Aaron Rodgers might have won this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with his partner Ben Silverman, but not everyone thinks the victory is legitimate, including PGA Tour player Keith Mitchell.

Following the conclusion of play on Sunday afternoon, Mitchell made it clear that he wasn’t buying the quarterback’s adjusted handicap of 10.

According to the Wisconsin State Golf Association, Rodgers’s handicap is registered as a 3.0 at his home course, Green Bay Country Club. At the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, all of the amateurs get a bump from their home handicaps to take into consideration the challenging venues and crowds, but Rodgers’s seemed to have gotten a bigger boost than he needed.

On Sunday afternoon, Mitchell was asked if he knew where he stood in the Pro-Am competition, and he was quick to express his thoughts on Rodgers’s handicap.

“I think Josh and I won. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t count,” Mitchell said. “His handicap was crap. I haven’t looked. I think we were, on 18 we might have been up there. But if we finish second to Aaron I consider us winning the trophy.”

It’s worth noting that Mitchell and his partner, Bills quarterback Josh Allen, came in second place on the Pro-Am side of the leaderboard. Mitchell is a highly competitive professional golfer who won’t be happy about losing under any circumstances, but when there’s a suspected sandbagger in the mix, things can get serious.

Wednesday evening, 36 additional lockers were installed at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in advance of Thursday’s first round. An official with Hilton Grand Vacations said that this would ensure that every female—both LPGA players and celebrity players—will have her own locker.

Past LPGA winners arrived at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club for this week’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions to find a less than ideal setup.

According to Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols, players were told that no private locker rooms were available for their use at the LPGA’s season opener.

Hilton Grand Vacations VP of Sports Marketing, Aaron Stewart, explained that a plan to provide temporary lockers for the week fell through. Players have access to the women’s bathrooms and showers, but there is no storage available for the 29 golfers competing in the event.

“I don’t know why they canceled the lockers,” Stewart said to Golfweek.

LPGA host venues usually offer the men’s locker room facilities to the field for the week, but a tour official said that at Lake Nona, the men’s locker room had to be available for restroom use. The HGV Tournament of Champions is a pro-am event that brings together winners from the past two LPGA seasons and celebrities.

“I’m not mad at the club, I’m not mad at the sponsor, I’m annoyed at the LPGA for that just being an overlooked factor,” said Ryan O’Toole, a four-time LPGA Tour winner who is teeing it up this week.

When asked for comment on the locker room set-up at Lake Nona, the LPGA provided the following statement.

“Hilton Grand Vacations has been an incredible partner in supporting the LPGA to expand and enhance amenities and accommodations for our players. With the return of hospitality this year, the tournament informed us that due to a need for public bathrooms, there would not be a private and secure locker room available for the LPGA players this week. There was an option presented to have temporary lockers added to a space within the clubhouse that did not include a bathroom area,” the statement read.

“Due to a prioritization of space for other player uses, our tournament team made the decision that it was not in the best interest of the players and the event to pursue that option. Players have access to a locker room, although the space is not entirely private. We are always open to player feedback and work with our tournament partners to allocate finite space. We will continue to do so with our amazing partners from Hilton Grand Vacations moving forward,” the statement continued.

The group of 29 in the Tournament of Champions field also includes defending champion Danielle Kang, world No. 2 Nelly Korda and her sister Jessica Korda, who won the event in 2021.

Jessica Korda chimed in on Twitter, noting that the field didn’t have access to lockers in 2022 either, but during previous years they did. The lack of locker room availability in 2022 was not due to COVID-19 protocols.

“We didn’t have lockers last year either,” Jessica wrote. “But we did have lockers year prior at TOC. Important to clarify and have all facts so people don’t think it’s just this year.”

Another issue with the tournament’s setup involved practice facility restrictions. Players were told that for practice rounds on Sunday, Jan. 15, they would not be permitted to use the practice areas more than one hour prior to their designated tee time. There was originally confusion among players that this rule applies to each day of the tournament, but it was later clarified as a restriction only for Sunday’s practice round.

“The guys would never agree to an hour of practice each day,” said Matilda Castren, another LPGA player in the field this week.

Adam Scott is a player who has been linked a lot with LIV Golf in the past few days. There were rumors that Scott would become part of the Saudi-backed competition, but Scott made a different decision. Namely, he confirmed that he joined the PGA Tour PAC.

Adam Scott does not want to bother too much with the lawsuit and is focused on the PGA Tour and the fact that the PGA Tour can progress. “I’m more interested in what the Tour is planning on doing with the Tour than how we’re fighting a lawsuit.

I couldn’t care less about that to be honest. I’m more interested in what the future of the Tour looks like. I convinced myself that it was worth diving into that to see what’s going on”. – Scott said

Adam praised Rory McIlroy who is one of the main men on the Tour.

The Northern Irishman is not giving up his fight against LIV Golf. His goal is to make the PGA Tour a dominant force. The race between the two Tours will continue. Each of them wants to prevail, but that only brings additional conflicts and problems for the others.

“I think seeing Rory (McIlroy) taking a leadership role, I feel, potentially, like a few other notable players—if I can call myself a notable player—can assist him moving things in the direction it seems to be.

It’s an important time for the Tour to kind of map out the next decade and beyond, what playing the PGA Tour kind of is working towards and what that looks like. As well as everyone out here probably wants to know, full schedule and beyond.

But it is a critical, critical … it’s just a time of change. And, yeah, big decisions are going to be made and they need to be the right ones.” According to many, this is an excellent move by Scott and will greatly benefit from it in the coming period.

LOS ANGELES – Spain s fifth-ranked Jon Rahm said Tuesday he expects more PGA Tour players to exit for Saudi-backed LIV Golf in 2023 and anticipates a tense champions dinner at the Masters.

Rahm spoke ahead of Thursday s start of the PGA Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Hawaii, a select event of tournament winners of Tour Championship qualifiers.

Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion, predicted more golfers will leave the PGA despite boosted prize money at selected events for the higher prize money offered by LIV Golf.

“I think we all know where we stand,” Rahm said. “There are still going to be players that choose to transition to LIV is my guess.

“But for a lot of us, I think we see the direction the PGA Tour is going toward. They re making the necessary changes to adapt to the new age and I think it s better for everybody.”

The PGA has boosted prize money at a limited number of selected events with an eye to keeping top talent from departing the way British Open champion Cam Smith of Australia did.

“It s an exciting year. We re all curious about how it s going to work out,” Rahm said. “We re all excited to see how it s going to unfold.”

The Masters announced last month it will not change qualifying criteria for the 2023 Masters, ensuring LIV Golf players will be able to compete.

That includes several recent past green jacket winners, including three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson, fellow Americans Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson; Spain s Sergio Garcia and South African Charl Schwartzel.

They will be breaking bread with, among others, proud PGA proponent Tiger Woods.

And Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley, while not mentioning LIV Golf, made it clear the split is an unwelcome development.

“Regrettably, recent actions have divided men s professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it,” Ridley said.

Rahm said he wishes he could be a fly on the wall at Augusta National in April for the Masters champions dinner, and not for the fabulous menu past winners will consume.

“It s probably only funny to me, but I think the Masters Champions Dinner is going to be a little tense compared to how it has been in the past,” Rahm said.

“So I keep thinking about it because I wish I could be there and just be able to see how things work out. Too bad the US Open doesn t have one of those.”

Rahm said golfers will have to deal with any personal issues at the majors.

“I didn t feel a difference in any of the majors last year,” Rahm said. “If somebody has a problem with LIV players, they re just not going to deal with them and that s about it.

“I respect their choice and the ones I was friends with before I m still going to be friends with. It doesn t change the way I m going to operate with them.”

Rahm says any major issues can be avoided by players staying away from each other, although that could be more difficult depending upon the Masters pairings.

“I think a lot of animosity, if there s any, might be created more by (reporters) more than anything else,” Rahm said. “I don t think there s that much of a problem between players, at least in person.”

Rahm wants the DP World Tour and PGA of America to get on the same page for the Ryder Cup, hoping Europe can win back the trophy in Rome.

“Some people that are going to have to make some tough choices,” Rahm said. “My guess is I hope the PGA of America and European Tour make a decision together. I don t think it would be smart to have one team allowing LIV players and one not.”

After a whirlwind 2022, LIV Golf heads into the New Year on the back of its groundbreaking maiden campaign. The Saudi-backed series no doubt rocked the boat of professional golf last year, and more of the same is expected in 2023.

Nobody could have predicted the magnitude of the saga surrounding LIV and its ongoing battle with the PGA Tour. The two rivalling circuits have found themselves in deadlock, and with no clear solution in sight it seems golf’s civil war is set to rumble on.

With their maiden season done and dusted here is a look at what could well unfold on the Saudi-backed circuit as it heads into 2023.

Greg Norman’s future:
One man who has been instrumental in LIV’s rise is the ever-controversial Greg Norman. As the circuit’s CEO, Norman has been at the forefront of all things LIV in 2022, but despite this the fiery Australian may have already done too much.

A figure like Norman was undoubtedly needed to get the contentious breakaway series off the ground, but now things are up and running the former world No. 1’s future is up in the air. The consensus hope around professional golf is that the two rivalling tours need to come to some agreement to bring peace upon the game, but many believe this is not possible with Norman at the helm.

Greg Norman’s future remains up in the air:
In particular both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods called for the Aussie to step down from his role in order for golf to return to some sort of normality, and with the Telegraph reporting that Saudi chiefs are questioning Norman’s future, his role as LIV’s poster boy could well come to an end.

A truce with the PGA Tour:
The question on everybody’s lips heading into the New Year is will the PGA Tour and LIV finally put their differences aside and end their ongoing feud?The toxic battle between the two has polluted the sport, but with the Saudi-backed circuit not going anywhere it feels as if some sort of truce will need to be agreed in 2023.

One huge step in building bridges between golf’s traditionalists and revolutionists has been Augusta National confirming that any LIV player who qualifies for the 2023 tournament will be eligible to compete, with no banning orders put in place – unlike the PGA Tour.

The one key determining factor in finally reaching a resolution though will no doubt have to come after the two squabbling circuits have settled their legal disputes filed against each other, which is expected to be heard in court in the early stages of this year.

Marquee signings:
After luring in some of golf’s biggest names for their maiden campaign, LIV are expected to only expand their growing roster in 2023. Norman has already set out his stall in claiming the Saudi-funded circuit will bring another seven players – with his eyes on the world’s top 20 – over to the series, with the likes of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay linked with the move.

Tiger Woods said he has to “take his hat off” to Rory McIlroy for being a leading voice in golf’s ongoing civil war even as he’s continued to shine on the course.

McIlroy and Woods have emerged as the two leading voices among the players in the battle between the upstart LIV Golf tour and the game’s traditional powers.

The pair have thrown their support firmly behind the PGA Tour – albeit due in no small part to their growing business relationship with the organisation – but while Woods has not played much during that time as he continues to battle injury, McIlroy has had to juggle a full-playing schedule while leading the charge.

And while he could not break his major drought in 2022, McIlroy had a stellar year by every other metric, winning the FedEx Cup for a third time on the back of some impressive victories while also returning to the top of the world rankings.

“We all as players want to compete against each other and beat our brains in,” Woods said. “The key is how.

“Rory has had the toughest deal of all here because he had to compete and play. I wasn’t playing that much.

“He had to answer all these questions. We had all the meetings and conference calls together and were communicating and in lock-step behind each other.

“But I was not out front having to deal with questions in the media, he had to deal with that and not only that he had to try and play and win events, which he was able to do.

“So hats off to him for doing what he did this entire year.”

Back in August, Woods and McIlroy officially announced a new business partnership – TMRW Sports – which will usher in a new tech-driven team golf league featuring 18 of the PGA Tour’s top stars beginning in 2024.

Also involved in the venture is Golf Channel boss Mike McCarley and the PGA Tour itself.

“We’ve been working on this for two years,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for PGA Tour players to show a different side of themselves, prime time on Monday night. I think it’s great for brand exposure to try to engage a different audience.”

LIV players, which include previous Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, have been suspended indefinitely from the PGA Tour.

But Masters chairman Fred Ridley said the event’s focus was to bring together “a preeminent field of golfers”.

He said: “We will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete.”

The 87th Masters will take place at Augusta National in the United States from 6-9 April.

American Scottie Scheffler won the iconic Green Jacket this year, finishing three shots clear of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy. They are players who have both been vocal in their support of the PGA Tour.

The emergence of LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed breakaway tour offering huge sums of money to players, has caused deep divisions in the sport.

Fronted by Australian former world number one Greg Norman, the project has promised to shake up the golfing landscape and has lured some of the biggest names in men’s golf.

As well as Mickelson and Johnson, the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed were also swayed to leave the PGA Tour.

There was another significant defection when Australia’s Cameron Smith – last year’s Open champion and world number two – became the highest-ranked player to join LIV.

A 14-tournament LIV Golf league – with a prize fund of $405m (£336m) is scheduled to start in 2023 but will not compete with the four majors or international team events, say event organisers.

“Regrettably, recent actions have divided men’s professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it,” Ridley said.

“Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honour the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers.”

Future changes to the Masters’ invitation criteria will be announced in April, Ridley added.

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said in July it was “not on the agenda” to ban LIV players from next year’s Open but also did not rule out changing the championship’s entry.

The DP World Tour Championship hasn’t had a repeat winner since its inception in 2009, and that will remain the case for at least another year. Collin Morikawa, who became the first American to win the then European Tour’s season finale in 2021—and, in the process, claim the Old World circuit’s year-long points title—announced via social media on Monday that he has withdrawn from the event at Jumeirah Golf Estate in Dubai, citing “upcoming personal commitments.”

At No. 35 on the DP World Tour points list after last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge, Morikawa was safely inside the top 50 to gain entry into the event. He did so while making eight starts in qualifying tournaments, including two DP World Tour events in the Middle East in January. His ranked was boosted largely by top-five finishes at the Masters and U.S. Open.

Morikawa isn’t the only American player who qualified for the DP World Tour Championship who is missing the event. Will Zalatoris, No. 6 on the points list, is still recovering from a back injury that has sidelined him since late August. The lone American competing in Dubai is Kurt Kitayama, ranked 36th, who also is a PGA Tour member.

Rory McIlroy, who won the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup title in August, is the top-ranked player in the season-long points list entering the finale. The Northern Irishman is attempting to claim the former Order of Merit title for the fourth time in his career (2012, 2014, 2015) and become only the second player to hold the season-long titles on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in the same year, joining Henrik Stenson when he did it in 2013.

Trailing McIlroy on the points list are Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland.