Saudi Arabia’s proposal for a breakaway golf super league is not going away but it may well have a few too many hurdles to jump if it is to become a reality.
Golfweek and Golf Digest both report that agents and managers of some of the world's best players met with representatives of the breakaway tour in a house on Kiawah Island on Tuesday evening, while an official from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund – the money men behind the proposal – video conferenced into the meeting.
The PGA Tour has made it clear that moves from any player would result in a ban from the current circuit while also likely ending their eligibility for the Ryder Cup as well as some, if not all, Major championships.
However, with a yearly guaranteed salary of potentially $30 million for some players as well as huge signing-on fees, it’s little wonder the idea has stuck around despite the impact it could have on players’ legacies. Reports say that more offers will be made to players over the next few weeks so expect to hear plenty more on this.
Tringale just keeps on trying
Winning on any professional golf tour is hard. Last week's emotional first victory for Richard Bland proved just how difficult it can be and just how long it can take as the Englishman prevailed to win the British Masters in his 478th European Tour appearance. While Cameron Tringale is not quite at that stage yet, this week's US PGA Championship does represent the 301st PGA Tour start of his career without a victory.
Now, don’t get too concerned for the 33-year-old – he has, after all, pulled in just under $14 million in prize money in his winless 11 years on tour and the fact that he has retained his card on the best tour in the world for each of those 11 years is a seriously impressive feat in itself.
But what better place to break a winning drought than at a Major? Out in the very first group at 7am on Thursday morning at Kiawah Island, the Californian whipped it round in 70 to sit at two under going into the second round.
JD rocks his lockdown look at Kiawah
Cigarette between his lips, McDonald's diet coke cup in hand – that's John Daly warming up on the range before 7am on Thursday morning.
The 1991 US PGA champion has gone all in on the lockdown look in recent times with the long white hair and thick white beard making him even more distinguishable than usual.
The 55-year-old had some purple and pink patterned trousers on just to complete the look and the entertainment he always guarantees (which can come in many forms) was on show right from the off. At the first hole he pulled his drive left, flew the green with his second . . . and then pitched in from the waste area for a handy birdie three.
Alas, it wasn’t to last as Daly went on to card three doubles and a triple to eventually finish with an 85 to go into Friday at +13.
Quote Unquote
"It's one of the most difficult golf courses I have ever played." – Paul Casey fairly aptly sums up just how difficult the Ocean Course is this week.
By the numbers: 7
That's the score Adam Scott made on his very first hole of the tournament after losing a ball in the water down the right. Tough ask to come back from a triple bogey to start.
DeChambeau’s UFO sighting
Whenever Bryson DeChambeau sits down to speak to the media you can always expect the unexpected. The Californian has some pretty strange hits when it comes to soundbites – an example being when he said last year that his goal is to live to 130 or 140 years old – but earlier this week it was UFOs that he dug into.
Speaking on the SiriusXM PGA Tour Network's show the US Open champion described how he and his instructor Chris Como had been in the back garden when they saw "three little silver metallic discs" moving in the distance.
“Personally I think that it’s some other life that we don’t understand or know as of right now,” he said. “I personally don’t think it is other technology that we currently in this dimension understand. Maybe a parallel universe, somebody flipping over and jumping through a worm hole or something and show us what we got.”
He’s not your conventional golfer anyway, we’ll give him that.
