Mickelson, Phil
LIV Golfers, Paid Upfront, Giggle Their Way Around Trump Bedminster
BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Brooks Koepka, the four-time major golf champion, was riding in a golf cart Saturday with his wife, Jena Sims, sitting on his lap, both laughing as the cart headed for the golf course. It was a nice snapshot of summer in New Jersey. But what set this scene apart was the fact […]
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Mickelson and LIV Golf Attract Fans and Anger to Oregon
He called on Mickelson to “be a man, step up, accept the truth of who you’re getting in bed with.” The Saudi government has long denied any involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. The Sept. 11 Commission, in its 2004 report, found “no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials […]
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LIV Golf Is Drawing Big Names and Heavy Criticism in Oregon
NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — The Saudi government-backed LIV Golf Invitational series arrives in the United States on Thursday as it continues to roil a genteel sport with a slogan that promises, “Golf, but louder.” Except this is probably not the kind of noise its supporters had in mind. There is vehement opposition by some to […]
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A Weird, Wild and Entirely Typical Day at the U.S. Open
BROOKLINE, Mass. — M.J. Daffue of South Africa, ranked 296th in the world, was not invited to the hospitality tent alongside the par-5 14th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open on Friday. But when his tee shot came to rest on the tent’s carpeted balcony next to a tree trunk, fence railing […]
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Why You Can’t Watch LIV Golf on American Television
For the Saudi-backed upstart LIV Golf tour, the strategy for luring top golfers like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson away from the prestige and stability of the PGA Tour was simple: Offer cash, and lots of it. The arrival of the new tour and the defection of PGA Tour stars were major disruptions in what […]
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Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf Series Upends Genteel World of Golf
LONDON — The golf champions were settled in their chairs at a news conference to promote their new Saudi-financed tournament when a reporter raised the uncomfortable question of the oil-rich kingdom’s human rights record. The 2010 U.S. Open champion, Graeme McDowell, to the obvious relief of the players sitting alongside him, took it on. “If […]
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Dustin Johnson Resigns From PGA Tour and Commits to Rival LIV Golf
Johnson is one of only two top 30 players to join LIV Golf. (Louis Oosthuizen, ranked 21st, is the other.) But the overwhelming majority of the rest in the top 30, who are both the vanguard overtaking the game and generally in their 20s or early 30s, have stood with the PGA Tour. Johnson is […]
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PGA Tour Denies Golfers Waivers for Saudi-Backed Tournament
The PGA Tour has sternly refused to grant its membership the ability to play in the inaugural event of a rival Saudi-backed golf tour, which will make its debut next month outside London. The move, announced in a memo to tour members Tuesday night, was hardly a surprise — the PGA Tour is protecting its […]
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Phil Mickelson Apologizes for Support of Saudi-Backed Golf League
Phil Mickelson on Tuesday said he regretted his recent comments in support of a breakaway golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia and suggested he might take a leave from the golf course to “prioritize the ones I love most and work on being the man I want to be.” “I used words I sincerely regret […]
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