More LIV Golf Drama

Golf Digest

LIV Golf is likely dying, though it is spending its final days as it lived its first five years: operating under a cloud of smoke. The chaos surrounding LIV’s season finale, scheduled for the end of the month outside Detroit, captures the dysfunction. Martin Kaymer said last month the event had only a five-percent chance of happening. No infrastructure has been built at the host venue. A LIV announcer said on air that the Indianapolis tournament would likely be the season’s final stop. On Wednesday, the Telegraph reported that players had finally been told the Michigan event was canceled. Yet LIV has made no official announcement, and tickets remain on sale. All of this comes as the league claims to have secured a lead investor to keep it afloat without identifying the investor and amid reports that the supposed investment may actually be a loan. From the beginning, LIV has rarely taken a step forward without tripping over itself. That dysfunction has only deepened since Saudi Arabia stopped underwriting its soft-power experiment. Enjoy the show while it lasts. There may be only one week left.

LIV Golf players told season finale is canceled, according to report

This would be the the second LIV event canceled this year following Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulling its financial backing.

By Joel Beall

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Joel Beall 

Greensboro is the latest tour stop tabbed for the Championship Series. On Wednesday the PGA Tour announced that the former Wyndham Championship will be renamed the GO (Greensboro Open) by Raymond James. Though the event will be contested in the first week of August in 2027, the tournament is likely to move to the spring when the tour moves to its two-tiered system in 2028. Greensboro has been one of the longest-running stops on tour, its roots traced to 1938, and the event will continue to be contested at Sedgefield C.C. The tour continues to roll out its Championship Series events one by one, with the full schedule expected to be released soon.

Coleman Bentley 

As if a 16-for-11 playoff at the U.S. Amateur wasn't dramatic enough ... the competitors vying to make the round of 64 at Merion on Wednesday came out firing darts. But none came closer to the bullseye than Florida State senior Jack Whaley, who watched a would-be hole-in-one lip out in agonizing fashion. Watch it and weep.

Joel Beall 

Could the Open move to streaming?According to a report from the Guardian, Apple TV has entered bidding for U.S. broadcast rights of the Open Championship. The R&A’s current deal with NBC ends in 2028. Netflix and Amazon are also expected to be part of the conversation. NBC has held Open rights in America since 2017, although it’s telecast of the Royal Birkdale proceedings last month faced heavy criticism, much of it focused on commercial overload, scoreboard errors and color grading issues. Commentators even addressed some of the criticism live on air, which in itself received backlash. Apple has been adding to its sports portfolio, yet those results have been mixed, with Major League Soccer terminating a 10-year deal just three years into the partnership following low ratings.