More Weekly Read: Keith Pelley and global golf | Jack turns 84
It is no secret that in the wake of LIV Golf’s signing of Jon Rahm, the league was looking for other players to fill out his team. Among those who reportedly were approached at various times were Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau and Wyndham Clark.
Last week in Dubai, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton—long rumored to be in discussions at times—admitted they were also approached. The Englishmen told reporters they were committed to remaining on the DP World Tour. Both also are members of the PGA Tour.
"I think it comes at a time of year where there are always rumors flying around," Fleetwood said. "It’s nothing, really. There’s nothing going on. I’ve been playing here for the last two years and I’m still playing here now. I’m pretty boring news-wise, so that’s just what it is."
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Fleetwood, a seven-time winner on the DP World Tour who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, acknowledged this representatives had talks: “But I think people have been getting approached for a long, long time. So I don’t think it’s flash news that people are still getting approached by LIV. Some people will go and some people won’t. And then at some point we’ll either all player together or we won’t. Like everybody else, I’ll wait to find out."
Hatton’s response was similar: “There’s a lot of people who have and I don’t think there is anything to shy away from." Asked if he is staying, Hatton said: "As of right now, yeah."
Fleetwood said he was not approached about being a member of Rahm’s team. And both players are believed to have turned down offers mostly out of concern for missing major championships. Neither player has won a major, and with LIV’s uncertain ability to get Official World Golf Ranking points, that remains a roadblock.
> A few things to consider about Nick Dunlap and where he might play depending on if he remains an amateur or not. The winner of Sunday’s American Express tournament is just 20 and a sophomore at Alabama, becoming the first player since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on the PGA Tour as an amateur.
His U.S. Amateur victory last year gets him in the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open—provided he remains an amateur. But as the winner of a PGA Tour event, he’s in the Masters regardless. He’d lose his exemption to the U.S. Open and Open if he turns pro, but he could still qualify via the Official World Golf Ranking for both. His victory moves him to 68th in the world. That ranking would all but certainly get him in the PGA Championship as well, but he has to turn pro for that. He’s also eligible for the remaining seven signature events on the PGA Tour if he turns pro. The U.S. Open takes the top 60 at two different periods prior to the tournament. The Open takes the top 50 eight weeks out, in May.
> The World Champions Cup is returning this year. If you don’t know what the World Champions Cup is, it was easy to miss. Played the same week as the Grant Thornton Invitational in December, the event was a senior version of the Ryder Cup but with three teams: United States, Europe and International. Jim Furyk, Darren Clarke and Ernie Els will be back later this year in the same roles at The Concession in Bradenton, Fla. Team USA won the inaugural event last month.
> LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann, who won the Australian Open late last year and became a member of the DP World Tour, tied for fourth at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which will move him to 62nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’d have moved into the top 50 with a win in an effort to qualify for the Masters. But the problem now for Niemann will be finding ranking events to play. Once he plays the LIV event in two weeks, he is likely to be fined by the DP World Tour and could face a one-tournament ban, although penalties are different based on circumstances. ... The Masters field is now at 80 after Mexico’s Santiago de la Fuente won the Latin American Amateur Championship, shooting a final-round 64 to defeat countryman Omar Morales to win by two strokes. ... Jack Burke Jr. died Friday, 10 days short of his 101st birthday. He was the oldest living Masters champion and shared a locker in the Augusta National Champions Locker Room with Tiger Woods. Burke won the Masters and the PGA Championship in 1956 and was twice a U.S. Ryder cup captain. ... This week’s Farmers Insurance Open begins Wednesday and concludes on Saturday. ... The first round of the Masters is 80 days away.
