This morning, Cameron Young played the first round of this week’s Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.

As noticed by Twitter user “EPatGolf”, the 25-year-old PGA Tour player was missing the RBC logo that is typically on his sleeve.

https://t.co/8rD4cuBwiX pic.twitter.com/QK6X5VuL0F

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) February 2, 2023

Patterson speculated that the reason for the missing logo was RBC’s reluctance to be associated with golf being played in Saudi Arabia.

Never a stranger to controversy, Phil Mickelson weighed in on the topic, accusing RBC of hypocrisy.

RBC was part of the team that brought Aramco public and they made many $ millions on the deal. The hypocrisy is astounding ?

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 2, 2023

Mickelson has been extremely active on Twitter lately and replied to a Danny Woodhead tweet just a short while ago about a potential LIV vs PGA Tour match with Tiger Woods and Phil as captains, even managing a little dig at his long-time foe.

It sounds great,but we would dominate them so soundly and it would be over so quick that tv would have to fill an hour of dead time. That’s why it’s not happening at this time ????

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 2, 2023

Tell him he can use a cart

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) February 2, 2023

More from the 19th Hole

• Rory McIlroy references & on Christmas Eve; in responding to Reed’s reported tee toss
• Paige Spiranac to take on PGA Tour legend in celebrity challenge match this Summer
• ‘That’s what everybody wants me to do’ – Is Anthony Kim about to make a sensational return to pro golf?

In September of 2020, Bryson DeChambeau was fresh off of a dominating U.S. Open victory and went on to win the prestigious Arnold Palmer Invitational later that season. The mercurial budding superstar was seemingly changing the game right in front of our eyes.

• Related: Report: Major champ in shock split with long-time caddie

Until he wasn’t.

• Related: Patrick Reed issues statement following rules controversy in Dubai

It’s been almost two years since DeChambeau’s win at the API, and the 29-year-old is yet to win an event on any tour since. From a feud with Brooks Koepka, continuous nagging injuries and a borderline obsession with becoming a long drive champion, Bryson has done just about everything besides win golf tournaments.

In an interview with Mike McAllister of LIV Golf, DeChambeau revealed a handful of health issues that have plagued him over the past four years. After undergoing a full body scan conducted by Prenuvo, he found out that he had a retention cyst in his left sinus, among other problems.

“In the first minute of looking at it, he goes, ‘Yeah, you’ve got like four or five problems. You should’ve been in surgery yesterday,’ ” DeChambeau said. “It wasn’t an emergency … but he’s like, that’s a big problem.”

After getting the issues fixed, Bryson says he feels back to how he felt when he was playing his best.

“To get that fixed, it’s been the greatest decision of my life,” DeChambeau said. “My energy level is so much better. My clarity of thought is way better. I don’t know if you can tell, but my speech is a lot more fluent and I’m not stopping as much or pitching as much like I used to last year and before.

“I feel like I’m back to 2018 me.”

Bryson also took some time away from golf, which is something he feels he needed to do with how hard he’d been training over the last few years.

“It’s been six years of nonstop, go-go-go, all golf,” DeChambeau said. “I just needed a bit of a break …

“Last year, I feel like was a reset year. This year is a building year. I feel like it’s an opportunity to show off what I know how to do best, which is play golf at the highest level. I know some people will not believe that playing golf at the highest level is with LIV, but for me it is.

“I still have a passion to be the best player in the world. And however, that ranking metric goes is how it goes. That’s for another discussion. But this offseason has been great preparation mentally for me.”

Another interesting take from Bryson was regarding club technology. According to the 29-year-old, technology is not currently up to scratch when it comes to modern day ball speeds, and the Californian believes that when that ever happens, it’s going to “change the game forever.”

“Technology is not up to par with the way golfers can perform at high speeds. Anything over 185 mph – good luck trying to control it right now.

We’re still on a pursuit to who can make a driver that can work it at 200 anywhere and everywhere on the face and still goes in the fairway. When that day comes, that’s going to be eye-opening for a lot of individuals because they will be optimizing ball speeds at 195, which can fly 360 yards. And that’s going to change the game forever. But we’re not there yet.”

DeChambeau will look to start 2023 off on the right foot as he’s set to tee it up at this week’s Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.

More from the 19th Hole

• Rory McIlroy references & on Christmas Eve; in responding to Reed’s reported tee toss
• Paige Spiranac to take on PGA Tour legend in celebrity challenge match this Summer
• ‘That’s what everybody wants me to do’ – Is Anthony Kim about to make a sensational return to pro golf?

Kenzie Wright, a professional golfer on the Epson Tour, has revealed the startling costs that are borne by those trying to make their way up the ranks.

• Related: Symetra pro opens up on the harsh financial realities of life on Tour

In a tweet posted yesterday, the 25-year-old revealed that the costs of entry fees and yardage books total over $16,000 for the year.

*not looking for sympathy at all I know this is a choice* but I spent $16,826.47 on entry fees and yardage books alone in 2022?

— Kenzie Wright (@kenziewgolf) January 31, 2023

Whilst the LPGA has seen an enormous increase in prize-funds over the last two seasons, with the 2023 schedule worth $101.4 million, the Epson (ex-Symetra) Tour was worth approximately $210k per event over a 21-tournament season.

Nobody is suggesting that the development tour should be ‘worth’ anything close to the star-laden LPGA, but it’s the tour that brings on the next Brooke Henderson, recent winner of the Tournament of Champions, et al.

With Wright making just six cuts from 15 events in 2022, her $8000 prize money goes nowhere to covering a figure that doesn’t include any equipment, travel or lodgings.

Even at the highest level, the role of players’ sponsors is crucial.

Last April, 2017 Women’s PGA Championship champion Danielle Kang, revealed the financial realities on tour, commneting:

 “How about the average tour players? I made $6,000 last week, made the cut; I didn’t break even last week. That’s me budgeting. I have to drive, rent a car, get a hotel room.

“Luckily enough for me I’m sponsored by BMW that provides for me the car. That saves like $500, $1,000 etc.”

In May 2021, Wright, then a promising graduate from the University of Alabama, took to fundraising her way onto the professional ranks via her gofundme page, on which she states that, “Your donation will go towards entry fees, on the road expenses (i.e. gas, hotels) and other tournament related costs throughout the beginning of my career. With your donation, it will allow me to put all of my time and energy into getting myself prepared for the next level.”

Seven months later, Golf Channel revealed the hardship behind the financial reality of moving into the pro leagues.

In the article, Brentley Romine reveals, “When Alabama alum Kenzie Wright turned pro in early June, she didn’t have the ability to slot into an LPGA or Symetra schedule, so she entered the Texas Women’s State Open in Garland, Texas, and won by four shots, turning her $300 entry fee into $17,500. That funded her six-event schedule on the Women’s All Pro Tour, where she made $9,076.25. She advanced out of Stage I of LPGA Q-School and now has some Symetra status for next year.”

The 25-year-old has since been a victim of the Big Money Classic scam in which organizers left both the men and women players out of pocket after being unable to pay out the prize fund. Those players included Nicolas Echavarria, who was owed $20,000 dollars for finishing third, paid nothing, who left believing that his backer had stolen his entry fee.

Ryan French also revealed the struggle at the lower level of ‘the grind’ writing:

“I received a call from one of the women in the [Big Money Classic] field. As I walked her through how to dispute her charges on her credit card, she broke down in tears. In the worst-case scenario, careers could be shortened because of this. I talked to one player who couldn’t sign up for Canadian Q-school because he hadn’t been paid by the BMC.”

Wright saw it necessary to return to the gofundme site, launching a 2022 appeal, at which she received nearly $4,000. However, if the math is correct, this amount leaves her nowhere near the amount it costs to run a one-woman campaign.

More from the 19th Hole

• Rory McIlroy references & on Christmas Eve; in responding to Reed’s reported tee toss
• Paige Spiranac to take on PGA Tour legend in celebrity challenge match this Summer
• ‘That’s what everybody wants me to do’ – Is Anthony Kim about to make a sensational return to pro golf?