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Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as a mixed event highlights this week’s golf action.

1. And the nominees are…

PGATour staff report…”The PGA TOUR announced nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award (Player of the Year) and the Arnold Palmer Award (Rookie of the Year) for the 2022-23 season as finalized by the PGA TOUR Player Directors and members of the Player Advisory Council (PAC).”

• “The five nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award as the 2023 PGA TOUR Player of the Year are (alphabetically) Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. The four nominees for the Arnold Palmer Award as the 2023 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year are Ludvig Åberg, Eric Cole, Nico Echavarria and Vincent Norrman.”

2. Reminder: First mixed-team, co-sanctioned event since 1999 this week

PGATour.com staff report…”The Grant Thornton Invitational marks the first mixed-team co-sanctioned event between the LPGA and PGA TOUR since John Daly and Laura Davies won the final JCPenney Classic in 1999.”

• “There’s never been a more exciting time in professional golf to see some of the game’s best – men and women – tee it up together on a familiar venue.”

• “Tiburón Golf Club, which hosts the LPGA season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, also hosted a previous iteration of this event, the QBE Shootout.”

• “With a unique format on tap and 16 teams featuring global TOUR stars like Ludvig Åberg, Justin Rose, Ricker Fowler and Jason Day, plus some of the LPGA’s best like 2023 Player of the Year Lilia Vu, four-time 2023 winner Celine Boutier and rookie sensation Rose Zhang, it’s set to be a special week.”

Our Matt Vincenzi…”Over the past week or so, the golf world has been captivated by rumors of the reigning Masters champion, Jon Rahm, potentially heading to LIV Golf in 2024.”

• “The London Times has now reported that the figure for Rahm will be in the $600 million range, although it doesn’t specify whether team equity is included in the figure. The report states that the Spaniard is considering the offer.”

• “What perhaps is most telling is the fact that neither Rahm nor his team has come out to deny any of the rumors, whereas in the past the Spaniard has been quick to squash the speculation.”

• “With LIV Golf’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who governs the Saudi Public Investment Fund, set to meet with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Friday, it seems likely that a Rahm announcement would come this week prior to the meeting.”

4. What’s next for Tiger?

Kevin Prise for PGATour.com…”For Woods, the Hero World Challenge wasn’t necessarily about contending or winning. He still believes he can win, as he clearly stated in his pre-tournament press conference, but the Hero marked his first start since undergoing ankle surgery in April. This week was about walking 72 holes without the type of severe pain that forced a WD midway through the third round of this year’s Masters. He was sore afterward and his face looked worn – “I feel like my game’s not that far off, but I need to get in better shape,” he said Sunday – but that’s the reality for the current version of Woods. The bone pain he felt at Augusta National has gone away, hence optimism for a return to official TOUR competition.”

• “Woods, who turns 48 on Dec. 30, knows a full PGA TOUR schedule will never be in the cards. His oft-reconstructed body won’t allow it. But can he play an event per month, as he referenced this week? He’ll team with son Charlie at next week’s PNC Championship – Team Woods’ fourth straight appearance at the PNC, which allows carts. Then, barring setbacks, he’ll prepare for a regular schedule cadence in 2024.”

• “I think that if you asked me right now, I’m a little bit sore,” Woods said after signing his card Sunday at Albany, cracking a grin. “Once a month seems reasonable, and it gives me a couple weeks to recover and a week to tune up. Maybe I can get into a rhythm or something like that; that’s what the plan was going into next year, and I don’t see why that would change.”

5. Eamon Lynch on Rahm departure

Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch…”For two years, we’ve seen skirmishes claimed as decisive victories. The moves by Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka to leave the PGA Tour for LIV were no more conclusive than the decisions of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to remain. A jump to LIV by Jon Rahm – the subject of intense speculation – will be no different, whatever the banner-wavers and pearl-clutchers on either side say. But it would represent something significant, beyond being an example of what happens to a man of supposed character who remains in the mephitic orbit of people like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.”

• “A Rahm departure would be more impactful mostly by dint of timing, hastening a reckoning for the competing agendas that have all but paralyzed the PGA Tour’s Policy Board.”

• “Among players on the board, there’s a faction opposed to involving the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in the future of the Tour, preferring to partner with one of several interested private investors. Their motivations are varied, whether it’s patriotism, a desire to see LIV continue for leverage or simple aversion to a Framework Agreement foisted upon them without consultation. Jay Monahan, however, is adamant that the Saudis be included, presumably because he’d rather not have a free-spending rival approaching apostate members who promise fealty only until the offer swells sufficiently.”

6. Ben Hogan brand back again

From a press release…”Ben Hogan, the golf equipment brand that was founded by one of the most legendary figures in the history of the modern game, and is responsible for some of the sport’s most iconic golf clubs, is set to make a welcome return to the golfing world after being brought out of retirement by Las Vegas-based Golf Brands Inc.“

• “For more than 70 years, Ben Hogan golf has been synonymous with making the finest golf clubs and Ben Hogan’s latest range has made a triumphant return after Golf Brands struck a licensing deal to resurrect the company that first introduced the Edge and Apex irons and has more recently launched a premium range of woods, irons, wedges, and putters, as well as a bespoke collection of golf bags and accessories.”

• “Golf Brands Inc has a history of reviving the fortunes of iconic golf brands, having successfully resurrected MacGregor in the USA and Ram and Zebra worldwide, and the opportunity to bring Hogan back to life is something that the company just couldn’t pass up.“

7. Chase Koepka out of LIV Promotions event

Jonny Leighfield for Golf Monthly…”Chase Koepka and former Team Europe Ryder Cup member Victor Dubuisson have withdrawn from the upcoming LIV Golf Promotions event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.”

• “With only three places left in the LIV Golf League ahead of the 2024 campaign, this weekend’s 72-hole tournament in the United Arab Emirates represents a player’s final chance to earn a full card for the controversial start-up next year.”

• “But in a recent announcement by LIV, the aforementioned pair – plus World No. 440, Lee Chieh-po – have pulled out and will no longer tee it up in the three-stage event between December 8-10.”

8. Tiger rises 430 spots

Field Level Media report…”In what is sure to further rankle LIV Golf players, Tiger Woods vaulted 430 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking after finishing 18th out of 20 golfers in his invitational Hero World Challenge on Sunday.”

• “Woods, who was making his first start since withdrawing from the Masters in April due to a foot injury, had fallen to a career-low 1,328th in the OWGR by last week. He made his return at the Bahamas, and while the 47-year-old surprised many with his solid play, Woods bested only two players in the field.”

• “That didn’t prevent Woods from climbing to 898th in the OWGR, his highest since before withdrawing from the 2022 PGA Championship.”

9. “Married to the game,” indeed