Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth headline the winners from the PGA Tour’s revised Player Impact Program, according to documents reviewed by Golf Digest.

The PIP bonus pool was instituted in 2021 to reward players who boosted engagement and publicity for the tour. Ostensibly a response to some of the lucrative deals rumored to be coming from the then-Premier Golf League, the inaugural program somewhat backfired; five of the 10 winners in 2021—Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bubba Watson—ultimately left the tour for LIV Golf.

However, improvements to the PIP were announced at this year’s Tour Championship to broaden its scope. After spreading out $40 million to those on last year’s list, the 2022 PIP pool has increased to $100 million in payouts. The list has also doubled from 10 players to 20. Perhaps the most consequential alteration is what making the PIP list does for a player going forward. In 2023, the tour is moving to a new schedule, one that features 12 elevated events, in addition the majors and the Players Championship, and a commitment from the game’s “top players” to compete in at least 20 tournaments. A “top player” will now be defined by the tour as an individual who finishes in the top 20 in the PIP, meaning making the list grants invites into the tour’s biggest events featuring the biggest purses.

Below is the list of PIP winners, along with their bonus for making the list.

1. Tiger Woods $15,000,000
2. Rory McIlroy $12,000,000
3. Jordan Spieth $9,000,000
4. Justin Thomas $7,500,000
5. Jon Rahm $6,000,000
6. Scottie Scheffler $5,500,000
7. Xander Schauffele $5,000,000
8. Matt Fitzpatrick $5,000,000
9. Will Zalatoris $5,000,000
10. Tony Finau $5,000,000
11. Collin Morikawa $3,000,000
12. Shane Lowry $3,000,000
13. Kevin Kisner $3,000,000
14. Max Homa $3,000,000
15. Billy Horschel $3,000,000
16. Rickie Fowler $2,000,000
17. Adam Scott $2,000,000
18. Jason Day $2,000,000
19. Patrick Cantlay $2,000,000
20. Viktor Hovland $2,000,000

The tour used five measurements for putting together the list: Internet searches, the number of unique news articles that include a player’s name, duration that a player’s sponsor logos appeared on screen during Saturday and Sunday PGA Tour telecasts, a player’s general awareness score among broad U.S. population, and social media score that considers a player’s reach, conversation and engagement metrics. Along with Google Search, Meltwater and Nielsen measurements, the 2023 list is adding general population and fan awareness criteria.

Incorporating the changes to the formula for 2023, the PIP ranking was also run using the new measurement criteria. Three other players appeared in the top 20 with the modified criteria—Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Young and Sam Burns. Each also will receive a $2 million payment and he eligible for PIP events.

Any player eligible for PIP payments must fulfill three additional requirements to be paid in full. They include:

1) Play in a mutually agreed-upon PIP Designated Tournament;

2) Participate in a mutually agreed-upon PIP Service Event;

3) Fulfill the Mandatory Participation Requirement as outlined in the PGA Tour Tournament Regulations handbook.

Players will receive PIP payments in two installments. The first 25 percent will be paid with the Sentry Tournament of Champions purse payment, and the remaining 75 percent will be paid once a player completes the three obligations.

Woods played just nine rounds in 2022, although his return at the Masters and possible goodbye to St. Andrews at the Open were among the stories of the year. Woods was also instrumental in leading a group of players that enacted sweeping reforms to the tour in response to the ongoing threat from LIV Golf.

The new LIV star recounts what the four-time major champion said to him after the Open Championship

Two days after losing the 150th Open Championship to Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy made a phone call he undoubtedly did not want to make. He called Smith to congratulate him on winning the Claret Jug, and then talked him through all the reasons he should stay on the PGA Tour.

Smith did not heed McIlroy’s advice, obviously, opting instead to sign a reported nine-figure deal with LIV Golf and making his debut at LIV Boston just after the Tour Championship. Those two, along with PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler, owned most of the year in 2022. That trio combined for 11 victories worldwide, including half the major championships.

However, it was what happened off the course that often dominated the headlines. Smith opened up recently about what McIlroy said to him during that post-Open Championship phone call.

“I’ve always had respect for Rory and I’ve liked what he says on the golf course,” Smith told the Sydney Morning Herald. “He said, ‘Congrats’. There were maybe a couple of little jabs in there. He was happy I played well and it was a good tournament. Then we talked about the PGA Tour and LIV. There was a bunch of stuff he wanted me to know before I made my decision. I wouldn’t say he tried to directly talk me out of it, but he definitely wanted me to stay.”

There was good reason. At the time, Smith was the No. 2 player in the world and the reigning Players Championship and Open Championship winner. His recap of the conversation squares with what McIlroy said at the Tour Championship in August:

“I wanted to congratulate him, but also I wanted — guys that are thinking one way or another, honestly I don’t care if they leave or not,” said McIlroy. It’s not going to make a difference to me. But I would at least like people to make a decision that is completely informed and basically know this is what’s coming down the pipeline. This is what you may be leaving behind.”

What’s coming on the PGA Tour is a set of elevated events with massively increased purses — 12 tournaments with an average purse size of $20 million in 2023 — as well as an opportunity to play in the TGL, which is run by a company Tiger Woods and McIlroy own. TGL is essentially televised screen golf in an arena where players will have the opportunity to make some money in conjunction with a PGA Tour-affiliated event. This has not been the case in the past.

Smith was not the biggest name LIV landed in 2022, but he was probably its best player. Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson are all bigger draws than the Australian, but you could argue that only Scheffler had a better year than Smith this year, although he certainly didn’t have a richer one.

Spanish star Jon Rahm blasted the restructured point system of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), calling it “laughable” adding he was in favour of awarding world ranking points to LIV Golf tournaments.

The new OWGR system, which came into effect on August 9 this year, has divided opinions among players and fans.

While it is based on a more scientific base, with detailed calculations like the strength of field and shots gained taken into consideration before every tournament, it is skewed heavily towards the PGA Tour.

“I”m going to be as blunt as I can. I think the OWGR right now is laughable,” said Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion.

Rahm was speaking on the eve of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai which is the flagship, season-ending tournament of the DP World Tour.

The top-50 players in the Race to Dubai have qualified for the $10 million tournament, and the field includes world number one Rory McIlroy and six other players in the top-25 of the world rankings.

The tournament on the PGA Tour — The RSM Classic — does not have even one top-25 player in its 156-man field.

And yet, the RSM Classic winner will get 38.38 points, while the champion in Dubai will have to be satisfied with just 21.82 points.

Smaller tours have suffered even more.

In the absence of top-ranked players, and the guaranteed points they had in the earlier system, their points have come down to mere fractions, and players have hardly made any move in the world rankings despite multiple wins.

The world rankings are important because the eligibility criteria of all four majors and the World Golf Championship and invitational events are based on them.

Rahm — who is ranked fifth in the world — did not mince his words when asked about the new OWGR.

“The fact the RSM does not have any of the top-20 in the world and has more points than this event, where we have seven of the top 25, is laughable.”

“I understand what they are trying to do with the depth of field but having the best players in the world automatically makes the tournament better.

“I don”t care what their system says. “I think they have made a mistake.

“You have the 30 best players of the year here. They should not be punished because it”s a smaller field. Depth of field doesn”t mean better tournament.”

Rahm was asked about LIV Golf events, and their belief they should get OWGR points, as they have some of the best players in the world playing their tournaments, which are over 54 holes and have no cuts.

“I think a lot of people are against them having World Ranking points,” said Rahm.

“If your requirement is to have World Ranking points as 72 holes and a cut, maybe you don”t award them 100 percent of the points since they are not fulfilling all of the requirements.

“I also believe it”s probably a couple-year process, so they need to respect that as every other Tour has.

“But yeah, if there”s some requirements and it”s only 54 holes and you don”t have a cut, maybe you award them, let”s say 75 percent of the points a winner should get.”

Rahm will be a huge favorite at the Earth course this week, having won twice and finished tied fourth in his previous three appearances. He is 52-under par, averaging an incredible 4.3-under par for his 12 rounds.

Rory McIlroy: “I think he [Norman] just needs to exit stage left. He’s made his mark but I think now is the right time to sort of say, look, you’ve got this thing off the ground but no one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences”

Rory McIlroy has called on Greg Norman to leave his role at LIV Golf to get an “adult in the room” to help end the “stalemate” in the dispute between golf’s tours.

McIlroy has been a loyal supporter of golf’s established tours in their legal battle with the Saudi-funded breakaway circuit, with the world No 1 believing it may take chief-executive Norman exiting LIV Golf to get any resolution within the sport.

“Nothing will happen if those two things [lawsuits] are still going on,” McIlroy said ahead of the DP World Tour Championship. “You’re limited in what you can do. Then I think from whatever happens with those two things, there’s a few things that I would like to see on the LIV side that needs to happen.

“I think Greg needs to go. I think he just needs to exit stage left. He’s made his mark but I think now is the right time to sort of say, look, you’ve got this thing off the ground but no one is going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that can actually try to mend fences.

“If those two things happen, then things can happen. But right now, it’s a stalemate because there can’t be any other way. Hopefully something can happen, who knows.

“Whether that’s in the hand of a court or a judge or something else happens along the way, no one really knows. But right now it seems like it’s a bit of a stalemate.”

Norman said in an interview earlier that “every PGA Tour player should be thanking LIV” because of the increases in prize money and the Player Impact Program [PIP], signalling out McIlroy and Tiger Woods, although McIlroy rebuffed suggestions that the likes of he and Woods should be grateful of the rival tour.

McIlroy explained: “Am I thankful that it’s provided more opportunities for the top players to earn more? Yes. But ultimately will that make me happier at the end of my career? No.

“I’m very thankful for everyone in golf, and I’ve said this a million times: Tiger is the reason that we are playing for as much as we are playing for.

“Tiger is the reason that the stature of our game is where it is. The generation of Tiger and the generation coming after Tiger have all benefited from him and his achievements and what he’s done for the game of golf.

“I don’t think Tiger should be thankful to anyone for anything. I think everyone else in the game should be thankful.”

LIV Golf announced on Monday that Australia will host an event next April as part of an expanded 2023 schedule, with McIlroy expecting more conversation about the golf next year as opposed to player moves and disputes.

“I don’t think we will have another year like this one because all of the noise has been about who is jumping ship, who is going where, who is staying, who is going,” McIlroy added.

“Very little of the storyline has actually been about the golf. So I think next year, if we can get the storylines to being about the golf and being about the competition that’s happening and what’s happening on the course, that’s a good thing.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson isn’t sure why LIV Golf players are being heavily criticized by some PGA Tour players for taking guaranteed money from the new circuit.

Watson, 43, told ESPN that he received guaranteed appearance money from sponsors and tournament organizers while playing on the PGA Tour, which wasn’t allowed under the Tour’s rules.

“It makes me laugh because on the PGA Tour, I got paid behind closed doors to show up at tournaments, many tournaments,” Watson told ESPN. “And if Bubba Watson’s not the best, that means the best were getting paid better than me and more than me. And so it’s guaranteed money. I miss the cut, I still make money. I make the cut, I make extra money.”

In a statement to ESPN on Wednesday, the PGA Tour said it “prohibits the payment of appearance money to players as an inducement to play in a particular tournament.”

“We are aware that certain tournament sponsors may contract with a player to perform a sponsor-related activity during tournament week for which they receive nominal compensation,” the PGA Tour statement said. “This is permissible under our guidelines.”

Tiger Woods, among other PGA Tour players, have criticized players for accepting guaranteed, multiyear contracts from LIV Golf, which is being funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Former world No. 1 golfer Dustin Johnson reportedly received more than $125 million to defect to the new circuit and then won another $35 million in prize money and bonuses in its inaugural season.

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, who helped recruit players to LIV Golf, reportedly signed a $200 million deal.

“What these players are doing for guaranteed money, what is the incentive to practice?” Woods told reporters at the 150th Open at St. Andrews in July. “What is the incentive to go out there and earn it in the dirt? You’re just getting paid a lot of money upfront and playing a few events and playing 54 holes.”

Watson didn’t specify how much under-the-table money he received during his PGA Tour career, in which he won 12 times, including the Masters in 2012 and 2014.

“I’d laugh at [criticism] because we all had some guaranteed money to show up at places,” Watson said. “Win, lose, quit, whatever it is, you still got the money. We’ve all been doing that. We’ve all been playing for guaranteed money. The critics, it just makes me laugh because that’s what we’re doing. We don’t want to talk about it on tour, but we are getting it.”

Kevin Kisner, a member of the PGA Tour player advisory council, told ESPN that the money players receive at PGA Tour tournaments is different from what LIV Golf is doling out.

“I would not say that it’s an appearance fee as much as a relationship between the player and the title sponsor or the host organization,” Kisner said. “They’re trying to get more money in players’ hands through contracted appearances for tent visits or pro-ams away from the regular PGA Tour. It’s been going on forever.

“If Travelers wants to pay Bubba Watson to go do a tent visit, that has nothing to do with the PGA Tour. You don’t think Zurich in New Orleans is pressuring guys to play because they’re sponsoring them on their sleeves? That’s not an appearance fee. That’s an off-course endorsement that’s under contract. How many players does RBC have?”

LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said he wasn’t allowed to accept appearance fees when he played on the PGA Tour.

“I’ve been away from the PGA Tour for so long,” Norman said. “I have heard those rumors and opinions out there. I can only say that if Bubba is saying that, it’s got to be factual and it wouldn’t surprise me at all. Back in my day, we were not allowed to take appearance money, we were not allowed to get our hotels paid or any expenses paid for. We had to go just play golf and we earned what we earned and we spent what we had to spend to go earn that money. It might be different now.”

Over the weekend, LIV Golf enjoyed its season-ending championship event in Miami, where the Tour’s team-style format was showcased during its inaugural playoffs.

The event took place at the Blue Monster at Trump National and each team had a chance to come away with the victory in this knockout format.

Captains Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and others were looking to guide their team to the championship and the massive $16 million prize; all part of an eye-opening $50 million total purse for the season finale.

However, despite the massive amounts of money that LIV dishes out to its members, players like DeChambeau and Watson are still seeking a payday from their former employers.

Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson continue the feud with PGA Tour.
Bryson DeChambeau, alongside fellow American Bubba Watson, recently spoke out against Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour claiming that they are still owed the second half of their PIP money.

For those who are unaware, PIP stands for ‘Player Impact Program’, where golfers are given additional money for their overall impact on the sport, including their impression on fans. The PGA Tour awards $40 million to its top PIP finishers.

After receiving his first payment back in February, DeChambeau says that he is still owed a whopping $1.75 million from the PGA Tour and after waiting so long for the next installment, Bryson has gone on record claiming that he is fed up with the behavior of his old Tour.

“It’s not about the money; it’s about the principle. It’s the way you deal with situations.” – Bryson DeChambeau

Furthermore, he claims the PGA Tour prevented him from fulfilling the second part of the requirement to receive the payment, his participation in a charity event.

“They said because you’re not in good standing, we’re not allowing you to do something to help out junior golf and junior golfers. To me, that’s childish. It just shows where they stand emotionally. I respect and understand it, but when you’ve completed something and provided entertainment for them last year, that’s the reason I’m in the lawsuit.”

Meanwhile, Bubba Watson, who finished 10th in the PIP standings, says that he is still owed an additional $3 million. However, at least so far, he hasn’t received payment either.

“I have not received all of my money for something that I won two years ago. They canceled on me a few times. I was supposed to do some things. They canceled the event, supposed to do another thing, they canceled the event. I guess if you look at it on paper, yes, I didn’t fulfill my duty, but I tried to.”

The PGA Tour has yet to comment on the matter, but it’s obvious that they are playing hardball with their former stars since their defection to LIV Golf.

Others who finished in the PIP top 10 included Phil Mickelson ($6 million), Dustin Johnson ($3 million), and Brooks Koepka ($3 million). It remains to be seen if they all have received their full amount yet or not. Tiger Woods was the eventual top finisher on this list and he took home a cool $8 million.

So the question now is whether or not the PGA Tour can legally withhold payments to Bryson, Bubba, and whomever else.

It seems as though there are so many disputes and lawsuits between the rival tours that this PIP payment issue may not be resolved anytime soon. Both sides have been dragging their feet for months, so if I were DeChambeau and Watson, I wouldn’t be expecting a check anytime soon.

In the meantime, both players will have to settle for the large amounts of money that LIV continually dishes out to them.

The madness of modern‑day golf can be summed up by Cameron Smith. In 2022, the Australian has claimed the Players Championship and a Claret Jug. His competitive year closed on the outskirts of Miami, where his Punch side were edged out of LIV Golf’s team championship by 4Aces. A golf world shrugged shoulders.

The victors were showered in champagne on the final green, representing a dubious irony. They should try that trick in Saudi Arabia, from where the money supporting LIV’s disruption plan has emanated. Smith scored a 64 to prevail at St Andrews in July. David Feherty, one of LIV’s appointed shills, screamed that a 65 here had to be among the finest rounds of the Australian’s life.

For the 4Aces, $4m (£3.45m) each. A total of $34m was distributed on day three at Doral. Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Pat Perez took the largest share of that. Smith and co must settle for $2m per person.

On a day where aggregates counted, Smith’s seven under par was offset by Marc Leishman’s 74, a 70 from Matt Jones and Wade Ormsby’s 73. Johnson and his three chums all shot under par. Johnson has pocketed $35.6m from on-course LIV pursuits in 2022. “The whole season just got better and better,” Johnson said. Too right it did. The YouTube viewing audience hovered around 60,000 as players jostled on the closing stretch.

LIV may regard this as a success for a startup business but the underlying sense is that a free-to-air product – it is also available via their own website – has not captured the imagination of the sporting public. Highlights of the All Blacks against Japan in Tokyo on Saturday yielded 585,000 hits on YouTube alone.

Not that the scene was entirely worthy of ridicule. Not quite. The galleries at Doral – especially in respect of following Smith and Johnson – would be more than acceptable for any mainstream tour event. The level of golf itself was impressive. It just felt as if nobody looking on really contemplated or cared about the bigger picture that LIV has tried so hard to push.

Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary, patrolled the scene. So, too, did leading members of Saudi’s public investment fund. A bomb scare halted play for 15 minutes at the 14th, during which time security services had to complete a sweep of the hole. Outside the gates of Doral, a lone protestor held aloft a banner which read: “Trump’s lies and LIV golfer greed allows Saudi Govt to sportswash crime.”

Those inside the compound – including agents, who have benefited more than most from this scheme – look the other way but the ease with which the kingdom has breezed into the upper echelons of this sport remains concerning.

Phil Mickelson was an onlooker, his Hy Flyers having endured earlier elimination. He took to the broadcasting booth, where he reflected on an “awesome” introduction to LIV Golf. “So much fun,” the six-time major champion said.

Mickelson’s situation remains the most preposterous of all, given his infamous comments relating to the “scary motherfuckers” he is now being paid by. Mickelson has lost sponsorship and even had to skip events celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Open. And yet, we are all expected to believe life is a bed of roses.

The Stingers quartet of Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Hennie du Plessis and Louis Oosthuizen exited Doral with $1m per person. Which is hardly bad for a combined 10 over par. Grace shot 80.

As this was unfolding, Jordan Smith was signing for a 63 to win the DP World Tour’s Portugal Masters at an eye-catching total of 30 under par. Players in that domain will spend the coming weeks scratching to save or earn tour cards. The dollar signs will suggest otherwise but somehow this still feels more significant. LIV has reached the end of year one – an achievement in itself – but with questions swirling about the competitive value of what they have created.

Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson says the breakaway Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series is a “force in the game that is not going away” after world number one Rory McIlroy expressed fear of an “irreparable” split.

The LIV season concludes at the Trump National club at Doral, near Miami, this weekend with a team championship featuring an eye-watering $50 million purse.

The animosity LIV’s breakaway has caused has left McIlroy worried for the game, but at the media launch for the event, Mickelson said LIV Golf had already defied expectations and was here to stay.

“If I’m just looking at LIV Golf and where we are today to where we were six, seven months ago and people are saying this is dead in the water, and we’re past that, and here we are today, a force in the game that’s not going away,” he said.

Sitting on a platform with British Open winner Cameron Smith, former Masters winner Bubba Watson and English Ryder Cup favourite Ian Poulter, Mickelson said the quality of talent in the LIV series was “moving professional golf throughout the world and (creating an) excitement level in the countries around the world.”

“It’s pretty remarkable how far LIV Golf has come in the last six, seven months. I don’t think anybody can disagree with that,” the American said.

Mickelson declined to respond directly to McIlroy’s comments, saying there would be time after the final LIV event of their debut season to discuss broader issues.

The American was quick to praise McIlroy for his recent success in winning the PGA Tour’s CJ Cup and returning to the world number one ranking spot but said he didn’t want to distract from LIV’s finale.

McIlroy had told the British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday that the polarisation of the sport into two rival camps was damaging.

“This ‘us versus them’ thing has gotten way out of control already,” said the Northern Irishman.

The conflict has gone beyond statements from players and is now in the legal sphere with several lawsuits already begun.

“If the two entities keep doubling down in both directions, it’s only going to become irreparable. We are going to have a fractured sport for a long time. That is no good for anyone,” said McIlroy.

But while the 33-year-old talked of the danger of polarisation in the sport, he also took aim again at former teammates from the Europe Ryder Cup side who had signed up for LIV.

“It’s a weird thing. I think it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal, in a way,” he said. “It’s an unfamiliar feeling to me. You build bonds with these people through Ryder Cups and other things. Them knowing that what they are about to do is going to jeopardise them from being a part of that ever again?”

One of those teammates, Poulter, objected to the terminology used by McIlroy. “A betrayal? We can still qualify for the team as far as I’m aware. Unless we’ve been told we can’t qualify, then I’m still ready to play as much as I possibly can and try and make that team,” he said.

While the US PGA Tour swiftly suspended its defectors effectively ruling them out of competing in the biennial team competition, the situation is less clear with the European team given the DP World Tour has yet to deliver sanctions.

Poulter said his desire to compete for Europe was beyond doubt. “My commitment to the Ryder Cup I think goes before me,” he said. “I don’t think that should ever come in question. I’ve always wanted to play Ryder Cups and have played with as much passion as anyone else that I’ve ever seen play a Ryder Cup.

“You know, I don’t know where that comment really has come from, to be honest.”

A judge ruled Tuesday that the PGA Tour must provide more information about a previously released list of entities contacted regarding LIV Golf.

In a legal victory for LIV Golf, the PGA Tour must release more information about who its representatives have spoken to regarding the Saudi-backed league.

A written order issued Tuesday by United States Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen, U.S. District Court Northern District of California, granted LIV Golf a favorable ruling on what they should receive regarding Interrogatory No. 1, a question posed by LIV Golf to the PGA Tour in discovery.

Interrogatory No. 1 asked the Tour to identify everyone who communicated on behalf of the PGA Tour with any other person (including Tour members) or entity regarding any new tour.

The Tour had been unwilling to fully comply with the request, citing that LIV continues to ask for additional information that is not only beyond the scope of the court’s discovery rulings, but also beyond what is generally required for an interrogatory response.

The Tour had released a list of 179 different golf entities with whom they had discussions with, including golf governing bodies, tours, broadcasters, sponsors, vendors, agents and 71 players.

The list of players included a number of top players on the PGA Tour and many who have left to join LIV Golf, plus Hall of Famers Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods. Also on the list was former Tour winner Anthony Kim, who mysteriously walked away from golf a decade ago and has not played competitively since.

In a 48-minute hearing on Monday afternoon in her San Jose, California, courtroom, Judge van Keulen clearly disagreed with the Tour and found for LIV Golf, forcing the Tour to comply with LIV Golf’s wishes.

In her ruling on Tuesday, Judge van Keulen allowed LIV Golf to serve additional interrogatories asking that for each authorized person identified in the Tour’s response previously to Interrogatory No. 1, the Tour identify each entity and person with whom the authorized person had verbal communications on any of the agreed-upon subjects and the years of such communications. Verbal communications between authorized persons and players must be included in the Tour’s response.

Put simply, the Tour must name all the people that all of its representatives spoke to within an entity, not just the entity itself, such as other tours, sponsors and broadcasters.

In previous court documents, the Tour listed 31 authorized persons that could speak on its behalf.

Judge van Keulen also expanded the discovery by granting LIV Golf an additional interrogatory that asks the Tour to identify any director with whom an authorized person had verbal communications with the agreed-upon subjects.

The Tour had suggested in previous court documents that the Tour’s independent directors do not constitute statements on behalf of the Tour, even if authorized persons of the Tour have had communications with those individuals.

The court clearly found that argument wanting.

The Tour has until Nov. 15 to comply with additional interrogatories requested and in cases where written communications are identified, they must be made available by that date as well.

Brian Gay, the 2020 Butterfield Bermuda Championship winner, will again tee off at Port Royal Golf Course this week as he attempts to become the first multiple winner of one of the island’s signature sporting events.

But as one former victor gets in some course time, last year’s champion Lucas Herbert is taking time away from the action with a family wedding preventing him from defending his crown, which he captured in stunning fashion after coming from four shots back during the final round to land his first PGA tour title.

Also among those not returning this year is Taylor Pendrith, who fired a course record ten-under 61 during the second round in 2021.

The Canadian seemed on course for a maiden PGA win having taken a three-shot advantage over the field into the final round but has withdrawn at the eleventh hour this time around for undisclosed reasons.

Despite those notable absences, a formidable field has taken shape year event, with former world number one and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and major champions John Daly and Lucas Glover among those set for action on Thursday.

But they are not the only big names ready to showcase their talents with a host of multiple tour winners in action.

Australian Aaron Baddeley is a four-time winner on the PGA tour with his last victory coming in the 2016 Barbasol Championship. Winner of more than $21 million in prize-money during his two decades as a professional, he finished 36th in his last tournament.

JJ Henry competed for the United States in the 2006 Ryder Cup, halving all three of his matches as his team suffered a 18.5-9.5 defeat at the hands of Europe. He has gone more than seven years without a tour success and missed the cut in five of his nine tour events last season.

Charley Hoffman and Colombian Camilo Villegas both have four wins on the PGA tour to their credit but both are trailing Nick Watney, whose five wins include the 2009 Buick Invitational and the 2011 Cadillac Championship

Newly crowned Butterfield Bermuda APGA champion Willie Mack III will be looking for more success as he steps up a level when he makes his second appearance at Port Royal this month, while Bermuda’s hopes this year are carried by Michael Sims, Nick Jones, Jarryd Dillas and Kim Swan.

Sims, Jones and Dillas secured the three qualifying spots available at the Local Qualifier, while former European Tour player Swan received a sponsor’s exemption.

No local player has made the cut since the tournament’s inception in 2019.

Bermuda’s Camiko Smith joined an exclusive group last year after blazing a bogey-free, six-under 29 on the back nine during the second round to become only the third player to achieve that feat after Americans Scottie Scheffler (2019) and Doc Redman (2020).

The Butterfield Bermuda Championship is again a standalone event with the field competing for a share of $6.5 million in prize money and FedEx Cup points on offer.

Meanwhile, limited general admission tickets remain available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the public having been urged to purchase them at the earliest opportunity. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased on the tournament website with Digicel Business Ocean Club tickets are $250 and can also be purchased online

The Butterfield Bermuda Championship has implemented the PGA TOUR’s Junior Initiative this year which see youngsters 15 and under admitted free to the tournament with a ticketed adult.

However, this does not apply to hospitality spaces, and all spectators over the age of two entering hospitality venues must hold a pre-purchased ticket.