A new era on the links
ZWF #29: Sunday, August 28, 2022
It has been a wild year for the sport of golf. For years, the PGA Tour went unmatched as the ultimate destination for the world’s top golfers. That changed with the introduction of LIV Golf, but the PGA seems determined to answer back in a big way.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a look at the changes professional golf is undergoing, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this week. Plus, a compilation of the top news and sports headlines from the past week.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 73 features the return of the facts and a recap of the biggest stories from the past month. Zander breaks down the facts on the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago, Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, and the latest from the Premier League, including the rise of Leeds United States. Go listen to and download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Zander’s Weekend Facts is here to give you the facts about what has been going on in the world around us this past week. You’ll just have to read these facts, instead of listening to them on the Zander’s Facts podcast.
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, August 28, 2022:
Professional golf is getting a makeover
2022 will be remembered as a major year in the history of professional golf. Throughout its tenure, the PGA Tour has been the crown jewel of golf tours worldwide for the greatest golfers to grace the planet. The notion has long been that if you were among the best, you would join the PGA Tour.
While being talked about and planned for years, LIV Golf launched earlier this year. Along the way, LIV was able to grab some of the sport’s top names with the promise of no-cut tournaments and much-larger paychecks. Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson were those who dropped the PGA Tour to join LIV.
LIV, being led by former PGA Tour golfer Greg Norman, is funded by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. Naturally, the tour has received heavy scrutiny for being funded by the Saudis. Many PGA golfers, including most notably Tiger Woods, have rejected LIV’s overtures partly due to this conflict. Adding on to the controversy, LIV held a tournament last month at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminister, New Jersey, just miles from the site of the Twin Towers.
So far, even with the addition of big names, LIV hasn’t appeared to have gained much of a footing in the United States. The poor coverage of the tournaments, only available on YouTube, hasn’t helped matters for the upstart league.
However, the PGA Tour has taken notice of the league and appears set to switch things up. Long seen as a tired, boring, slog-fest on television and in real life, the PGA is looking to attract new golfers, viewers, and set itself up for the future.
This week, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced a new structure for payouts and how often the top players will play.
Included in the changes is the creation of a list of the top 20 players on the tour, who will receive $100 million per year. Previously, those in the top 10 of the Player Impact Program only made $50 million. Additionally, 12 events will have their purses raised by at least $20 million and will have the top 20 players play in those events, while top PGA players will now play in at least 20 events per year. Also, Tour members who aren’t fully exempt and won’t make $500,000 will receive a $5,000 stipend for each tournament they play at and miss the cut, with travel and other expenses being subsidized.
Those changes probably just sound like the rich getting richer, which is what’s happening and is what is going to keep the top golfers on the PGA Tour, but the lower-end stipend is also going to help those at the bottom of the tour who could just be starting out with little resources.
However, those don’t even include what is likely the most exciting change.
You’ve heard of Monday Night Football, well how about Monday night golf?
Most golf tournaments usually last from Thursdays through Sundays, so we don’t often get to witness pro golf on a Monday. But this isn’t just any golf, it’s virtual.
It was announced on Wednesday that a new business venture, TMRW Sports, was being founded to create a new technology-focused golf league. The league, which is running in partnership with the PGA Tour, is starting with the backing of two of the biggest names in the sport, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. McIlroy has been a major advocate of the PGA in the LIV era, and Woods rejected a reported near-billion dollar offer to join the Saudi-funded league.
Beginning in 2024, the TMRW Golf League (TGL) will host 15 regular-season matches on 18-hole virtual courses during a two-hour window on Monday nights. With McIlroy and Woods on board, 16 spots in the league are left to be filled. The league will work as a supplement to the PGA Tour and serve as a way to introduce new viewers to the sport.
The idea is definitely intriguing, and at only two hours long will definitely take away from a major golf critique. Of course, execution will be key.
LIV’s introduction into the public realm has faced near-universal criticism, and for good reason. But one good thing they’ve done is force the PGA Tour to implement new ways to modernize the game. These changes may not just power the PGA to survive LIV, but also help the Tour survive into the next generation of golfers.
For more information on the PGA Tour’s latest changes and its interactions with LIV Golf, read the following articles:
ESPN - What we know and don't know about the PGA Tour's upcoming changes
CBS Sports - Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy to launch tech-based golf league in 2024 as complement to PGA Tour schedule
Sports Illustrated - LIV Golf Added to Antitrust Suit Against PGA Tour; Two More Players Drop Out
What Zander’s been reading this week
What else would Zander be reading this week except for the recently revealed affidavit used in the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago. The affidavit that was used by the FBI in order to get approval for their search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was recently released to the public in a heavily-redacted form. Large portions of the document are redacted, but included in the public section was the discovery that 184 classified documents were obtained from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year, among other interesting items.
Read this week’s featured piece in PBS Newshour - Read the full redacted affidavit the FBI used as a basis for Mar-a-Lago search
Rapid-fire Facts
Here are the top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
President Biden announced that $10,000 in student loan debt would be canceled for individuals making less than $125,000 per year. The plan also includes an additional cancellation of $10,000 for Pell grant recipients. The executive order requires no authorization from Congress, which may bring the plan into legal scrutiny. Critics of the plan have also argued that it could exacerbate inflation and is a bailout for wealthier individuals. Americans currently owe around $1.6 trillion in student loans, more than any other consumer debt except for mortgages.
A federal judge released the affidavit in the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search this week. The affidavit was used by the FBI to obtain a warrant in order to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Nearly half of the 32-page document was marked out in black, with information being redacted from the version released publicly. The Justice Department opposed the release of the affidavit, saying it could harm the ongoing investigation, while its release was pushed for publicly by media organizations.
California has announced a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. The proposal is the latest effort by the state to fight climate change, arguing that it would cut pollution from cars and light trucks in half by 2040. California is given a special waiver under the Clean Air Act to impose stricter tailgate emission standards than federal standards, although other states can follow California’s standards. Several states, including New York and Oregon, have announced their intentions to follow the move while other states, including Virginia, have laws that require following California’s emission standards. The proposal would only ban the sale of new vehicles that only run on gasoline, with used vehicles still being able to be sold and all gasoline-powered vehicles still able to operate on California roadways.
The Uvalde, Texas school board has fired police chief Pete Arredondo after he was blamed for a disastrous response to the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in May that left 21 dead. Arredondo did not attend the school board meeting on Wednesday where he was fired but called the vote an “illegal and unconstitutional public lynching” in a statement.
Moderna has announced that it is filing a lawsuit against Pfizer for patent infringement during the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna alleges that Pfizer and partner company BioNTech used mRNA technologies that had been developed by Moderna to develop its version of the vaccine. The lawsuit is not seeking to remove the Pfizer vaccine from the market and is a reversal from a Moderna statement in October 2020 in which it pledged not to enforce its COVID-19 related patents.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top athletic headlines from the past week in the Sporting Club:
The Buffalo Bills have released punter Matt Araiza after he was accused in a lawsuit of gang-raping a teenager last year. Earlier this week, a lawsuit had been filed claiming Araiza and two of his teammates at San Diego State had raped a then-17-year-old girl at Araiza’s off-campus home. Araiza became a college football sensation last year known for his long punts, winning the Ray Guy Award for best college punter. The Bills cutting ties with Araiza marks a reversal from just a couple of days ago, when the team appeared to back him, even releasing a punter last week knowing Araiza was under police investigation.
The College Football season is officially underway! Yesterday, several teams kicked off their seasons in Week 0, including Nebraska and Northwestern playing in Ireland. This upcoming weekend will be the first full weekend of the new college football season. Among the notable matchups are West Virginia at #17 Pittsburgh on Thursday at 7:00 pm et on ESPN, #11 Oregon vs. #3 Georgia on Saturday at 3:30 pm et on ABC, and #5 Notre Dame at #2 Ohio State on Saturday at 7:30 pm et on ABC. This week’s upcoming episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast will include a full college football season preview. Don’t miss all the CFB facts on Wednesday’s episode of the podcast!
Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has agreed to remain with the team after requesting a trade earlier this offseason. Earlier this summer, Durant had repeatedly requested a trade or wanted the general manager, Sean Marks, and head coach, Steve Nash, of the Nets to be fired. After another meeting between Durant and top Nets executives, Durant, Marks, and Nash will all remain with the Nets going forward. Durant signed a four-year, $198 million contract extension with the Nets last season that goes into effect beginning this year.
Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren will not play in the upcoming 2022-2023 NBA sn. While participating in a pro-am game in Seattle, Holmgren injured his foot while guarding LeBron James. Holmgren suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, restricting him from playing in his rookie season. Holmgren spent last season with Gonzaga in college before being drafted by the Thunder with the second pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Regional sports network NBC Sports Washington is being sold to Ted Leonsis and Monumental Sports & Entertainment.SW is one of seven regional sports networks owned by NBC parent company Comcast but is the only network being sold. The network has held the local rights to Washington Capitals and Wizards games since its launch in 1984. The network is being sold to Leonsis, who owns both organizations. Leonsis’ name has also been mentioned in the ongoing sale of the Washington Nationals.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to Episode 73, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts. Check out Zander’s Facts’ Linktree page for more on anything Zander’s Facts related: Zander's Facts on Linktree
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment. That includes the Episode 74 of the podcast, the first part of Zander’s annual football season preview, which comes out this Wednesday!
Remember to check out the next edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts next Sunday! If you haven’t already, make sure to sign up with the link below to get Zander’s Weekend Facts in your email inbox every Sunday so you don’t miss anything!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, September 4, 2022.