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St Jude Championship scores, Cameron Smith, LIV Golf, Aussies in action, latest, updates

JJ Spaun birdied two of the last three holes to shoot a two-under par 68 for a one-stroke lead after Saturday’s third round of the US PGA Tour’s St. Jude Championship.

Spaun tapped in to birdie the par-5 16th and holed a 17-foot birdie putt at the 17th then stood alone at the top after Austrian Sepp Straka missed a nine-foot par putt at the 18th at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

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The 31-year-old American stood on 13-under 197 through 54 holes with Straka on 198 after shooting 68.

British Open champion Cameron Smith of Australia fired 67 to share third on 199 with Americans Will Zalatoris and Trey Mullinax. Americans Tyler Duncan and Troy Merritt were another stroke adrift.

However, Smith had to cop some stick from fans as he walked the course.

The tournament opens the FedEx Cup playoffs, three season-ending events with a winner’s prize of $18 million.

Only 125 players qualified on season points and only the top 70 advance to next week’s BMW Championship, where the 30 qualifiers for the Tour Championship in Atlanta are decided.

‘Ready to cop some heat’ Smith talks LIV | 00:49

MORE COVERAGE

Aussie Smith on the charge in Tour playoffs despite dark LIV Golf cloud as world No. 1 misses cut

World No. 1 commits ultimate golfing sin on Smith … sparking storm about whether he meant it

‘Ready to cop some heat’: Cam Smith’s big admission over $140m PGA bombshell

Spaun won his first PGA title after 147 tour starts in April at the Texas Open while Straka, who missed six consecutive cuts coming into this week, won his first PGA title in February at the Honda Classic.

Spaun began with nine pars before a bogey at 10, but sank an 11-foot birdie putt at the par-3 11th and overtook Straka with his closing surge.

After a birdie-bogey start, Straka sank a 15-foot birdie putt at the fifth hole and another from just inside 12 feet at the sixth to seize the outright lead, but he fell back with a bogey at seven.

Straka took the lead alone with a 16-foot birdie putt at the 13th and grabbed a two-stroke lead by sinking a six-foot birdie putt at 15, setting the stage for Spaun’s run.

Zalatoris, still chasing his first PGA Tour victory, was a runner-up this year at the PGA Championship and US Open and last year in his Masters debut.

“I played on the biggest stages in three majors and I felt comfortable in those positions,” he said.

“I haven’t gotten a win out of it yet. Eventually we will and hopefully tomorrow is it.”

LIV golfers still welcome in Australia | 01:46

World number 14 Zalatoris, who turns 26 on Tuesday, has a PGA-high eight top-10 finishes without a victory this season.

“Today was awesome,” Zalatoris said of his 65.

“Tee to green was great and I rolled in a couple nice putts, so I just need to keep that going.”

Zalatoris split with caddy Ryan Goble last week and new caddy Joel Stock has read his putts the past 36 holes.

“It has been great,” Zalatoris said.

“He has been awesome. Obviously it has paid off. He’s doing a good job.”

Mullinax, who shot 66, won his first PGA title at last month’s Barbasol Championship.

He began the week 70th in points, the last spot to advance, but is in position to leap into the top 30.

“Been playing really well,” he said. “Just going out and sticking to the game plan.”

Duncan birdied four of the first six holes to shoot 67.

It has been 77 starts without a top-10 finish for Duncan since his lone PGA victory at the 2019 RSM Classic.

Rickie Fowler found water twice on the way to a quintuple-bogey nine on the 18th hole. He shot 72 to stand on 208, likely dooming his bid to advance in the playoffs.

LEADERBOARD (AFTER 3 ROUNDS)

1st: JJ Spaun -13

2nd: Sepp Staka -12

S3: Will Zalatoris -11

S3: Trey Mullinax – 11

S3: Cameron Smith -11

S6: Tyler Duncan -10

S6: Troy Merritt -10

AUSSIES IN ACTION

S3: Cameron Smith -11

S25: Adam Scott -7

T36: Cam Davis -5

69th: Marc Leishman +3

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PGA Tour 2022, LIV Golf, Cameron Smith, FedExCup playoffs, scores, leaderboard, news, highlights

Australia’s Cam Smith is reportedly defecting to LIV Golf in a $140m deal – but he’s still storming up the leaderboard at the FedEx St Jude Championship as the PGA Tour playoffs begin.

After a stunning hole-out eagle from 156 yards capped a respectable opening round at TPC Southwind in Memphis as the world number two finished three-under, the second day saw him emerge into contention.

A sensational draw shot gave Smith an eagle chance on the par-five 16th, and the Australian duly drained the putt to move to eight-under overall and three off the lead.

But a tricky birdie putt on the 17th just curled around the cup and missed, as a commentator exclaimed: “How did that stay out?”

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Cam Smith holes out for EAGLE! | 00:24

Smith finished -8 overall after his second round 65, leaving three shots behind solo leader JJ Spaun (62.67).

Smith picked up birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, and another on the eighth and 14th holes.

A poor drive found the rough on the 15th, where he gave a shot back, before his impressive eagle on the 16th.

Austrian Sepp Straka (64.66) is tied for second with American Troy Merritt (65.65) on 10 under. Straka remarkably had missed his last six cuts before this event.

“Took what the course gave me,” Spaun said. “I worked on some good things in the past couple weeks that are starting to pay off. Got a nice feel with my swing and just trusting it. And the putter is working, too.”

Straka birdied four of the last five holes to shoot 66. “Hadn’t played great coming into this week,” Straka said. “But that’s golf. You’re going to have the ebbs and flows and just go with it.”

‘Ready to cop some heat’ Smith talks LIV | 00:49

MORE NEWS

‘Ready to cop some heat’: Cam Smith’s big admission over $140m PGA bombshell

World No. 1 commits ultimate golfing sin on Smith … sparking storm about whether he meant it

RD 1 WRAP: J-Day of old stuns to revive hopes in $75m event

Meanwhile world number one Scottie Scheffler missed the cut for just the fourth time this season, a bombshell result that gives Smith a huge opportunity to claim the PGA Tour playoffs.

The tournament is the opener of the FedEx Cup playoffs, a season-ending trio of events with a winner’s prize of $18 million USD.

Only 125 players qualified on season points and only the top 70 advance to next week’s BMW Championship, where the 30 qualifiers for the Tour Championship in Atlanta are decided.

Aussie Adam Scott carded a 67 to finish seven-under overall, while fellow Aussie trio Marc Leishman (69.69), Cam Davis (72.66), both just mad the cut at two-under.

But Lucas Herbert missed the cut after a second-round 70 left him three-over total after a poor opening-round 73, while Jason Day (65, 74) also missed out.

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy missed the weekend after a 69 to stand on 139, one over the cut line.

Did Scheffler give Smith ultimate snub?! | 00:22

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FedEx Cup, Scottie Scheffler walks over Cameron Smith’s lie amid LIV storm, video, highlights, reaction

Scottie Scheffler is coming under fire for his cardinal sin during the opening round of the PGA Tour’s FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.

The world No.1, who won this year’s Masters and backed it up by finishing runner-up at the US Open, walked across Open Champion Cameron Smith’s line on the 12th hole as the world No.2 prepared to make a putt.

As a seemingly oblivious Scheffler walked across the green, Smith, 28, looked up at his rival quizzically before returning his focus on the hole.

Eagle eye fans didn’t miss the moment, however, as they highlighted Scheffler’s actions as a not-so-subtle attack on Smith, who is reportedly sitting on a deal to join the rival LIV Golf Series on a deal worth an estimated $AU140 million.

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Cam Smith holes out for EAGLE! | 00:24

“This is basically golf’s version of throwing at someone’s head,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another said: “Spicy head games from Scottie LIV related?”

Interestingly, though, only a hole earlier Smith and Scheffler had high-fived each other on the green.

But, then again, Smith did record an eagle on 13 as he holed out from 156 yards. Did it help his focus on him?

READ MORE

J-Day of old stuns to revive hopes in $75m event, Smith’s strong response to LIV drama

While Scheffler has not criticized Smith for his coy responses regarding his future, the world No.1 hit out at the golfers, including Australian Matt Jones, who tried to gain an exemption to play at this week’s FedEx playoffs despite joining the rebel golf league.

“Those guys kind of made their decision to go join another tour and they broke the rules and regulations of our tour and now they’re trying to sue us, which is definitely a bit frustrating,” Scheffler said ahead of the tournament.

“I definitely am surprised to see some guys now suing us. If they win, come out here and play, that’s something that’s up to the courts, I can’t control what’s going to happen in a court case. Definitely interested but at the end of the day it has no effect on my preparation for the week.”

Scheffler had a frustrating opening round, finishing one-over. Smith managed to put a difficult fortnight to rest, posting a respectable three-under pair to be firmly in the mix.

READ MORE

The PGA Tour’s $108m showpiece has arrived amid an ugly sideshow that can’t be ignored

How Smith shock exposed sobering truth… and left question that may never be answered

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Cameron Smith smashed for ‘cowardly’ LIV Golf Series response, world view, reaction, video

Cameron Smith’s imminent defection is being viewed as the biggest “coup” to date for LIV in their quest for legitimacy.

Until now, The PGA Tour and its supporters could argue that the rebel league is merely a competition where washed up pros go to fill their bank accounts. No longer.

While tour veterans Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia were the initial names linked to the financially lucrative competition, the domino effect can’t be denied.

Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson – three of the biggest names on the US PGA – have taken the money and left.

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Cameron Smith's pending defection to LIV Golf has been met with a mixed reception.  Photo: Getty Images
Cameron Smith’s pending defection to LIV Golf has been met with a mixed reception. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP

Smith’s signing however is being seen as a game-changer.

At 28, he is only now coming into the peak of his powers, he is the most recent major winner and he overran Rory McIlroy, the biggest name in world golf since Tiger Woods, to claim the Open Championship.

Nonetheless, Smith’s pending defection, which the Australian remained coy about ahead of the FedEx Cup playoff opener, hasn’t been filled with overwhelming excitement and a popping of corks.

Indeed, there’s an overarching sense of disappointment, inevitability and sadness about Smith’s likely defection; financial security has won over legacy and moral compass.

McIlroy reveals tension with LIV golfers | 01:30

Writing for the UK Telegraph – the same publication that broke Smith’s defection on a deal worth more than $AU140 million – chiefs sports writer Oliver Brown emphasized that Smith’s defection “might” capture an audience that eventually garners a TV deal.

“His signing is arguably the Saudis’ most significant coup to date, and could represent a tipping point for the competition – a moment where a gilded freakshow turned into a sporting event which might demand the world’s attention,” Brown wrote.

At the heart of the appeal of LIV Golf, Brown hit the nail on his head when he revealed the ridiculous sums of money today’s stars were forgoing by resisting a move from the PGA Tour.

“Against this backdrop, you can see why the initial contact from Greg Norman, LIV’s ringmaster, became an offer Smith could not refuse,” he wrote.

“(Henrick) Stenson, a 46-year-old who has failed to reach the weekend in seven of his last nine majors, is the type of player he should be beating for breakfast. And yet the Swede, quickly forgetting his defenestration of him as Ryder Cup captain, earned more for a glorified three-day exhibition at Bedminster than Smith did for winning the 150th Open at the Home of Golf.

“From Smith’s perspective, this is an imbalance that urgently needs correcting. If he takes home the maximum loot of £3.93 million on his LIV debut in Boston next month, he would eclipse even the £2.98 million he earned at the Players Championship in May, in what was then the richest prize ever offered by a single golf tournament. Why should the leading man tolerate making less than some forgotten members of the chorus line?”

Cam Smith and others set to join LIV | 01:30

Brown continued by highlighting the ridiculous Saudi-funded money on offer but said the sheer financial sums couldn’t, at least at this point, match the theatre, drama and excitement on show at the PGA and DP World Tours.

“The numbers are so absurd, the golf itself has been rendered a sideshow. When Stenson holed the decisive putt at Bedminster, for the grandest payday of his career, the moment was greeted by the faintest rustle of polite applause. Even the winner himself did not look unduly bothered,” Brown wrote in The Telegraph.

“Here lies the sadness in Smith’s defection. With his talent in the fullest bloom, he deserves to be playing in front of the largest galleries, for the highest stakes. LIV ultimately offers him neither. It is a realm with all the money but none of the prestige. Smith, you sense, understands what true glory in golf means. As he gave his acceptance speech on the 18th green at St Andrews, the Claret Jug in his hand, the quaver in his voice suggested he was genuinely overwhelmed.

“For Smith to be swapping such moments for hollow, show-me-the-money exercises is a cause for lament. At one level, his departure from him in his prime from him demonstrates the scale of the Saudis’ ambitions. But at another, it is the grimmest possible reflection of the schism they have wrought.”

READ MORE

ODD: Courtroom reveal exposes damning side to high-paying LIV Golf contracts

WOW: Aussie star Smith drops $140m PGA bombshell as shock Open twist revealed

NEXT TIME: Aussie Matt Jones rejected from $75m event, ‘icy’ standoff avoided as LIV court bid fails

Australia’s Cameron Smith’s decision not to answer whether he is joining LIV has been described as “cowardly” and “lame”. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP

At the USATodayAndy Nesbitt, was far more scathing.

In particular, the publication took aim at Smith’s decision to deflect questions around his future and offer no definitive answer on whether he intended to shift allegiances.

“In doing so, (Smith) tarnished a reputation that just a few weeks ago was one of the best in professional golf,” Nesbitt wrote.

“Smith didn’t deny it and he didn’t confirm it, he just said he had “no comment” on that, which is a really lame way of ducking the question while also pretty much confirming the report to be true.”

Nesbitt went as far as saying his responses were “cowardly.”

“But to not come out with a definitive answer when asked about it before the start of the PGA Tour playoffs is a pretty cowardly thing to do.

“Now it’s a little harder to cheer for a guy who just a few weeks ago was the coolest golfer in the world.”

Terse Cam refuses to address LIV rumors | 00:43

Thomas Kershaw from The Timestoo, wrote that Smith’s pending defection was the competition’s “biggest coup”.

“It has been very easy up until now to dismiss the gimmicks of LIV’s format — featuring shotgun starts, 54 holes and no cuts — as a watered-down exhibition lacking the essentials of elite competition. Critics could point to the players who shrugged off missed putts knowing their money was guaranteed beforehand and the rebel series was derived as a refuge for those who had cashed in on the twilight of their careers,” Kershaw wrote.

“The signing of Smith is a significant riposte to that narrative. LIV may already have a horde of relatively recent major champions but Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka have battled injuries and indifferent form while Phil Mickelson still seems a ghost of his former self. Smith, 28, is the first to defect who is not just at the peak of the game but still entering the prime of his own.

He continued: “Smith remains LIV’s biggest coup to date and also symbolizes another aspect of their revolt that could bring considerable success. Smith had been vocal in urging the PGA Tour to bring a major golf event back to Australia but while those calls fell on deaf ears, LIV — and Norman — have been only too keen to hear them. When LIV expands into a 14-tournament league next year, it is reportedly scheduled to stop in Sydney in April, where Smith is expected to feature in an all-Australian team.”

Australian Cameron Smith is coming under renewed scrutiny ahead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind on August 10, 2022 in Memphis. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP

Closer to home, James Erskine, the former manager of the late Shane Warne, who also managed Greg Norman in the past, told The Sydney Morning Herald the emergence of LIV was “destabilizing”, but didn’t accept the argument that players had blood on their hands given the competition is being backed by Saudi Arabia.

“It’s destabilizing the fabric of professional golf. I’m on the board of the PGA of Australia and we have to look after all professionals and professionals coming up. They all start as amateurs somewhere and are nurtured through the pathway so they could play golf, and then they get cards and qualify professionally,” he said. “So many people do business with Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, where they have very different rules and regulations and different respect for women.

“But you can name just about any company and they will probably have a link to Saudi Arabia, Rolex, Range Rover, Rolls Royce, Ferrari. Everyone’s doing business with them, so I think it’s very unfair to turn around and say because you’re a professional golfer, you shouldn’t deal with Saudi Arabia.”

Meanwhile, Erskine said Smith would be welcomed to play in Australia even if he joins LIV Golf.

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Golf news: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman join LIV Golf Series, report, Cameron Percy, video, PGA Tour

Cameron Percy has lifted the lid on Cameron Smith’s intentions, revealing the Open champion is “gone” and will join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series.

Smith, 28, was irate when he was asked about his future in the moments following his extraordinary one-shot victory at St Andrew’s last month.

“I just won the British Open and you’re asking about that? I think that’s pretty- not that good,” Smith said.

Pressed on the matter, the Australian was coy.

“I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff, I’m here to win golf tournaments,” he said.

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But Percy, a top-10 finisher at the Wyndham Championship, said his Australian compatriots Smith and Marc Leishman were “gone” and had signed with the financially lucrative LIV Golf Series.

“Unfortunately, yeah, they’re gone,” Percy told RSN radio.

The extraordinary revelation comes ahead of this week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener, which is expected to see Smith take to the tee amid a court’s hearing into whether three LIV golfers should be permitted to play after defecting to the rebel league.

Percy said the PGA Tour had known for years that a rebel tour was being formed.

“I had a long conversation with (2013 Masters champion) Adam Scott and he was very interesting talking to about it, just where it is,” he said.

“He said he met with these guys (LIV) in 2017 (and) they were ready (to) do all this. So, the tour has known for a long time that this stuff’s in the works.”

Scott has previously been on the record speaking about LIV Golf, saying in April “the schedule that they’re proposing is very appealing to probably most golfers” and he would “consider” making a move too.

Percy, meanwhile, delivered a not-so-subtle dig at those taking the money and defecting, raising the ethical questions around where the money is coming from.

“The more and more you look into it, some people don’t care, some people have got a conscience and do care,’ he said.

“It really comes down to, you know, ‘they just executed 80 people this week, just chopped their heads off’. They’re not the nicest people in the world.

“Do you just look past that and go, ‘Oh well, I’m rich I don’t really care’. It’s a tough one, it really is.”

Smith, the world No.2, was reportedly offered more than $100 million to join the LIV Golf Series.

Should he indeed accept the offer, he will be the highest ranked player to defect.

Former major winner Ian Baker-Finch last month to ignore the offers and create a legacy in the game by staying in the PGA Tour – something currently he would struggle to achieve in LIV Golf, where tournaments are 54 holes and don’t contain the player strength nor history.

“I know that they are talking to him and many others,” Baker-Finch, who won the Claret Jug in 1991, told SEN radio.

“I hope he doesn’t because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major championships and becoming the best player in the world.

“I don’t think I need the money. I don’t think it is going to be something that he should do.

“He will be a $100m guy or more now. Does he want to win more majors or does he want the money? I am hoping he stays and leaves a great legacy like a Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy … which he could do. I think Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy and a lot of those guys that still compete and play well in majors, and want to leave a legacy, they’re the guys I would be following.”

Originally published as ‘They’re gone’: Bombshell revelation as Aussie golfer says Smith, Leishman have joined LIV

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Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman join LIV Golf Series, report, Cameron Percy, video

Cameron Percy has lifted the lid on Cameron Smith’s intentions, revealing the Open champion is “gone” and will join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series.

Smith, 28, was irate when he was asked about his future in the moments following his extraordinary one-shot victory at St Andrew’s last month.

“I just won the British Open and you’re asking about that? I think that’s pretty- not that good,” Smith said.

Pressed on the matter, the Australian was coy.

“I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff, I’m here to win golf tournaments,” he said.

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Donald Trump backs LIV Golf Series | 00:46

But Percy, a top-10 finisher at the Wyndham Championship, said his Australian compatriots Smith and Marc Leishman were “gone” and had signed with the financially lucrative LIV Golf Series.

“Unfortunate, year, they’re gone,” Percy told RSN radio.

The extraordinary revelation comes ahead of this week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener, which is expected to see Smith take to the tee amid a court’s hearing into whether three LIV golfers should be permitted to play after defecting to the rebel league.

Percy said the PGA Tour had known for years that a rebel tour was being formed.

“I had a long conversation with (2013 Masters champion) Adam Scott and he was very interesting talking to about it, just where it is,” he said.

“He said he met with these guys (LIV) in 2017 (and) they were ready (to) do all this. So, the tour has known for a long time that this stuff’s in the works.”

Scott has previously been on the record speaking about LIV Golf, saying in April “the schedule that they’re proposing is very appealing to probably most golfers” and he would “consider” making a move too.

Cameron Percy has revealed his Australian compatriots Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman have signed with LIV Golf Series.  Photo: Getty Images
Cameron Percy has revealed his Australian compatriots Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman have signed with LIV Golf Series. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: AFP

Percy, meanwhile, delivered a not-so-subtle dig at those taking the money and defecting, raising the ethical questions around where the money is coming from.

“The more and more you look into it, some people don’t care, some people have got a conscience and do care,’ he said.

“It really comes down to, you know, ‘they just executed 80 people this week, just chopped their heads off’. They’re not the nicest people in the world.

“Do you just look past that and go, ‘Oh well, I’m rich I don’t really care’. It’s a tough one, it really is.”

Smith, the world No.2, was reportedly offered more than $100 million to join the LIV Golf Series.

Should he indeed accept the offer, he will be the highest ranked player to defect.

MORE COVERAGE

‘S***ting their pants’: LIV Golf texts between Greg Norman and ex-Masters champ revealed

Aussie golf’s ‘special’ $3.4m move earns big boost … but Smith wait goes on amid LIV link

‘I found three brothers’: Golf legend reduced to blubbering mess in stirring live TV farewell

Smith reflects on Open celebrations | 08:18

Former major winner Ian Baker-Finch last month to ignore the offers and create a legacy in the game by staying in the PGA Tour – something currently he would struggle to achieve in LIV Golf, where tournaments are 54 holes and don’t contain the player strength nor history.

“I know that they are talking to him and many others,” Baker-Finch, who won the Claret Jug in 1991, told SEN radio.

“I hope he doesn’t because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major championships and becoming the best player in the world.

“I don’t think I need the money. I don’t think it is going to be something that he should do.

“He will be a $100m guy or more now. Does he want to win more majors or does he want the money? I am hoping he stays and leaves a great legacy like a Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy … which he could do. I think Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy and a lot of those guys that still compete and play well in majors, and want to leave a legacy, they’re the guys I would be following.”

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LIV Golf texts between Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia revealed

Text messages exchanged between Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia in the lead-up to LIV Golf have emerged.

Golfers who joined Norman on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour face an indefinite ban from the PGA Tour, and a group led by Phil Mickelson is suing them for antitrust violations, claiming the Tour does not have the authority to levy that punishment. As part of that suit, the golfers presented text messages between Norman and Garcia, who joined the rebel tour in June.

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The text messages reveal Garcia was relaying the PGA Tour’s plans to execute the bans on golfers when the LIV defections occurred.

After sending brief pleasantries on February 11, Garcia got down to business, texting Norman: “I just wanted to see how things are going with the League, cause it seems like a lot of those guys that were loving it and excited about it last week , now are s***ting in their pants.”

Norman responded: “Morning. All going very well. I have not heard the white noise of s***ting their pants. Who are you referencing so I can run a check?”

Garcia answered that it was “some of the younger guys” and that he thought “the (PGA) Tour reached out to them and scared them a bit and because they are young, I think it worked”.

Norman was adamant that the PGA Tour did not have the legal standing to issue a ban.

“If you have names I can reach out to them,” he texted.

“In regards to the Tour if they were going to ban players they would have already. They know they cannot hence no action outside of verbal threats. If you can get them or any player threatened to get it (in writing) fantastic. Thanks.”

The text messages in the lawsuit were uncovered by Dylan Dethier of Golf Magazine.

Six days after the initial exchange, Garcia informed Norman that the “Tour has told our managers this week that whoever signs with the League, is ban(ned) from the Tour for life! I don’t know how are we gonna get enough good players to join the League under (these) conditions. What do you think.”

Norman again assured Garcia that this would not be legally possible.

“They cannot ban you for one day let alone life,” Norman texted. “It is a shallow threat. Ask them to put it in writing to you or any player. I bet they don’t. Happy for anyone to speak with our legal team to better understand they have no chance of enforcing.

“Who said there would be a lifetime ban? And to whom? You? Or your agent? What are they saying specifically? Important to know these facts. Also I will get something to show you why they cannot.”

LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman. Steve Dykes/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP

Garcia explained his understanding of what had happened.

“The commissioner had a meeting with the 5 or 6 biggest agencies of golf managers, mine included, and first told them that if any of their players had signed with the (LIV) league, that they should leave the room and after that they talked about what the (PGA Tour) is going to do going forward and that whoever signs with (LIV) they would be (banned) from the (PGA Tour) for life. I would love to get it in writing but I doubt they will do that,” he wrote.

Garcia ultimately joined LIV Golf after an epic meltdown directed at the PGA Tour in May.

Star golfers who have reportedly earned over AU$143 million apiece from LIV Golf include Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

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Golf news 2022: LIV Golf texts between Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia revealed

Text messages exchanged between Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia in the lead-up to LIV Golf have emerged.

Golfers who joined Norman on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour face an indefinite ban from the PGA Tour, and a group led by Phil Mickelson is suing them for antitrust violations, claiming the Tour does not have the authority to levy that punishment. As part of that suit, the golfers presented text messages between Norman and Garcia, who joined the rebel tour in June.

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The text messages reveal Garcia was relaying the PGA Tour’s plans to execute the bans on golfers when the LIV defections occurred.

After sending brief pleasantries on February 11, Garcia got down to business, texting Norman: “I just wanted to see how things are going with the League, cause it seems like a lot of those guys that were loving it and excited about it last week , now are s***ting in their pants.”

Norman responded: “Morning. All going very well. I have not heard the white noise of s***ting their pants. Who are you referencing so I can run a check?”

Garcia answered that it was “some of the younger guys” and that he thought “the (PGA) Tour reached out to them and scared them a bit and because they are young, I think it worked”.

Norman was adamant that the PGA Tour did not have the legal standing to issue a ban.

“If you have names I can reach out to them,” he texted.

“In regards to the Tour if they were going to ban players they would have already. They know they cannot hence no action outside of verbal threats. If you can get them or any player threatened to get it (in writing) fantastic. Thanks.”

The text messages in the lawsuit were uncovered by Dylan Dethier of Golf Magazine.

Six days after the initial exchange, Garcia informed Norman that the “Tour has told our managers this week that whoever signs with the League, is ban(ned) from the Tour for life! I don’t know how are we gonna get enough good players to join the League under (these) conditions. What do you think.”

Norman again assured Garcia that this would not be legally possible.

“They cannot ban you for one day let alone life,” Norman texted. “It is a shallow threat. Ask them to put it in writing to you or any player. I bet they don’t. Happy for anyone to speak with our legal team to better understand they have no chance of enforcing.

“Who said there would be a lifetime ban? And to whom? You? Or your agent? What are they saying specifically? Important to know these facts. Also I will get something to show you why they cannot.”

Garcia explained his understanding of what had happened.

“The commissioner had a meeting with the 5 or 6 biggest agencies of golf managers, mine included, and first told them that if any of their players had signed with the (LIV) league, that they should leave the room and after that they talked about what the (PGA Tour) is going to do going forward and that whoever signs with (LIV) they would be (banned) from the (PGA Tour) for life. I would love to get it in writing but I doubt they will do that,” he wrote.

Garcia ultimately joined LIV Golf after an epic meltdown directed at the PGA Tour in May.

Star golfers who have reportedly earned over AU$143 million apiece from LIV Golf include Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

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