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‘Everyone has a price’ – Rickie Fowler not ruling out Saudi-backed LIV Golf option

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Five-time PGA Tour winner (six if counting the Hero World Challenge) Rickie Fowler this week confirmed he has not ruled out a move to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series.

At the end of a week that has seen the organisers of the ‘rebel’ series publicly declare the participants at the first event, to be held at the Centurion Club in London, speculation is still rife which current PGA and DP World Tour players will make the switch in the coming months.

Despite an aggressive defence by both major tours, former world number ones Dustin Johnson and Lee Westwood have gone ahead with their commitment to play next week, an event that coincides with the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour and has resulted in the sponsoring company ceasing its relationship with both Johnson and Graeme McDowell.

So what about Fowler, a name that has long been linked to the league?

This week the three-time major runner-up re-iterated that, “I’ve been in talks with them (LIV Golf) for a long time. It’s something to definitely look at. At this point, it wasn’t the right move or decision for us, but I’m not saying I’m for sure here or I’m going to go there. I’m going to just kind of leaving my options open and see how things play out.”

On the recent Full Send podcast he again said, “I haven’t ruled it out,” before adding, “I don’t know what it would take to commit.”

The 33-year-old also revealed that interest in the LIV Golf series is not all about money but that it’s “not, not about money” stating that “everyone has a price.”

Referring to the rights for players to own their own NIL (name, image and likeness) Fowler hinted that was the main issue playing with his loyalty to the tour.

“I still believe the PGA Tour is the best place to play,” he said in the podcast. “And I would love to see it continue, but I do think there’s there’s stuff that could change or evolve.”

“Basically, they own all our names and likeness. And that kind of goes back to, are we independent contractors or employees?”

He concluded, “I’m not sure how that’s going to really play out.”

In 12 starts in 2022, Fowler has five missed-cuts and a best finish of T21 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He opened with a two-under 70 at The Memorial Championship this week before fading over the remaining three days to finish on eight-over and outside of the top-60.

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TaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract

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This week, TaylorMade Golf announced that they’ve signed AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Miles Russell, to an NIL contract.

In a statement, TaylorMade called Russell “nothing short of remarkable”.

“Miles’ record setting success at his young age is nothing short of remarkable and we are excited he chose us to support him in his growth as a golfer to continue to accomplish his career goals. Identifying and developing the top junior talent in the world has always been a priority for us at TaylorMade. Miles and his family epitomize the type of athlete and human being we are looking to add to Team TaylorMade.”

Russell has broken plenty of records in recent months. This season, he was named American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Boys Player of the Year, making him the youngest male player to receive the award. The record was previously held by Tiger Woods who was about 10 months older than Russell at the time he received the award.

At age 14, J he became the youngest player ever to win the Junior PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass at age 14.

The 15-year-old also played in his first Korn Ferry Tour event on Thursday, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and shot a first-round 68.

In the aftermath of the agreement, Russell released a statement.

“I have had a great relationship with the team at TaylorMade for years now and couldn’t be more excited to continue to work with them in the future. TaylorMade has a history of developing the top junior talent in the world to help reach their goals of becoming PGA TOUR and major championship winners. I am looking forward to working with the team to reach those and other goals I have laid out for my career.”

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Group of PGA Tour caddies sign endorsement deal with underwear company

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In an interesting turn of events, a group of PGA Tour caddies have signed an endorsement deal with an underwear company.

Geno Bonnalie (Joel Dahmen), Aaron Flener (J.T. Poston), John Limanti (Akshay Bhatia) and Joel Stock (Will Zalatoris) and John Ellis (Wyndham Clark) have signed a deal with the underwear brand, SAXX.

Here are some details about the endorsement deal:

  • The deal eclipses six figures in total value, extending what last year marked the first significant apparel agreement with a group of pro caddies. Of note, Geno and John Ellis appeared in the Netflix docuseries, Full Swing.
  • The caddies will wear SAXX underwear, shorts and polos on and off the course.
  • SAXX will donate $100 to the Testicular Cancer Foundation for every birdie made by the caddies’ players for the rest of the season.
  • SAXX will bring the Ball Masters to the masses at the Travelers Championship, hosting a fan activation with underwear giveaways, photo opportunities, appearances from the Ball Masters and more.
  • Fans can become an honorary Ball Master, which includes a year’s worth of underwear, among other things. Go to SAXX.com/ball-master-application from now until June 15 to enter.

The partnership is great for the caddies and also represents a great cause.

Check out the video they shared on YouTube:

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Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National

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Augusta National

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.

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