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Michael Jordan convinced PGA Tour pro to reject LIV Golf

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Rumors abound that more PGA Tour players are going to jump ship to the LIV Golf Series after the US Open, including reports claiming that Abraham Ancer is 100% gone to the Saudi-backed tour, but Harold Varner III will not be one of them.

The New York Post reported on Saturday that, in an email received on June 10, Varner’s agent confirmed their charge would not be leaving the PGA Tour.

Varner’s agent, Preston Lyon, wrote, “He is a PGA Tour player and constantly working towards being one of the best golfers in the world. It is our full intention to make a run at the FedEx Cup championship in August.”

According to the Sports Business Journal, Varner reached the decision after a conversation with basketball superstar Michael Jordan, with whom he has struck up a “business relationship”, wearing the Jordan logo on his apparel. However, the relationship has “extended to a friendship as well.”

The 31-year-old, winner of the Saudi International in February, sought advice from a few but name checked Jordan as, “I’m sure he’s had decisions like this long before I was even born.”

Currently inside the world’s top-50, Varner has access to all the majors and, having spoken frankly with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, concluded that, “I’m obviously not going. I’ve spoken with Jay. I’ve spoken with a lot of people I look up to and it just wasn’t worth it to me for what it was worth.”

Whilst strong chit-chat suggests the likes of Rickie Fowler and Viktor Hovland are still in the frame for an approach, the Norwegian told his home newspaper that he has no plans to join LIV, whilst 33-year-old Fowler was clear that he would like to see the two tours “co-exist” and that there has been a lot of false accusations.

Those accusations slowed down over the weekend of the US Open but are expected to continue apace as we approach the Travelers Championship this weekend.

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Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

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While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

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While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

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

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 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.

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