alan Blinder

The alliance between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf ends a bitter fight in the sport.

The PGA Tour, the dominant force in men’s professional golf for generations, and LIV Golf, which made its debut just last year and is backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in Saudi money, will together form an industry powerhouse that is expected to transform the sport, executives announced Tuesday.

The rival circuits had spent the last year clashing in public, and the tentative agreement that emerged from secret negotiations blindsided virtually all of the world’s top players, agents and broadcasters. The deal would create a new company that would consolidate the PGA Tour’s prestige, television contracts and marketing muscle with Saudi money.

The new company came together so quickly that it does not yet even have a name and is referred to in the agreement documents simply as “NewCo.” It would be controlled by the PGA Tour but significantly financed by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund . The fund’s governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan, will be the new company’s chairman.

The deal, coming when Saudi Arabia is increasingly looking to assert itself on the world stage as something besides one of the world’s largest oil producers, has implications beyond sports. The Saudi money will give the new organization greater clout, but it comes with the troubling association of the kingdom’s human rights record, its treatment of women and accusations that it was responsible for the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a leading critic.

The agreement does not immediately amount to a Saudi takeover of professional golf, but it positions the nation’s top officials to have enormous sway over the game. It also represents an escalation in Saudi ambitions in sports, moving beyond its corporate sponsorship of Formula 1 racing and ownership of an English soccer team into a place where it can exert influence over the highest reaches of a global game.

“Everybody is in shock,” said Paul Azinger, the winner of the 1993 P.G.A. Championship and the lead golf analyst for NBC Sports. “The future of golf is forever different.”

Since LIV began play last year, it has used some of the richest contracts and prize money in the sport’s history to entice players away from the PGA Tour. Until Tuesday morning, the PGA Tour had been publicly uncompromising: LIV was a threat to the game and a glamorous way for Saudi Arabia to rehabilitate its reputation. The PGA Tour’s commissioner, Jay Monahan, had even avoided uttering LIV’s name in public.

But a series of springtime meetings in London, Venice and San Francisco led to a framework agreement that stunned the golf industry for its timing and scope. Monahan, who defended the decision as a sound business choice and said he had accepted that he would be accused of hypocrisy, met with PGA Tour players in Toronto on Tuesday in what he called an “intense” and “certainly heated” exchange.

The deal, though, proved right the predictions that there could eventually be an uneasy patching-up of the sport’s fractures. The PGA Tour’s board, which includes a handful of players like Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, must still approve the agreement, a process that could be tumultuous.

It was only a year ago this week that LIV Golf held its inaugural tournament, prompting the PGA Tour to suspend players who competed in it. But by the end of the year, even though the circuit was locked in an antitrust battle with the PGA Tour and its stars were confronting uncertain futures at the sport’s marquee competitions, LIV had some of the biggest names in golf on its payroll. Its players have included the major tournament champions Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson and Cameron Smith.

The players were familiar, but LIV’s 54-hole events — the name derives from the Roman numerals for that number — were jarring, with blaring music and golfers in shorts not facing the specter of being unceremoniously cut midway through. The PGA Tour, meanwhile, defended its 72-hole events, where low performers do not compete into the weekend, as rigorous athletic tests that adhered to the traditions of an ancient game.

The less-starchy LIV concept drew plenty of headlines, and the league won even greater attention because of its links to former President Donald J. Trump, who hosted LIV tournaments and emerged as one of its most enthusiastic boosters. The league, however, was still largely dependent on the largess of a wealth fund that had been warned that a rebel golf circuit was no certain financial bonanza. It stumbled to a television deal with the CW Network, and big corporate sponsorships were scarce.

The league accrued some athletic successes, even as its players faced the risk of eventual exclusion from golf’s major tournaments, which are run by organizations that are close to, but distinct from, the PGA Tour.

Last month, Koepka won the P.G.A. Championship , which was organized by the P.G.A. of America. Koepka, Mickelson and Patrick Reed were among the LIV players who fared especially well at the Masters Tournament, administered by Augusta National Golf Club, in early April.

Within weeks of the Masters, though, after a run of mutual overtures and months of bravado, PGA Tour and Saudi executives were convening in secret to see if there was a way toward some kind of coexistence, in part, Monahan suggested, because he did not think it was “right or sustainable to have this tension in our sport.” The result was an agreement that gives the tour the upper hand but is poised to make permanent Saudi Arabia’s influence over golf’s starry ranks.

Monahan, the tour’s commissioner, is in line to be the chief executive of the new company, which will include an executive committee stocked with tour loyalists. But al-Rumayyan's presence, as well as the promise that the wealth fund can play a pivotal role in how the company is ultimately funded, means that Saudi Arabia could do much to shape the sport’s future.

In a memorandum to players on Tuesday, Monahan insisted that his tour’s “history, legacy and pro-competitive model not only remains intact, but is supercharged for the future.”

That was hardly a consensus view. Mackenzie Hughes, a PGA Tour player, acidly noted on Twitter that there was “nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.” And Terry Strada, the chairwoman of 9/11 Families United, who had assailed the Saudi foray into golf because of misgivings about the kingdom after the 2001 terrorist attacks, said Monahan and the tour had “become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation.”

The tour and the wealth fund both had incentives to forge an agreement, besides the prospect of concluding a chaotic chapter marked by allegations of betrayal and greed.

LIV had faced setbacks in civil litigation against the PGA Tour that threatened to drag al-Rumayyan into sworn testimony and force the wealth fund to turn over documents that could have become public. The tour has been under scrutiny from Justice Department antitrust investigators , who had examined in recent months whether the tour’s tactics to counter LIV had undermined golf’s labor market.

The litigation between the tour and LIV will end under the terms of the agreement announced Tuesday. The fate of the antitrust inquiry was less clear — experts said the new arrangement would not automatically immunize the tour from potential legal trouble — but LIV’s standing as its leading cheerleader evaporated.

For this year, the world’s professional golfers are unlikely to see seismic changes in their schedules or playing formats, with LIV and the PGA Tour expected to hold competitions as planned. There may be far more consequential changes later, though, chiefly because the new PGA Tour-controlled company will determine whether and how LIV’s team-oriented format might be blended with the tour’s more familiar offerings.

LIV players are expected to have pathways to apply for reinstatement to the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, circuits from which some had resigned when faced with fines and suspensions, but they could face residual penalties for leaving in the first place. Through a spokeswoman, Greg Norman, the two-time major tournament champion who has been LIV’s commissioner, declined to be interviewed on Tuesday.

No matter what comes of the LIV brand or style, Tuesday’s announcement is a singular milestone in the Saudi quest to become a titan in global sports. With the deal, the kingdom can move, at least in golf, from a well-heeled disrupter to a seat of power at the establishment’s table.

Saudi officials have repeatedly denied that political or public relations motives undergird their eager pursuit of sports investments. Instead, they have framed the investments as necessary for shoring up the resource-rich kingdom’s finances and to enhance its standing on the world stage.

Beyond its imprint on golf , the wealth fund previously purchased Newcastle United, a potent English soccer team, and a company with close ties to the fund has eyed investments in cricket, tennis and e-sports. And Saudi Arabia has tried to become a host of major sporting events, from boxing matches to its pending bid to host the World Cup in 2030.

But when Saudi Arabia barged into golf last year, it was nearly unthinkable that al-Rumayyan would so swiftly become a formal ally of Monahan and the sport’s other power brokers.

“Anybody who thought about it logically would see that something was going to have to happen,” Adam Hadwin, a PGA Tour player, said on Tuesday. It was inconceivable, he suggested, that the world’s best players would only compete against each other at the four major tournaments, but an armistice “happening this quick and in this way is surprising.”

For much of the last year, LIV players have deflected questions about Saudi Arabia’s history on human rights and other matters that helped make the kingdom’s surge into golf an international flashpoint. They were, they often said, merely golfers and entertainers.

Until Tuesday, Monahan had tried to use the stain of Saudi Arabia to undercut the new league and its golfers.

“I would ask any player that has left, or any player that would ever consider leaving: Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?” he said last year.

On Tuesday, when Monahan declared that the leaders of golf’s factions had “realized that we were better off together than we were fighting or apart,” it was his tour’s players facing questions about lucrative connections to Riyadh.

“I’ve dedicated my entire life to being at golf’s highest level,” Hadwin, the tour player, said. “I’m not about to stop playing golf because the entity that I play for has joined forces with the Saudi government.”

Reporting was contributed by Andrew Das , Kevin Draper , Lauren Hirsch , Eric Lipton , Victor Mather , Ahmed Al Omran and Bill Pennington .

Kevin Draper

The PGA Tour commissioner acknowledges secrecy and hurdles on the deal.

Tuesday morning’s announcement from the PGA Tour hailed its deal to merge operations with LIV Golf as a “landmark agreement to unify the game” and end the contentious litigation between the competing golf tours.

But when Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, finally spoke to news reporters eight hours later, the agreement sounded far more tentative. He described his meeting with players about the agreement as “intense” and “certainly heated.” Monahan also acknowledged that most of the PGA Tour’s policy board — which is made up of five independent directors and five golfers — was kept in the dark about the tour’s negotiations with LIV over the last seven weeks.

He called the deal a “framework agreement” and said there were numerous issues that needed to be worked through before a “definitive agreement” was presented to the policy board to ratify, raising the possibility that it could be rejected and golf’s cold war could stretch on.

Among the issues that Monahan said were still unsettled included the future of LIV itself as an independent golf tour; the pathway for LIV players to rejoin the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour in Europe; whether PGA Tour players who declined to join LIV would somehow be financially compensated; and whether LIV players would have to forfeit some of their compensation.

“Ultimately, everything needs to be considered,” Monahan said.

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Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, said that many members of the PGA Tour policy board — more or less its board of directors — were kept in the dark about the negotiations. The agreement reached with LIV is only a framework agreement; once there is a finalized agreement, the policy board, which includes players, will have to vote to approve it.

Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, says there is no definitive agreement on whether PGA Tour players will somehow be made whole for money they turned down when they declined to join LIV, or whether LIV players will somehow have to give up money to rejoin the PGA Tour. “Ultimately, everything needs to be considered,” Monahan said.

Monahan is being asked repeatedly about his past criticism of the morals of taking LIV and Saudi money. “I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,” the PGA Tour commissioner said. “Anytime I said anything, I said it based on the information I had at the moment, and based on someone trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change.”

The PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan on his just-completed meeting with players: “I would describe the meeting as intense. Certainly heated.”

More details about the merger, and how PGA Tour players feel about it, should be emerging soon. Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, is hosting a players meeting in Toronto at the site of this week’s RBC Open. After that, Monahan will take questions from the news media.

The talks of a merger began in secret meetings after the Masters in April.

For month after month, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were content to bludgeon one another in news conferences and court filings. But in the weeks after the Masters Tournament in early April, rival executives began a series of private meetings.

Convening first in London and then Venice and ultimately San Francisco, PGA Tour leaders met with representatives of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, including Yasir al-Rumayyan, the golf fiend who is the wealth fund’s governor. According to a person familiar with the discussions, who insisted on anonymity to describe private talks, the sides effectively reached an agreement around Memorial Day but kept word of it secret from even leading executives and players until Tuesday.

The nature of the agreement — for now — keeps the PGA Tour in control, thanks to a provision that allows it to have a majority of board seats in the new company that will house the tour and LIV Golf. The wealth fund will control a minority stake in the new company, but its exclusive right to invest in it going forward opens the door for Riyadh to grow its influence in the years ahead.

But in the interim, the fate of the LIV Golf league itself appears to rest most clearly with the PGA Tour and its allies, with the new company expected to undertake an extensive analysis of the LIV format to determine whether and how it can coexist with the long-dominant tour.

A group of 9/11 relatives called the PGA Tour’s planned merger with LIV a ‘betrayal.’

A group of relatives of people killed on Sept. 11 issued a blistering criticism of the planned merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series and the PGA Tour, calling the tour and its commissioner “paid Saudi shills” for agreeing to it.

Relatives of 9/11 victims have been vocal in their opposition to the Saudi-backed LIV series almost since its inception. Most of the hijackers of the planes used in the 2001 attacks were Saudi. The 9/11 families have saved some of their harshest criticisms for those who have taken part in LIV events and hosted its tournaments. The latter group includes former President Donald J. Trump and his family, who were urged last year to cancel an event at a Trump golf course in New Jersey.

On Tuesday, one group of relatives, called 9/11 Families United, declared that its members were “shocked and deeply offended” by the merger deal. In a statement, the group called it a “betrayal” by the PGA Tour and its commissioner, Jay Monahan.

“The PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation,” said the 9/11 Families United chairman, Terry Strada.

Critics of Saudi Arabia frequently deride its investments in teams and leagues as “sportswashing” and say it is a thinly veiled effort to rehabilitate the kingdom’s reputation amid accusations that it has financed terrorism and murdered a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi .

Strada criticized Monahan for “co-opting” the 9/11 community last year in the PGA Tour’s initial and strident opposition to the Saudi-backed golf tour, only to cut a merger deal this week.

“Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour,” Strade wrote. “They do now — as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed.”

Members of Congress from both parties weighed in.

“So weird. PGA officials were in my office just months ago talking about how the Saudis’ human rights record should disqualify them from having a stake in a major American sport,” said Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat of Connecticut, in a message posted on Twitter . “I guess maybe their concerns weren’t really about human rights?”

And Representative Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas, added : “In the end, it’s always about the money. Saudi Arabia just bought themselves a one-world golf government.”

During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for human rights abuses, most notably the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, who lived in Virginia and was a columnist for The Washington Post who wrote critically of the Saudi crown prince and the country’s government.

As one of his first foreign policy actions in office, Mr. Biden authorized the release of a U.S. intelligence report that said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing.

Mr. Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents while visiting Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018 to get documents for his upcoming wedding. He was strangled by Saudi agents and then dismembered.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken happened to be in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks this week with Saudi leaders and other Gulf state officials about the possibility of the kingdom normalizing ties with Israel. It wasn’t clear if the PGA-LIV merger would be a part of discussions.

An earlier version of this blog item incorrectly stated Chris Murphy’s position in Congress. He is a senator, not a representative.

How we handle corrections

The deal sets up a structure combining nonprofit and for-profit entities.

The merger establishes an unusual structure for how golf will be governed going forward.

The PGA Tour, which is a nonprofit organization, will remain that way and retain oversight over the “sanctioning of events and administration of the competition and rules” for the tour, according to the release announcing the merger. Basically, the PGA Tour will still have full control over how its tournaments are played.

But all of the PGA Tour’s commercial businesses and rights — such as the rights to televise its tournaments, which garner hundreds of millions of dollars annually — will be owned by a new, as-of-yet unnamed for-profit entity. That entity will also own LIV Golf as well as the commercial and business rights of the PGA European Tour, known as the DP World Tour.

The board of directors for the new for-profit entity will be chaired by Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, who also oversees LIV. Three other members of the board’s executive committee will be current members of the PGA Tour’s board, and the tour will appoint the majority of the board and hold a majority voting interest.

With the PGA Tour controlling the for-profit holding company and remaining in charge of administering its own tournaments, it may seem as though the PGA Tour will forever remain the dominant voice in men’s professional golf. But that could change.

The Public Investment Fund will invest “billions,” according to al-Rumayyan, into the new for-profit entity, and it will also hold “the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that may be invested in the new entity, including into the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour,” according to the release.

If the Public Investment Fund invests more money — because the economy goes south and sponsors pull out of tournaments, for instance — in the for-profit entity, it will surely demand more board seats and greater voting rights, potentially tilting control of men’s professional golf toward Saudi Arabia.

The merger doesn’t end the U.S. antitrust inquiry into the PGA Tour.

What does this merger mean for the Department of Justice’s antitrust inquiry into the PGA Tour ? In short: Not much.

For about a year, cheered on by LIV Golf, the Justice Department has been investigating the tight-knit relationship between the PGA Tour and other powerful entities in golf, and whether there has been any collusion within the Official World Golf Rankings. A number of high-profile LIV players, like Phil Mickelson, have been interviewed in the inquiry, and lawyers representing the PGA Tour met with Justice Department officials in Washington as recently as last month.

But while Tuesday’s merger will end litigation between LIV and the PGA Tour, it will not necessarily change the Justice Department’s case. The department’s inquiry has looked into allegations of past conduct; if there was any illegal conduct, a merger does not prevent the PGA Tour from being punished for it.

“The announcement of a merger doesn’t forgive past sins,” said Bill Baer, who led the Justice Department’s antitrust division during the Obama administration.

In fact, the merger could cause the Justice Department to even more closely scrutinize the PGA Tour, for a separate but related reason.

The federal government, through the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, reviews over 1,000 mergers for approval each year. It is not yet clear which agency will lead the review of the PGA Tour and LIV’s proposed merger, but if it is the Justice Department, it will certainly scrutinize what looks to be on its face “a merger to monopoly, eliminating competition between these two competing professional golf organizations,” Baer said.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on the merger announcement.

Victor Mather

Here is what tour leaders and players are saying about the merger.

PGA Tour officials and LIV leaders hailed the announcement on Tuesday that their competing golf series would be joining forces, but players were split on the news. Here’s what they were saying:

“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love.” — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan , who is expected to be the chief executive of the new entity.

“There is no question that the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf. We believe there are opportunities for the game to evolve while also maintaining its storied history and tradition.” — The Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan , who will become chairman of the board of the merged tour.

“Awesome day today.” — Phil Mickelson , who left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.

“Nothing like finding out through Twitter that we’re merging with a tour that we said we’d never do that with.” — Mackenzie Hughes , PGA Tour player.

“Very curious how many people knew this deal was happening. About 5-7 people? Player run organization right?” — Michael Kim , PGA Tour player.

“This is one of the saddest days in the history of professional golf. I do believe that the governing bodies, the entities, the professional entities, have sacrificed their principles for profits.” — Brandel Chamblee , a Golf Channel analyst who has been sharply critical of the LIV Tour.

“Welfare check on Chamblee.” — LIV golfer Brooks Koepka , referring to Chamblee, who last week declared that “any yielding to or agreement with them is a deal with a murderous dictator.”

“Now that we’re all friends, is it too late for us to workshop some of these team names?” — Max Homa , PGA Tour player, referring to LIV teams like Crushers, Iron Heads and Majesticks.

While the merger is a tectonic shift for golf, nothing will change immediately in how fans watch golf. The PGA Tour, LIV Tour and DP World Tour are expected to proceed as scheduled and separately, at least through 2023. Afterward, it is unclear whether LIV will continue, and whether LIV golfers will apply to re-join the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.

Ahmed al-Omran

Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi state entity bankrolling LIV, the Public Investment Fund, said the agreement was reached after he held talks with PGA Tour officials in London. “The way we’re doing our partnership, it’s gonna be really big in many senses,” he said during an appearance on CNBC.

“We will be investing in the game of golf and doing many new things that I think will have better engagement from the players, the fans, the broadcasters, the sponsors, everyone else,” Al-Rumayyan said. He added that the PIF would invest “billions of dollars” into the sport without giving a specific timeline. “Whatever it takes,” he said.

Eric Lipton

Trump praises the PGA and LIV golf merger.

The Trump family, which has been the host of LIV tournaments in the United States and a big booster of the series’ efforts to break away from the PGA Tour, expects to continue to see tournaments played at its golf courses once the merger is complete.

“This merger is a wonderful thing for the game of golf,” Eric Trump said in an interview on Tuesday. “I truly believe that.”

His father, Donald J. Trump, also praised the deal. On Truth Social, the former president’s social media platform and personal megaphone, he wrote: “Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf.”

The LIV series has been a boon for the Trump family, which lost major tournaments after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the capitol, including the one of golf’s four majors, the 2022 P.G.A. Championship. That tournament had been scheduled to be played at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, but its organizer, the P.G.A. of America, stripped the club of the hosting rights days after the capitol attack.

Last July, just before the first LIV tournament was played at Trump National Bedminster, Mr. Trump predicted that the series would ultimately merge, and he suggested that players that stayed loyal to the PGA Tour were making a financial mistake.

“All of those that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you will get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social in July 2022 . “If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were.”

LIV has tournaments scheduled this year at Trump-owned golf courses in Florida and New Jersey, and it just completed a tournament at a Trump course in Virginia. Negotiations are underway for more potential tournaments at Trump-owned facilities next year, though it is now unclear if the series will continue in its current format.

When asked if the Trump family had played a role in urging the PGA and LIV groups to merge, Eric Trump on Tuesday declined to comment. But he did say that the family has close friends developed over many years in the golf world, including those associated with the PGA and LIV groups.

Ahmed Al Omran

reporting from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The merger is seen as a victory for Saudi Arabia.

The deal to merge the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the rival league financed by billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, was seen as a victory for Saudi Arabia on multiple levels.

The merger marked the greatest success to date of Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a player in global sports. From the outset, its billion-dollar play for control of golf seemed like nothing less than an attempt to seize control of an entire sport.

Now, by merging with the PGA Tour, the oil-rich kingdom has gained a foothold that guarantees it outsize influence in the game’s future. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi state entity bankrolling LIV, the Public Investment Fund, will become chairman of the new golf organization. The sovereign wealth fund will have right of first refusal on new investments in the merged tour, according to the statement announcing the merger .

The rival tours had clashed for months in litigation that will now draw to a close, so the deal will protect Mr. Al-Rumayyan, a golf aficionado, from the prospect of being deposed and scrutinized in American courtrooms. He also serves as chairman of Aramco, the Saudi state oil company, which has been a major sponsor of Formula 1 racing.

The deal could also lend legitimacy to the kingdom’s entry as a major player in global sports in the form of a serious partner and not just a well-funded disrupter.

Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of using its spending power in sports to distract from its poor human rights record, but Saudi officials have repeatedly rejected these allegations.

At the same time, this deal could serve as a blueprint for future moves as the kingdom grows its ambitions to further expand its influence and reach in sports and entertainment. ‌‌

By establishing a start-up golf tour that rose rapidly to become enough of a threat for the PGA Tour and bring them to the negotiation table, Saudi Arabia could see potential to do the same in other arenas. Under the terms of the deal, the Public Investment Fund holds veto power on bringing any new investors, giving themselves insurance from any possible dilution of their power in the new arrangement.

The sovereign wealth fund has already managed to achieve a quick return for their investment in Newcastle United as the English soccer club qualified for the UEFA Champions League merely 18 months after it was purchased.

The announcement of the merger with the PGA Tour comes less than one year since LIV’s first event in June 2022 .

In addition to soccer and golf, Saudi Arabia is eyeing investments in cricket, tennis and e-sports via Savvy Games Group, which is backed by the sovereign wealth fund. The group plans to invest $37.8 billion to make Saudi Arabia a global hub for gaming.

The kingdom has also served as host to major sports events including Formula 1 races, major boxing matches and WWE as part of plans to diversify its economy away from heavy reliance on oil.

Saudi Arabia is making a major push in soccer, too.

Golf is not the only sport where Saudi Arabia is looking to increase its influence: It is also making a major play in soccer.

Its most prominent investment to date was its purchase last year of the English Premier League team Newcastle United, a deal that gave the kingdom, through its huge Public Investment Fund, a foothold in the world’s richest soccer competition. But Saudi Arabia is also bidding to host soccer’s World Cup in 2030, and this week the country’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, announced that the PIF would invest more than $1 billion in the country’s domestic league in hopes of making it one of the 10 best leagues in the world.

As Tariq Panja and Ahmed Al Omran reported in The Times last week, the plan is focused on attracting more than a dozen of the world’s best players to the Saudi league by offering them some of the richest deals in sports history. Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time world player of the year, moved to Saudi Arabia in January, and reports of nine-figure offers to others — including Lionel Messi — are rampant. The French striker Karim Benzema accepted one this week : He will join the Jeddah-based club Al-Ittihad in a multiyear deal that will make him one of the world’s best-paid players.

Similar in ambition to the Saudi-financed LIV series in golf, the kingdom’s plan for soccer involves the PIF. This week it took a controlling stake in four of the Saudi league’s biggest clubs in what appears to be a centralized effort — supported at the highest levels of the Saudi state — to turn the country’s domestic league, a footnote on the global soccer stage, into a destination for top talent.

The basics of the sweeping golf merger.

After two years of sniping, lawsuits and ill will, the major men’s golf tours agreed to merge on Tuesday. The blockbuster announcement came as a surprise given the fierce competition and legal action among the tours. Here’s what we know, and don’t know.

What happened on Tuesday?

The PGA Tour, which runs golf in North America; the PGA European Tour, which is known as the DP World Tour and holds events in much of the rest of the world; and the upstart LIV Tour agreed to merge their operations.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which spent billions to launch the LIV Tour, will invest in the new company, and the governor of that fund will become its chairman.

All the lawsuits among the tours will be ended as part of the deal.

How did we get here?

The LIV Tour started last year and offered big-name players from the other tours huge sums to jump ship. Many did, notably Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith. Some veterans like Phil Mickelson also joined. Those players were suspended from the PGA Tour as a result.

Others, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, did not take reported offers. Many players and officials of the PGA Tour were sharply critical of LIV, both for dividing the golf world and for associating with the Saudi government and its poor human rights record.

How will things change?

There is a lot we don’t know at this point. The LIV Tour had team events as a focus of its model, and in its statement, the PGA Tour mentioned that the tours planned to “grow team golf going forward.”

But there are many unknowns. Will the tours continue to operate separately? The statement referred only to “a cohesive schedule of events.”

Will the enormous disparity between the LIV purses and the purses on the other tours remain? Will LIV continue to hold 54-hole, three-day tournaments with shotgun starts and no cuts, while the other tours maintain their traditional four-day formats?

The PGA Tour did say that the tours would develop a process for LIV players who want to reapply for membership with the two older tours after the 2023 season.

Taylor Swift Eras Tour: The Full Setlist From Opening Night

By Ellise Shafer

Ellise Shafer

• Pedro Almodóvar and New Muses Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton Land Unbelievable 17-Minute Venice Standing Ovation for ‘The Room Next Door’ 17 hours ago
• Drew Starkey on His Breakout Role in Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Queer’ and Filming Steamy Scenes With Daniel Craig: We ‘Were Just Game for Anything’ 22 hours ago
• Pedro Almodóvar Speaks on His New Film ‘The Room Next Door’ Being in ‘Favor of Euthanasia’: ‘There Should Be the Possibility’ to Do It ‘All Over the World’ 24 hours ago

Are you ready for it? Taylor Swift ‘s Eras Tour is finally here.

The 52-date trek kicks off Friday night in Glendale, Ariz., at State Farm Stadium with openers Gayle and Paramore. This marks Swift’s first tour since the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018, as her 2020 Lover Fest was canceled before it even began due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Swift has released three studio albums — “Folklore” and “Evermore” in 2020 and “Midnights” in October 2022 — in addition to re-recording “Fearless” and “Red” (which both came with bonus tracks) in 2021.

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Scottie scheffler wins 2024 tour championship to claim fedex cup, $25 million bonus, share this article.

ATLANTA — Randy Smith was speaking about his star pupil Scottie Scheffler when Scheffler’s mother, Diane, swooped in for a hug. But as he accepted her embrace, Smith answered the question about what he learned seeing Scheffler overcome the dreaded shank at the eighth hole in the final round of the 2024 Tour Championship and bounce back with three straight birdies and go on to win the title and the FedEx Cup for the first time with a winning score of 30 under.

“A lot,” Smith said, his eyes growing wide.

He still remembers when Scheffler was seven or eight years old and he would grow increasingly frustrated when he would do everything in his power correctly but the ball would take a funny bounce or would hit a spike mark and go off line. Scheffler couldn’t understand it. Smith said it took time, but he learned to control what he can control and appreciate that golf is not a game of perfect.

“Golf is hard,” Smith said, “and he’s figured out how to make it easy.”

Scottie Scheffler lines up his putt on the fifth green during the final round of the TOUR Championship. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Indeed, Scheffler has, making five birdies and an eagle at East Lake Golf Club to shoot 4-under 67 on Sunday and beat Collin Morikawa by four strokes in the FedEx Cup finale to remove any doubt of who is the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Scheffler became the first player to win seven times in a single season – eight according to Scheffler, who counts the gold medal at the Paris Olympics – since Tiger Woods in 2007. In the last 40 years, Scheffler joins Woods, who did it four times, and Vijay Singh, who won nine times in 2004.

No less than Adam Scott, the 44-year-old veteran who experienced Tiger’s prime and finished T-4 this week, said Scheffler’s season was worthy of comparisons to some of Tiger’s best work.

“I think it is on par with those great years of Tiger’s. I think it’s very hard today for anyone to separate themselves as much as Scottie has. I don’t think we’ve seen that in a long time. I think it’s harder to do it today,” he said.

Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee argued Scheffler’s game from tee to green has been every bit as good as Tiger in his prime. “I never thought I’d be able to say that – Tiger Woods was a much better putter…what we (saw) this week is Tiger Woods-type putting,” he said of Scheffler, who ranked third in Strokes Gained: Putting this week.

Just a few weeks after Rory McIlroy suggested on national TV that Scheffler should consider using a mallet putter, he switched to a TaylorMade Spider in March, and the putts started to drop. When Scheffler, already the game’s most complete player, putts well, it’s not a fair fight.

“I made a lot of putts this year when I really needed to,” he said. “I think of the putt to win Memorial, I think of some of the putts I made over the week at the Players and the putts I made on the back nine Sunday at the Olympics. I made some putts this year when I really needed to, and that’s why I’m sitting here with a lot of wins instead of a few.”

Scheffler entered the Tour Championship at No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings for the third consecutive year and began at 10 under in the staggered start, two strokes clear of Xander Schauffele and as many as 10 ahead of the last man in the 30-man field. With rounds of 65-66-66, he enjoyed a five-stroke lead heading into the final round, and with Morikawa making bogey at the first and Scheffler sinking a birdie at No. 2, his lead grew to seven. But that seemingly commanding advantage began to shrink. Scheffler made three bogeys in a four-hole stretch beginning at the fifth and concluding with the world No. 1 shanking that ball from a greenside bunker at No. 8 .

“You can see it in his body language right now,” NBC’s Jim “Bones” Mackay said. “He is shaken up.”

Tour Championship : Leaderboard | Photos

Very surprising were the words Morikawa used to describe the shot. He pounced, rolling in his birdie putt for a two-stroke swing to cut the deficit to two. All the momentum had shifted. But one of Scheffler’s super powers is his ability to only look forward.

“He went back to work,” Smith said.

“It almost brought his focus back in for a half second, and that’s something you can’t teach. You just either have it or you don’t,” Morikawa said.

It looked as if Scheffler, who blew a six-stroke 54-hole lead in the 2022 Tour Championship to McIlroy, was reeling. A pep talk from caddie Ted Scott helped settle his nerves. Morikawa wasn’t surprised what happened next: “He played Scottie golf.”

Scheffler drilled a 4-iron at the par-3 ninth to 3 feet and made birdie. He birdied the next two holes to stretch the lead to five. That’s what the greats do. Just like he did down the road at Augusta National Golf Club in April, he sucked all the drama out of the closing holes.

Scottie Scheffler celebrates with wife Meredith and their son Bennett after winning the 2024 Tour Championship. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

In a year in which he welcomed the birth of his first child, a son Bennett, and stretched in a Louisville jail cell before the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla, Scheffler collected his 13 th Tour title, tying him with a group that includes Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and David Duval. That included another major championship, his second Masters title, and he also won the Players, becoming the first player to win the Tour’s flagship event in back-to-back years. He also claimed four signature events: the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Travelers and the Memorial.

He won $25 million in bonus money as the FedEx Cup champion, bringing his grand total to $62,228,357 this season between official and bonus money .

“He’s the guy to beat every single week,” Justin Thomas said. “I don’t think people understand how hard that is to do, when you’re expected to win, when you’re the favorite to win, when every single thing you’re doing is being looked at, good and bad, on the golf course, and how hard it is to get in your own little zone and own little world and truly just quiet the noise. It’s something that is just as much of a skill as being able to hit a driver in the fairway or an iron on line. He’s clearly figured that out very well.”

Scott has tried to figure out Scheffler’s secret sauce, which included ranking first in 40 different statistical categories measured by the Tour – among them first in greens in regulation (73 percent) and putting average (1.69). No player had led both categories in a single season since 1980. (In 2000, Woods was second in putting average.)

“I’m observing all the time everything he does. I switched to his golf ball this year. I did a bunch of stuff just to see what’s going on. But I didn’t find it,” Scott said.

Aaron Rai, who made it to East Lake for the first time this season, has been keeping close tabs on Scheffler’s relentless play and run of dominance and offered a different take on what makes Scheffler special.

“His biggest strength is his outlook and his perspective on life,” Rai said. “To be able to maintain that level of golf under the pressure of being world No. 1 and the attention that surrounds him every week and to be able to play his best golf at No. 1 shows a different dimension to his game.”

Schauffele, who with two majors enjoyed a breakthrough season and finished T-4 at the Tour Championship, has witnessed Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, McIlroy and Jon Rahm take their turn at No. 1, but what Scheffler has done stands alone.

“I think by the definition of dominance, I think that’s literally where he’s sitting,” Schauffele said. “They were kind of punching back and forth between 1, 2 and 3. Scottie has just been at the tip-top of the mountain for, what, two full years now it seems.”

Schauffele, Scott, Morikawa and the best players in men’s golf will get another shot next season to knock Scheffler from his perch, but none of his success surprises CBS analyst Colt Knost, who watched Scheffler blossom into the best in the world from a young age.

“This is what he does,” Knost said. “He’s been a winner his whole life, and I don’t see him slowing down any time soon.”

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