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How We Got Here: A Timeline of LIV Golf and How the PGA Tour Eventually Embraced Its Rival

• Author: Bob Harig

How did professional golf's split come to life? Here's a timeline compiled by Bob Harig, from the initial reports of a rival league in January 2020 until now. We'll update this file as more news continues to develop.

2020: The rival circuit idea takes hold

January: Reports first surface about the potential for a rival golf league that has been meeting with players and agents behind the scenes and touting an 18-event circuit with just 48 players, 12 teams and guaranteed pay. Initial ideas saw $10 million purses with no cuts and a windfall for 12 team captains. The concept was called the Premier Golf League .

Jan. 29: Phil Mickelson plays in the pro-am for the Saudi International, an event that is sanctioned by the European Tour. In his group is Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of the Saudi Golf Federation; Andy Gardiner, a director at Barclays Capital and a founder of the PGL; and Colin Neville of the Raine Group, also a backer of the PGL, which had Saudi Arabia backing as well through the Public Investment Fund.

Jan. 30:  Greg Norman, who once tried to spearhead a rival league with the backing of Fox Sports, sees viability in the PGL a day after the pro-am in Saudi Arabia. “It’s just a matter of getting all the right components together, whether players stay together," says Norman, whose World Golf League in 1993-94 was thwarted by the PGA Tour. “With my original concept, some players loved it, and others didn’t like it. I had corporate, I had television but you need 100% of the pie to be together before we can bake it. From what I’m seeing here, this one has every chance of getting off the ground."

Greg Norman tried to spearhead a rival league decades ago and is a central figure in one now. 

Paul Childs/USA TODAY Sports

Feb. 11:  Speaking at the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods says he’s been approached about the PGL . “My team’s been aware of it and we’ve delved into the details of it and trying to figure it out just like everyone else. We’ve been down this road before with World Golf Championships and other events being started. There’s a lot of information that we’re still looking at and whether it’s reality or not, but just like everybody else, we’re looking into it."

Asked why he might even be interested, Woods said: “I think just like all events, you’re trying to get the top players to play more collectively. It’s one of the reasons why we instituted the World Golf Championships, because we were only getting (the top players) together five times a year, the four majors and the Players, and we wanted to showcase the top players on more than just those occasions. So this is a natural evolution, whether or not things like this are going to happen, but ideas like this are going to happen going forward, whether it’s now or any other time in the future."

Feb. 18: A week later at the WGC-Mexico Championship, Rory McIlroy seemingly deals the PGL a serious blow: “The more I’ve thought about it, the more I don’t like it. The one thing as a professional golfer in my position that I value is the fact that I have autonomy and freedom over everything I do. I pick and choose—this is a perfect example. Some guys this week made the choice not to come to Mexico. If you go and play this other golf league, you’re not going to have that choice.

"I read a thing the other day where it said if you take the money they can tell you want to do. And I think that’s my thing, I’ve never been one for being told what to do, and I like to have that autonomy and freedom over my career, and I feel like I would give that up by going to play this other league. For me, I’m out. My position is I’m against it until there may come a day that I can’t be against it. If everyone else goes, I might not have a choice, but at this point, I don’t like what they’re proposing."

Spring/Summer:  Talk of the rival golf circuit dies down considerably amid the global Coronavirus pandemic. Talk shifts to when golf will resume and how it will take place amid a health crisis. The PGL idea goes into the background.

Fall:  The PGL approaches the European Tour, now the DP World Tour, with a proposal to merge or cooperate. CEO Keith Pelley turns down the PGL and instead forms a "strategic alliance" with the PGA Tour that will see some crossover events, the Tour take an ownership stake in European Tour productions, and effectively—at the time—hold off the outside threat.

2021: LIV Golf is born

May 4:  A report surfaces that a new Super Golf League has emerged and that it is either the new name for the PGL or something different. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson are among those linked to it. Sometime during the spring and summer of 2021, the PGL sees some of its personnel switch allegiances to a new entity that will have full Saudi backing and will come to be known as LIV Golf.

Oct. 27:  At a private unveiling in New York, LIV Golf Investments is announced with Greg Norman as its CEO, with the idea of first helping to back golf in Asia with the $300 million investment in the Asian Tour, which will be used to finance a new elevated series of events called the International Series. It is eventually disclosed that Norman will also be the commissioner of a new tour called the LIV Golf League, with plans to launch in the spring of 2022.

Nov. 21:  PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sends a memo to players outlining how 55% of the Tour’s revenue will be paid out to players in the form of prize money, bonuses and other benefits—believed to be in response to Phil Mickelson saying on a podcast that only 26% of revenue was going to the players.

Early 2022: Phil Mickelson speaks, LIV prepares

Feb. 2:  While playing in the Saudi International for the third straight year, Phil Mickelson does an interview with Golf Digest in which he refers to the PGA Tour’s "obnoxious greed" as a reason why players might be interested in LIV Golf. He also maintains that the Tour is sitting on millions of dollars that should be going to the players. "It’s not public knowledge, all that goes on," Mickelson said. “But the players don’t have access to their own media. If the Tour wanted to end any threat, they could just hand back the media rights to the players. But they would rather throw $25 million here and $40 million there than give back the roughly $20 billion in digital assets they control. Or give up access to the $50-plus million they make every year on their own media channel."

Phil Mickelson set golf ablaze with comments early in 2022 accusing the PGA Tour of "obnoxious greed," then after a hiatus emerged as one of LIV Golf's headliners.

Feb. 17:  Even Tiger Woods and the Genesis Invitational—where he is not playing—take a back seat to the drama that unfolds when Alan Shipnuck releases an excerpt from his soon-to-released biography of Phil Mickelson in which the golfer, among other things, says he is willing to use the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League as leverage against the PGA Tour and that he and other players paid attorneys to help LIV Golf develop its business plan.

Feb. 20:  With Phil Mickelson’s comments the talk of the tournament, players such as Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau come out in support of the PGA Tour , viewed as a blow to LIV Golf. It is later learned that Mickelson’s comments and the subsequent back-tracking of several players who were interested in LIV set back the league’s plans and sent it into disarray.

Feb. 22:  In the wake of his comments, Phil Mickelson offers an apology and says he will step away from the game for a period of time and offers to pause relationships with sponsors. “I have always known that criticism would come with exploring anything new. I still chose to put myself at the forefront of this to inspire change, taking the hits publicly to do the work behind the scenes.”

Mickelson said that he offered the brands with which he was associated “the option to pause or end the relationship as I understand it might be necessary given the current circumstances.” KPMG and Amstel Light end their relationships with Mickelson, and a few days later, Callaway announces that it is pausing a relationship that dates to 2004.

March 8:  With Phil Mickelson missing—and, later it was learned, suspended—PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan addressed the media at the Players Championship. A typical state-of-the tour-type news conference turned into questions about Mickelson and LIV Golf . "The PGA Tour is moving on," he said. "We have too much momentum and too much to accomplish to be consistently distracted by rumors of other golf leagues and their attempts to disrupt our players, our partners, and most importantly our fans from enjoying the Tour and the game we all love so much.

"I am grateful for the strong support our top players have shown recently and publicly, and I’m extremely proud that we’ve turned the conversation around to focus on what we do best: delivering world-class golf tournaments with the best players to the best fans, all while positively impacting the communities in which we play. We are and we always will be focused on legacy not leverage."

March 16:  Despite numerous setbacks, LIV Golf announces an eight-tournament schedule to begin in June. It won’t be the LIV Golf League, as planned, but the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Purses will be $20 million for the individual portion with $5 million more set aside for the teams. At the time, LIV Golf was unsure if it would be able to fill a 48-player field so it announced that the entire purse would be paid out regardless of the number of players who started. Total prize money for the eight events was set at $255 million, with $50 million set aside for a season-ending Team Championship.

May 10:  PGA Tour players and Korn Ferry Tour players interested in competing in the first LIV Golf event outside of London in June need to seek conflicting event and/or media releases but are denied. The Tour tells players it is not an authorized event. Greg Norman, the LIV Golf commissioner, pushes back. "Sadly, the PGA Tour seems intent on denying professional golfers their right to play golf, unless it’s exclusively in a PGA Tour tournament. This is particularly disappointing in light of the Tour’s non-profit status, where its mission is purportedly to promote the common interests of professional tournament golfers.

"Instead, the Tour is intent on perpetuating its illegal monopoly of what should be a free and open market. The Tour’s action is anti-golfer, anti-fan, and anti-competitive. But no matter what obstacles the PGA Tour puts in our way, we will not be stopped. We will continue to give players options that promote the great game of golf globally.”

Mid 2022: LIV Golf—with big names—tees off

May 31:  Dustin Johnson, a two-time major winner who has 24 PGA Tour titles, headlines the field announced for the first LIV Golf event to be played at The Centurion Club outside of London. Others listed are past major winners Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen, as well as Kevin Na, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

June 6:   Phil Mickelson ends a four-month hiatus in which he missed the Masters and defense of his PGA Championship title, emerging as LIV Golf’s latest signee who is set to compete later in the week at the first tournament. At a news conference prior to the tournament, Mickelson is asked several times about his past comments regarding Saudi Arabia, its human rights record and the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, believed by U.S. government officials to have been carried out by the Saudi regime.

“Well, certainly, I've made, said and done a lot of things that I regret, and I'm sorry for that and for the hurt that it's caused a lot of people. I don't—I don't condone human rights violations at all. Nobody here does, throughout the world. I'm certainly aware of what has happened with Jamal Khashoggi, and I think it's terrible. I've also seen the good that the game of golf has done throughout history, and I believe that LIV Golf is going to do a lot of good for the game as well. And I'm excited about this opportunity. That's why I'm here."

June 9:  Within minutes of the first tee shots being struck at the first LIV Golf event, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan issues a memo in which players who are participating are told they are being suspended .

Charl Schwartzel owns a unique piece of golf history: winner of the first LIV Golf event.

June 11:  Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, wins the first LIV event, holding on for his first victory anywhere in nearly six years. The win was worth $4 million from the $20 million purse and because Schwartzel’s team, Stinger GC, won the team competition, he pocketed another $750,000 from the $3 million paid to the winners.

June 21:  Following other players who committed to play for LIV during or after the first LIV event, then-four-time major champion Brooks Koepka is announced as the latest addition . He joins the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Pat Perez, Patrick Reed and Abraham Ancer as those who were now set to play in LIV’s second event.

June 22: During a news conference at the Travelers Championship, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan outlines a plan that will see the PGA Tour return to a calendar-year schedule in 2024 while also increasing the purses substantially at eight events, including the legacy events for Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus . The FedEx Cup season is also changed to see smaller fields at the first two playoff events.

Aug. 2:  Eleven LIV golfers sue the PGA Tour to challenge suspensions and claim a restraint of trade. Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau are among those named in the suit. Three other players—Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones—seek a temporary restraining order so they can play in the FedEx Cup playoffs. (The restraining order is denied on the eve of the FedEx Cup playoffs.)

Aug. 16: Tiger Woods flies to Delaware and heads a players-only meeting at the BMW Championship along with Rory McIlroy where details are hashed out that will lead to substantial purse increases and benefits for players. It would later commonly be referred to as "the Delaware Meeting."

Aug. 24: On the back of the Delaware meeting, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announces a hastily-devised plan that will see eight tournaments in 2023 with boosted purses. First called designated events, these tournaments would have $20 million purses except for the Sentry, which will be $15 million. For several of the events, the result means more than doubling the purse. For the legacy events, it means adding $8 million per event. And the first two playoff events will also have $20 million purses.

Aug. 30: Just more than a month after his victory at St. Andrews, British Open champion Cam Smith becomes the latest player to join LIV Golf , doing so in time for its event in Boston. Smith is joined by Joaquin Niemann, who attended the Delaware meeting, along with Marc Leishman, Harold Varner III, Anirban Lahiri and Cameron Tringale. At the time, it gave LIV Golf six of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking.

One month after winning the 150th British Open, Cam Smith left for LIV Golf.

Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports

Oct 5: LIV Golf announces a strategic alliance with the MENA Tour, a developmental tour that has had Official World Golf Ranking accreditation since 2016. LIV Golf incorporates its events into the MENA Tour schedule and says it believes it should be granted OWGR immediately due to the association. The move is scoffed at as an end-around to try and obtain points and the OWGR does not grant points to LIV Golf.

Oct. 29: Martin Slumbers, the CEO of the R&A, makes it clear that the British Open is not going to ban LIV golfers who are otherwise eligible for the 2023 championship. "We are not going to abandon 150 years of history have the Open not be open," Slumbers said.

Oct. 30: LIV Golf completes its first season with Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces team winning the team championship in Miami. The four team members share a $16 million payday.

Nov. 15: At the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, Rory McIlroy says it is time for golf’s warring factions to figure something out. But he says it needs to happen without LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman . “Greg needs to go. He needs to exit stage left. He’s made his mark but I think now is the right time to say you’ve got this thing off the ground but no one’s going to talk unless there’s an adult in the room that actually try to mend fences."

Nov. 29: At his Hero World Challenge event in the Bahamas, Tiger Woods also says that Greg Norman needs to go. Woods had been planning to play for the first time since the British Open but withdrew due to plantar fasciitis. “I think (Greg Norman) has to go, first of all, and then obviously the litigation against us and then our countersuit against them. Those would then have to be at a stay as well, then we can talk, we can all talk freely. Right now as it is, not right now, not with their leadership, not with Greg there and his animosity towards the tour itself. I don’t see that happening. But why would you change anything if you’ve got a lawsuit against you? They sued us first."

At his Hero World Challenge in 2022, Tiger Woods said Greg Norman would have to depart before a discussion could take place between the rival tours.

Tracy Wilcox/Getty Images

Dec. 16:  Only a year into the job, the Chief Operating Officer for LIV Golf leaves his position . Atul Khosla was hired by LIV Golf in December 2021 from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team, where he held the title of chief corporate development and brand officer. Khosla was also chief operating officer for the Chicago Fire soccer club in the MLS and also worked for General Electric and NBC Sports. In his role at LIV Golf, he reported to CEO and commissioner Greg Norman. His role was taken over by executives of the Performance 54 agency and not filled for nearly a year.

Dec. 20: Augusta National makes clear it will be inviting those eligible for the Masters to participate . “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," Masters chairman Fred Ridley said in a statement. “Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers this coming April.”

Early 2023: OWGR, legal issues persist

Jan. 19:  LIV Golf announces it has a long-awaited television partner after its events were available only via streaming in the first year. The CW Network—the C is for CBS, the W for Warner Media—enters into a multi-year agreement to televise LIV Golf tournaments. The deal will not see LIV Golf get paid a traditional rights fee but that is "mutually financially beneficial." It is believed that LIV will share advertising revenue with the CW and will also likely be expected to shoulder a good bit of promotional work.

Jan. 24:  Jay Monahan and Keith Pelley recuse themselves from reviewing LIV Golf’s application for Official World Golf Ranking points. Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, and Pelley, the CEO of the DP World Tour, are two of the seven members of the OWGR board of directors that ultimately decides the fate of tours seeking accreditation. Keith Waters, who heads up the International Federation of PGA Tours and is the DP World Tour’s chief operating officer, also recused himself from the application.

“I have not looked at the LIV application," Pelley says during a session with reporters in Dubai. “So I can’t give an opinion on an application I have not seen. It is in the hands of the technical committee. On the advice of legal counsel, myself and Jay recused ourselves from the separate committee. Representatives of the four majors will now determine the LIV application. We are not involved and we have no influence on what transpires as far as LIV goes."

April 5: The DP World Tour wins an arbitration case against LIV Golf players who were seeking to play the former European Tour. The arbitration panel rules that the DP World Tour had the right to fine and suspend players for violating its membership regulations in order to compete in LIV Golf events. Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and 10 other players had brought the action in response to fines levied for not being granted permission to compete in LIV Golf events. A separate antitrust case between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is still scheduled for 2024.

May 4:  Amid its investigation of former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, the Department of Justice looks specifically at his dealings with LIV Golf, according to the New York Times . Two of Trump’s courses hosted events in 2022 with three scheduled to do so in 2023.

Summer 2023: The stunning agreement 

June 6: The golf world is stunned to learn that secret negotiations have been taking place and resulted in a "framework agreement" between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Public Investment Fund . Initially said to be a "merger," it is later reframed as an agreement that would see the entities have an alliance. The biggest part of the news is that all of the lawsuits have been dropped. The idea is to have a final deal by Dec. 31, 2023.

As more details emerge, it is learned that PGA Tour Policy Board members Jimmy Dunne and Ed Herlihy secretly met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, for several weeks prior to the announcement. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan also had clandestine meetings with Al-Rumayyan. On the day of the announcement, they appeared together on CNBC.

June 7:  While surprised that everything came together so quickly, Rory McIlroy says that the PGA Tour’s partnership with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia will ultimately be good for the game of golf. Speaking after his pro-am round at the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy learned of the agreement shortly before the rest of the world but said much of it has been mischaracterized and that it should not be viewed as a merger with LIV Golf.

“LIV has nothing to do with this. It’s the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund that are basically partnering to create a new company. That’s where I was a little frustrated. All I’ve wanted to do was protect the future of the PGA Tour and protect the aspirational nature of what the PGA Tour stands for. I think this does this. If you look at the structure, this new company sits above everything else. (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay (Monahan) on top of that. Technically, anyone involved with LIV would answer to Jay. The one thing whether you like it or not, the PIF were going to keep spending money in golf. At least the PGA Tour controls how that money is spent. You’re dealing with one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world. Would you rather fight against or have them as a partner?"

June 7:  Although not involved in the negotiations, LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman has a positive message for the staff . Norman, who was not mentioned in any of the news releases associated with the agreement, tells more than 100 people on a 30-minute call that LIV will see no operational changes and that work is already being done on a 2025 schedule. “The spigot is now wide open for commercial sponsorships, blue chip companies, TV networks. LIV is and will continue to be a standalone enterprise. Our business model will not change. We changed history and we’re not going anywhere."

Eight days after appearing with Yasir Al-Rumayyan on CNBC to announce the "framework agreement," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan took a leave of absence for health reasons. He later took responsibility for an "ineffective" rollout of the agreement which caught most PGA Tour players by surprise.

John David Mercer/USA TODAY Sports

June 14:  On the Tuesday of the U.S. Open week, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announces through the Tour a health-related leave of absence that will see Tour executives Ron Price and Tyler Dennis take over his duties.

July 7:  In a memo to players, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says he will return from his leave on July 14, which is the Monday of British Open week.

July 9: Randall Stephenson, a longtime member of the PGA Tour and former head of AT&T, sends a resignation letter to Monahan and the board and specifically cites his displeasure with the framework agreement.

July 11:  Among wish-list ideas proposed by the LIV Golf League in the time leading up to the framework agreement was giving Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy LIV Golf League franchises and seeing them compete in LIV Golf events. It was just one of the ideas that discussed by the parties as part of documents released by a Senate subcommittee during a hearing in Washington, D.C., led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). The PGA Tour rejected it as part of the negotiation.

The committee is concerned about the foreign involvement in an American sports league as well as possible antitrust violations. Some of the ideas include having a "World Golf Series" team event that would be played in Saudi Arabia; LIV operating as it is but being played in the fall or with the idea of LIV coexisting along with the PGA Tour; two of the PGA Tour’s designated events that would be branded by the PIF or the Saudi Arabia oil company, Aramco.

July 18:  Masters champion Jon Rahm says he has no trust issues with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan—unlike several of his peers—and suggests time is needed. “As it comes to what he's been doing for us and the PGA Tour, I think he's done a fantastic job. I would say it was unexpected what happened. I think what the management of the PGA Tour, the turn they took without us knowing was very unexpected, but I still think he's been doing a great job. And right now after that happened, I only think it's fair to give them the right time to work things out. I still think they have the best interest of the players at heart."

Rahm, speaking before the British Open, also reiterates he is not interested in LIV Golf. “We all had the chance to go to LIV and take the money and we chose to stay at the PGA Tour for whatever reason we chose. As I've said before, I already make an amazing living doing what I do. I'm extremely thankful, and that all happened because of the platform the PGA Tour provided me. As far as I'm concerned they've done enough for me, and their focus should be on improving the PGA Tour and the game of golf for the future generations."

Aug. 1:   Tiger Woods is named to the PGA Tour Policy Board , giving the players a power boost as he becomes the sixth player director on the board. Part of the move includes a stipulation that will see a change in PGA Tour governance that means the player directors will have final say in any decisions going forward.

Aug. 8:  PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan speaks with reporters for the first time since his leave and after returning to work and takes responsibility for the way the negotiations for the “framework agreement" were secretly handled and the subsequent rollout. “It was ineffective and as a result there was a lot of misinformation. And anytime you have misinformation that can lead to mistrust. And that’s my responsibility. That’s me and me alone. I take full accountability for that. I apologize for putting players on their back foot. But ultimately it was the right move for the PGA Tour. I firmly believe that as we go forward time will bear that out. It was the right move and obviously we’re now in a position with NewCo (PGA Tour Enterprises) that provides the opportunity to have productive conversations."

Late 2023: LIV strengthens its lineup

Oct. 19: On the eve of LIV Golf’s final event of 2023, CEO and commissioner Greg Norman speaks with reporters publicly for the first time since the agreement was announced and says he has "zero" concern about the future of the league , regardless of what happens with the “framework agreement."

“All indications are showing that the position of LIV has never been stronger and that the success of our players and our brand has never been in a better place. And as we look forward into 2024, we’ve got a full schedule. We’ve got some places we’ve been to before, but we’ve got some new venues as well and we’re reaching different regions."

Nov. 28: Tiger Woods speaks publicly for the first time since the framework agreement was announced and he joined the Policy Board, touching a variety of subjects including outside Public Equity Investment in the PGA Tour, the Public Investment Fund and LIV Golf. He calls the ongoing negotiations "murky" and says "I would have to say there's a lot of moving parts on how we're going to play. Whether it's here on the PGA Tour or it's merging, or team golf. There's a lot of different aspects that are being thrown out there all at once and we are trying to figure all that out and what is the best solution for all parties and best solution for all the players that are involved.’’

He says during the week and again two weeks later at the PNC Championship that he is focused on a deal getting done or some resolution by the Dec. 31 deadline.

Dec. 7:  After weeks of speculation, Jon Rahm is announced as the newest member of LIV Golf . The two-time major champion, who on numerous occasions had expressed his disinterest in LIV due to the format, among other things, makes it official in New York where he said the lucrative offer was difficult to ignore and he had come to terms with the format. He also said his decision had nothing to do with any animosity or issues wit the PGA Tour.

“I’m forever grateful to the PGA Tour and the platform they allowed me to be on. I have nothing bad to say about them. They allowed me the opportunity to play in some great events and allowed me to make a mark."

Dec. 31: The agreement deadline comes and goes but the PGA Tour says there is "meaningful progress" and that negotiations will continue into 2024.

2024: PGA Tour lands an investor deal

Jan. 31: The PGA Tour announces the formation of PGA Tour Enterprises in a partnership with Strategic Sports Group, a group of investors from a number of professional sports. The deal, worth $3 billion, is said to allow nearly 200 PGA Tour players access to $1.5 billion in equity over time. The deal states that it allows for co-investment from the PIF in the future.

March 12:  Speaking with reporters for the first time since August, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said negotiations with the PIF are “accelerating” and that he and PGA Tour Policy Board members met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan in January, but did not offer specifics.

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The curious life of a PGA Tour rules official

As a trio of recognizable rules officials head to retirement, we talked to them about what they've seen—and heard—in their lengthy careers.

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 10: Matthew Fitzpatrick of England speaks to Rules Official Mark Russell before putting on the 15th hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 10, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR)

Keyur Khamar

Editor's Note: You can listen to this story as a podcast.

Suppose for a minute you’re a PGA Tour pro in contention on Sunday. Things are going smoothly until one loose shot causes your golf ball to wind up on a cart path. You know you get relief, but where you’re going to drop now possibly brings a grandstand into play. And wait, shouldn’t that be considered ground under repair?

Suddenly, you’re thinking about a lot more than winning a golf tournament. You’re worried about incurring a penalty. An embarrassing, possibly reputation damaging penalty. And at the very least, a very, very costly penalty.

With stakes that high, a player would like to be able to count on someone they can trust. Think of it as one of those phone-a-friend lifelines that can deliver the correct answer. And if you’ve played on the PGA Tour at all over the past four decades, it’s usually one of two people who will pick up the call.

Mark Russell and Slugger White haven’t always provided players with the news they want to hear, but as PGA Tour rules officials for a combined 80 years they’ve been the final answer to countless rulings over their lengthy careers.

Watch enough golf and you likely know them as the guys on the walkie talkies who come in when a rules dispute arises. Or as the guys who give players the ground rules at the start of a playoff. They’re also the guys who have to make the tough calls when it’s been raining for 12 straight hours and you’re wondering when they’ll start playing golf again.

In some ways, they are the equivalent of a referee in basketball or an umpire in baseball, but in other ways, their job is completely different. After all, a ref or an umpire doesn’t have to set up the court or the field since those dimensions are fixed. And while those guys chase around athletes with a whistle in their mouths, rules officials like Slugger White spend most of the time sitting on golf carts waiting to be summoned.

“I’ve had so many players, I’ll see them the first part of the week and I’ll say, ‘Have a great week!’ and they’ll say, ‘I hope I don’t see you!’" White says. "That would be great."

So what’s it like to be a rules official at the game’s highest level? How does it feel to hold a tour pro’s fate in the palm of your hand?

We examined the role of the rules official on golf’s biggest stage by talking with Russell and White, who have served as co-vice presidents of competition for the PGA Tour. We also spoke with one of their European Tour counterparts, John Paramor , to get a sense of what goes into this fun—but stressful—job and to hear some of their most memorable tour tales.

Coincidentally, all three, along with the European Tour’s Andy McFee, have decided to end their careers at around the same time, taking some 160 years of experience with them. Those men are all stepping aside, but their roles have by no means lost their importance. As long as there’s golf, there will be questions about the game’s rules. Plenty of questions.

Slugger White has been a familiar face at PGA Tour events the past four decades.

Sam Greenwood

If the PGA Tour’s old slogan is “These guys are good,” Mark Russell and Slugger Whites could be, “These guys are everywhere.” Slugger, with his trademark panama hat, is particularly noticeable on the golf course. But most of the time they’re relatively out of sight. Here’s how Paramor, who retired as the European Tour’s chief referee in 2020, puts it.

“It’s a bit like you’re an emergency doctor. You’re just sitting there with a radio, you have no idea what’s going to be called next. And when that radio does go off, there’s a little bit of anxiety. You think, ‘Oh my god, is this going to be the one I don’t know? Is this going to be the one that finishes my career?” said Paramour, who thought about playing professionally before caddying for a year on the European Tour and then becoming a rules official. “It can be a terrifying thing. Somebody said it’s hours and hours of boredom interspersed with complete panic.”

Also like a doctor, a good rules official needs a good bedside manner. The decisions being handed down throughout a tournament, even one made early in the week, can often be worth thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

RELATED: Meet John Paramor, ruler of the rules

All three acknowledge having some testy run-ins with players throughout their careers. It would be impossible not to even if those situations are rare. Respect of the players has to be earned for sure, but they say for the overwhelming majority of time, tour pros are a pleasure to deal with.

“You know, that’s the great thing about golf," said Russell, a former director of at Walt Disney World before taking a job with the PGA Tour in 1980. "It attracts the finest people. It’s a ladies and gentlemen’s game and it’s different than any other game. Less is better. That sets it apart right there. Four beats a five, and a three beats a four. All other games, how many points can I score? How many runs can I score? What can I do? But golf is such a game of honor because it would be so easy to fudge things and cheat if you wanted to.”

And that respect goes both ways. Most golf fans think of rules officials as ancillary characters, but when you’ve been around as long as these guys, you become part of the main cast.

“When I was 20 and I got on the European Tour, part of the mystique of getting on the European Tour was like, 'John Paramor is going to be one of the referees. I’m going to have a ruling off him at some point.'” And they actually are a massive part of the tour," Tommy Fleetwood said. “I think everybody has a pretty good relationship with them. And I think those guys who have put so much time into the game, they’re going to be missed.”

No matter how much time you put into the game, though, the rules of golf are tricky. Even for the people whose jobs revolve around them. Slugger White also spent four years on the PGA Tour as a player—back then he went by Carlton—and he says he's still learning.

"You think you know them until you get into them and then you find out you really didn’t know them," White said. "You kind of know the basics, but then you get into the decision book, and back then we had a decision book with 1,200 decisions. And you think, ‘1,200 decisions? And I have to know all these things?!’ So you think of situations and go through the book and kind of learn what you can when you can as fast as you can.”

You can prepare all you want, though. Golf will still present situations you’ve never seen before. Jon Paramor says he saw something for the first time while working his final European Tour event in August.

“We probably get two or three a year that we’ve never come across before," Paramor said. "Nor has anyone else. But that’s the beauty of the game.”

It’s also one of its quirks. At the 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Bryson DeChambeau made an unusual claim when he said his golf ball was resting near a hill of fire ants. PGA Tour rules official Ken Tackett showed up for a conversation that lasted more than three minutes, but ended with him not granting DeChambeau relief.

Paramor fondly recalls a similar situation involving Seve Ballesteros on the final hole of the 1994 Volvo Masters. Ballesteros was tied with Bernhard Langer, but in trouble after a wayward drive. With his ball up against a tree, Ballesteros claimed he should be granted relief from the sandy area he felt had been dug by an animal. Paramor disagreed and held firm against the golf legend.

“Well, during this sort of 20-minute ruling that I had with him, the hole itself had a smaller hole and I started probing it with my finger just to see if I could get any evidence from it," Paramor says. "And he put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Be careful, it might bite.' Classic. Absolutely classic. Thankfully, it didn’t. But I was kind of giggling underneath it and trying not to burst out laughing.”

Rickie Fowler takes a penalty drop as Rules Official Slugger White watches on.

As a general rule for an official, the less interaction there has to be with players on the course, the smoother the golf tournament. But as much as these guys would like to sit still watching golf while working on their tans, that’s becoming more difficult to do.

Russell, White, and Paramor all agree they’ve become busier throughout tournament rounds in recent years. For two reasons, really. The younger generation of players seems to know less about the rules, even while playing for much more.

“These guys are playing for a lot of money," White says, "and the last thing they want to do is make a mistake that could be avoided for just a call that would take maybe a minute and a half out of their day to avoid that mistake.”

RELATED: Golf Digest's "My Shot" interview with Slugger White

It’s helped that the process has picked up in recent years. If a PGA Tour pro has a question, he tells the walking scorer, who radios the rules committee, which then sends in the closest rules official.There’s also a rules official always assigned to watching coverage of the event to monitor other issues that can surface.

To help players get a better grasp on the rules, Paramor says the European Tour started giving out tests to its players beginning in 2019. Those who fail twice get a 30-minute private tutorial with an official. The PGA Tour hasn’t implemented anything quite as official yet—but there was at least one effort to better educate the players. One failed attempt, that is.

“The players screamed they wanted a rules seminar so we put a rules seminar together and I think two players showed up," Russell said. "They’re all for that, until it happens. And then they’re not that interested. ‘Well, I was going to that rules seminar, but hell, I’m going to dinner tonight.’”

Russell says the recent rules changes have "dumbed things down" for the players. Still, there’s a lot that tour pros get wrong—especially because there’s a lot more they have to deal with compared to weekend hackers.

For instance, one situation that pops up often is around temporary immovable objects or TIOs. These are usually related to tournament-based structures such as grandstands or scoreboards.

Often, players will call on a rules official just to confirm they’re taking proper relief. Just don’t expect Justin Thomas to be one of those guys. It helps that Thomas grew up as the son of a PGA professional, but whatever the reason, Slugger has been impressed by both JT’s rules knowledge—and curiosity.

“Justin is the only one that really kind of, I mean, he talks about it during a playoff!" White said. "That’s when Jimmy Johnson (Thomas' caddie) says, ‘I have to put up with this all the time.’ It’s kind of funny. I even have to say, ‘Justin, you need to go ahead and think about what you’re doing here.’ And I have to walk away from him.”

Much as the recent rules changes have been well received, they’ve still been an adjustment—for both players and veteran officials like Russell.

“But it still short-circuits me to see people move loose impediments in bunkers and penalty areas and tap down things on their line," Russell said. "When you’ve been doing something for so long and you’re so dialed into that, next thing you know people are doing that and you’re like, ‘Woah, woah, woah. That’s right you can do that.’ But I think a lot of the rules changes were very good.”

Of course, one of the big differences between tour players and average golfers is they have officials nearby to help clear up any confusion about a rule. It’s a security blanket only to an extent, though, because the phone-a-friend doesn't always guarantee the correct answer. And Russell, White, and Paramor are all quick to admit the players aren’t the only ones who make mistakes.

When that does happen, the rules official must seek out the player to prevent it from happening again. That can lead to some uncomfortable exchanges, although Paramor couldn’t help but laugh about making a mistake in his final event.

“I can tell you that my last ever ruling was wrong," Paramor says with a chuckle. "I spent the entire week saying, ‘you’ve just got one week left, just don’t mess up,’ and I mess up on the last day. I can’t believe it. Anyway, I saw the player and he laughed about it. He could see the funny side. You know, my last day and I absolutely get it wrong.”

Ian Poulter gets a ride from European Tour chief referee John Paramor during a practice round.

Richard Heathcote

They say you never forget your first kiss, but Slugger White will never forget his first ruling. It doesn’t hurt that it happened to involve arguably the greatest golfer in history. Coincidentally, Jack Nicklaus had run into Slugger earlier in the week and had heard he had switched from being a player to a rules official. Now just a couple days later, they met face to face to determine whether Nicklaus was entitled to free relief from a spotty lie.

“So I get in the cart and these carts are old, you can hear me coming from four miles away," White recalls. "Jack is standing there and I said, ‘Can I help you, Jack?’ And he said, ‘yes, what is this?’ And it was a French drain, which we treat like ground under repair. And I always say he looked at me with those steely blue eyes and he said, ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, ‘I’m positive.’ He said, ‘OK, where do you drop it?” So he was comfortable and I was comfortable so I drove away and I thought that was an easy one, let’s worry about the hard ones later.”

Not surprisingly, Slugger has faced plenty of hard ones since. One that stands out for him involved Kevin Stadler in 2005. Stadler was among the leaders in Las Vegas to start the third round when he approached Slugger about a damaged club he discovered in his bag on the first hole.

"It was the most gut-wrenching one I ever had, yes it was," White said. "I knew what the end result was, and I let it play out, and. . . Kevin didn’t do anything. The rule has since changed to just a penalty situation and not a disqualification, but it made me ill.”

In a strange twist, one of Russell’s most memorable moments involved Kevin’s dad, 1982 Masters champ Craig Stadler, at Torrey Pines in 1987. Most golf fans have probably seen the clip of the Walrus kneeling on a towel to hit a shot from under a tree in the third round. Russell, who wasn’t notified of the possible infraction until after a TV viewer called in during the final round, had no choice but to rule Stadler had illegally built a stance. And since he had signed an incorrect scorecard the prior day, he had to be DQ’d.

“We really went to all lengths to see if we could get him out of that, but the way the rules are written there’s no way," Russell said. "He violated the rule. It still to this day amazes me that somebody didn’t say, ‘Woah, man, you need to call somebody before you do that!’ But Craig did it anyway, he didn’t want his pants to get dirty. Thus he was disqualified. I think he finished second or third in the tournament. But, yeah, that was a long afternoon too.”

RELATED: 13 rules of golf you should be taking advantage of

It doesn’t always end that way, though. In fact, all three are adamant they are not out to get the players. Here’s how Jon Paramor describes how he approaches a rules issue.

“I’ve often crossed swords with young referees coming along and saying, ‘I’m going out there to penalize someone,'" Paramor says. "And I’ve said, ‘No, you’re going out there to save someone from penalty.’ That’s what our job is.”

Which is why Slugger begins every on-course player interaction with the same five words: “How can I help you.” And contrary to how some tour pros may feel, officials work hard to make sure all players get treated the same when it comes to rulings.

“I always look at a situation where the ball doesn’t have a face on it," White said. "It’s just a ball and a situation and you just go with what’s in front of you. And I think most of these guys know when a guy like myself or Mark Russell or some of the older guys, when we walk in there, they know we’ve been around enough that the respect is still there. They might know the name and they know they’re going to get a fair shake.”

And as Russell is well aware of, sometimes rulings have nothing to do with the ball. With just a few holes to go in the 2011 Players Championship, Russell was alerted that K.J. Choi’s caddie, Andy Prodger, had been using something to test the wind. So when Choi finished his round tied for the lead with David Toms, Russell arrived on the scene. After learning Prodger had just been tossing a handkerchief in the air to test the breeze, the playoff went on and Choi wound up claiming the biggest title of his career.

“So it was a huge relief to me that it was not a rules infraction and we could continue the playoff," Russell said. "We had how many millions watching that all over the world, a huge, huge crowd there at Sawgrass and everyone was waiting on that playoff. And I’m going to go in there and disqualify this guy? That was an intense time.”

Golf fans weren’t even aware that happened, but such is the nature of the gig. Here’s PGA Tour senior VP and chief of operations Tyler Dennis, himself a former rules official, on the harsh reality of the job.

“If everything goes right, and well, and there’s no problems, you’ve done your job and nobody thanks you," Dennis said. "They just kind of go, ‘great tournament.’ It’s only when things go wrong when you’re suddenly in the limelight.”

Russell, White, and Paramor are certainly familiar with such situations, but perhaps none more so than Paramor, who came under scrutiny for handing out a rare slow play penalty during the 2014 Masters. Making the situation even more explosive was the fact it was A 14-year-old named Tianlang Guan who was docked a stroke during the second round.

Paramor took plenty of heat for the ruling, even getting an earful from one of Guan’s playing partners, two-time Masters champ Ben Crenshaw. But he stands by the decision he made that day with the help of Fred Ridley, who was then chairman of the competition committee at Augusta National. If anything, in fact, Paramor says he was lenient with Guan.

So why was a teenager slapped with a slow play penalty at the world’s biggest tournament while older players avoid the same fate? According to Paramor, it’s because they know how to work the system.

“They’re not getting the penalties because basically by the time they’ve had their first bad time, they know exactly what they have to do," Paramor said. "They just take it to the edge all the time, which I feel is very dangerous because there’s always going to be a point in time where you want a few more seconds on a shot, and if you’re going to take it to the brink all the time, then you’ve lost that chance.”

All are happy with the new penalty and fine structures that have been set up on both the PGA Tour and European Tour and believe slow play will get better. But it will remain an uncomfortable conversation with any sluggish player, no matter their age.

“Well, it’s no fun, but it’s what we do," Russell said. "I didn’t get a bad time, you did. I didn’t get out of position, you did. I’ve told guys, ‘Listen, I don’t want to hear it. All we hear about is pace of play, pace of play, and if we do something about it, you guys get angry! You guys are on the clock, alright.’”

--------------------

Being on call to settle rules disputes and speed up play is only part of the job of a rules official. Setting up a golf course for a PGA Tour event falls under the rules committee as well and is a process that takes months and involves various staff members working with the venue. Along with one of the tour’s agronomists, a rules official will get to a tournament site a week in advance to begin final preparations before more rules officials arrive to finish the process.

That’s when potential tees and pin positions are mapped out, while possible problem areas such as ground-under-repair get marked. If the rules committee has done its job well, it’s anticipated a host of problems before they even arise.

Weather, of course, plays an important role as well. In addition to causing delay in play, a decision that falls under the purview of the rules committee, the forecast is also a factor in determining tees and pin positions.

“Our meteorologist keeps us totally dialed in," Russell said. "If we’re going to have a stiff wind and a long hole with forced carry, we’re probably going to move those tees up so that players can carry it the distance they need to. We want to set it up as difficult as it can possibly play, but fair. Golf is hard enough to play as is without adding a lot of things in there. I mean, you can put the hole in the middle of the green and some guys are going to still make bogey. It’s hard, you know?”

Some processes aren’t quite as sophisticated. Take when there’s a playoff. A rules official will simply write numbers on pieces of paper, fold them up, and place them in a hat to be drawn in the order of which player posted his 72-hole score first. According to Russell, there’s never been a mishap but he’s gotten some pushback through the years.

“I remember Ken Thompson who years ago was the CEO of Wachovia and on our board at one time, he was amazed because he was with me running the playoff at the Wachovia tournament and he said, ‘This is the way you do this? Are you kidding me?! You guys need like a coin or something like that to make it a little more official," Russell said. "But we found out over the years we just fold those things up and put them in a hat, let people draw. And Daniel Berger told me one time, ‘I saw which numbers were.’ And I said, ‘There’s no way you saw which numbers. I folded it four times, I don’t want to hear that.’”

The rules crew makes tee times for the field, makes sure each group has a walking scorer, makes sure all bunkers are properly raked, and even makes snacks for the players. OK, so not that last part, but you get the point. There’s a LOT of work that goes into putting on and running a professional golf tournament.

“Those two gentlemen, Mark Russell and Slugger White, have really been the bedrock of the PGA Tour to be honest for more than 40 years," Dennis said. "In Slugger’s case, he played on the tour before that so he’s been part of the heart and soul of what we do. Fans know them, but in a lot of ways, they’re also the unsung heroes behind the scenes, and they have done a remarkable job.”

You can tell how much these guys love their jobs, because, well, they can’t let them go. Despite being retired, all three are staying involved with their respective tours in some way. When I spoke to Slugger, he was already preparing to be on site at the American Express, his first of a handful of PGA Tour stops in 2021. And no matter how many tournaments he’s worked, there’s always some brushing up to do.

“I’m going to Palm Springs a week from Monday and I’ll spend probably the next 10 or 12 days just leafing through going rule by rule so my mind doesn’t go soft on me," White said. "You kind of go to mush if you’re not careful and I want to be sharp when I get out there.”

None will miss the constant travel, or those days when the rain won’t stop, or even the pressure of making an important, perhaps unpopular, call with the cameras rolling. Still, the gig has its perks.

“Why did I stay so long? I don’t know," Paramor said. "Probably because I’m absolutely useless at doing anything else. And actually, it’s the best job in the world. So why would you give up the best job in the world?”

They’re also continuing to stick around to ensure a smooth transition to a new guard of rules guardians. The PGA Tour is losing the retiring Dillard Pruitt and John Lillvis as well, but Russell and White know the operation has been left in good hands—because they had a hand in finding their replacements.

Gary Young will lead the PGA Tour’s Rules and Competition department with Steve Rintoul, John Mutch, Stephen Cox and Ken Tackett moving into the roles of senior tournament director under him. They may not be household names yet—but in this job, notoriety isn’t necessarily a good thing.

It’ll be nice for Russell, White and Paramor to not have to enforce things like TIOs or pace of play anymore, but don’t expect them to stop thinking about how to address such problems—even as they transition from a golf cart inside the ropes to the living room couch.

“You know, listen," Russell said. "When we’ve got 156 players in summertime, I mean, we’ve got 26 groups on 18 holes. If anyone can figure out a way on how that’s going to play fast, please call me.”

He's serious. Because retirement or not, the game goes on. And as long as these guys are paying attention, they’ll want to make it better.

Of course, now they’ll be on the clock more with more free time to play the sport they love. Although, funny enough, Slugger says he’s a lot looser with the rules in his regular game.

“Well I have to," Slugger said. "They might not invite me back to play!”

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PGA Tour winner calls Champions Tour purses “a joke,” urges LIV Golf to take over

Chris DiMarco, best known for finishing runner-up at three majors, hopes to see LIV Golf purchase the PGA Tour Champions.

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On the heels of The Players Championship, PGA Tour policy board members met with Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), for the first time.

The PIF, which bankrolls LIV Golf , signed a framework agreement last year with the PGA Tour, hoping to unite professional golf once again. But discussions and negotiations to a larger deal remain in its infancy stages, as this initial meeting served as an “ice-breaker” of sorts.

Regardless, Chris DiMarco, who won three times on the PGA Tour and finished runner-up to Tiger Woods at Augusta National in 2005, has an idea.

He wants LIV Golf to purchase the PGA Tour Champions, the circuit for players 50 years of age and older.

“We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” DiMarco told Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on the Subpar podcast.

“Let’s play for a little real money out here. I mean, this is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week from TPC [Sawgrass] that made more money than our purses.”

Last week, Padraig Harrington won the Hoag Classic on the final hole, netting $300,000 for finishing one stroke ahead of Thongchai Jaidee.

Meanwhile, on the PGA Tour, Peter Malnati took home $1,512,000 for winning the Valspar Championship—a full-field, non-signature event.

The week before, The Players had a $25 million purse, with Scottie Scheffler winning $4.5 million for finishing atop the leaderboard.

Sam Ryder, Doug Ghim, and Sepp Straka all tied for 16th, and took home $406,250—more than $100,000 than what Harrington received for his 7th victory on the PGA Tour Champions.

Knowing this, DiMarco is frustrated by the relative small purse sizes on the Champions Tour. But the problem is that the PGA Tour Champions does not draw the ratings or sponsors that the PGA Tour does. Therefore, the purse sizes cannot match those seen on the PGA Tour, which has been sorely inflated in recent years to combat the rise of LIV Golf.

The PIF reportedly has $770 billion in assets and has already committed close to $2 billion to funding LIV Golf. Players have received multi-millions for joining the Saudi-backed circuit; most notably Jon Rahm , who received north of $400 million.

Still, DiMarco understands why some players jumped to LIV Golf to receive guaranteed money.

“They wanted to play for a lot of money, and they deserve it. They have had some great careers. Why not go and get some money?” DiMarco added.

“I saw Graeme McDowell at the Old Memorial Pro Member, and he goes, ‘Listen, I went up to [PGA Tour Commissioner] Jay Monahan and said I love the tour, but I am struggling to keep my card, and these guys are offering me all this money and less golf. I’m sorry, I’m going.’ And I do not blame him one bit, and I said I would have, too.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Next Up In Golf

• Scottie Scheffler rebounds after brutal break to grab share of Houston Open lead
• PGA Tour rookie Nick Dunlap soars up Houston Open leaderboard; puts struggles behind him
• LIV Golf’s Dustin Johnson talks Masters prep, getting ready for Augusta National
• Houston Open: Scottie Scheffler snaps PGA Tour record after tap-in miss on 18
• Hannah Green goes bonkers at Ford Championship with epic 61 for lead
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Peter Malnati shows rare vulnerability soaking in second PGA Tour win: 'I lost it before I hit my last shot'

A career grinder got his moment on sunday in tampa, and he knew it as it was happening.

Peter Malnati has played roughly 770 rounds on the PGA Tour. Exactly two of those ended triumphantly. 

Malnati openly wept in an interview following his two-shot win at the 2024 Valspar Championship on Sunday, his second victory in a 10-year career on Tour.

Objectively, Malnati a mediocre to poor professional golfer -- simply well below average compared to his peers. For him to win this golf tournament -- not only over Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Sam Burns but also over Mackenzie Hughes, Billy Horschel, Kevin Streelman and Stewart Cink -- was a nearly miraculous achievement.

And that is exactly how Malnati viewed it.

"That moment of winning a tournament and having your family come out on the green and the big hugs and all that, that's something that I've seen other families have, and that has been my dream," he said after the round.

"There's been a lot of stretches of golf in the last nine years when I wondered if I would ever have that experience. I'm at peace with who I am and the way I live and the work that I put into this. If I had never had the moment I had today, I would have been completely fine.

"But, man, was that special. That was so special. It felt amazing. It was really validating for just all the hard work, all the times I've gotten on that plane and flown away from my family when they have stayed home. It was all preparing for that moment. So, to get that second PGA Tour win, to have it be here at the Valspar Championship, I just ... it's sinking in now, but it still feels completely surreal."

It would be difficult (perhaps impossible) to overstate how much of a long shot Malnati is to win any PGA Tour event he enters. That he was 350-1 on Thursday beginning a non-signature event tells part of the story.

His statistics over the last decade prove he has played consistently worse than an average golfer on the PGA Tour. Not consistently worse than Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, consistently worse than Ben Martin and Matt Wallace. (0.00 strokes gained is Tour average.)

"Playing on the PGA Tour was just a dream," Malnati said. "It wasn't even a realistic goal. I was a very mediocre college player at a very mediocre college. Great college [Missouri], mediocre golf program, whatever. So, I was still that kid. I would go out to practice and every 6-footer at the end of my practice session was to win the tournament. And even at that point in my life, I imagined that moment when I would be married to the love of my life and she would come running out and we would have our family. That's something that I wanted.

"To have that entire dream come to life and to -- I looked over and saw -- I didn't see my family. I can't remember the exact order because my brain was spinning, but I don't think I saw 'em until after I hit the first putt, but I definitely saw 'em before I tapped in. And I was -- man, I lost it before I hit my last shot of the tournament, for sure, but luckily it was literally 2 inches from the hole. But, yeah, that moment's pretty amazing."

At age 36, Malnati now gets to play in his first Masters. His prior PGA Tour win came in a 2015 fall event, and he was not extended an invite to play in the 2016 Masters. He was so surprised by the set of circumstances that led to all of this that he didn't know when the Masters starts (two weeks from Thursday).

"Wow. That's pretty cool. ... Just to reiterate, that's amazing. I'm already thankful for that opportunity. I can't wait," he said. "But I will come back to this, and I mean it. You know, I remember playing on the then Nationwide now Korn Ferry Tour in 2015. Every single event out there felt like a major to me, every single event that I've played on the PGA Tour, ever. ...

"I've never teed it up in a Tour event and not felt, 'Wow, this is, like, I'm nervous, and this is important.' And 90% of us on Tour are that way. ... I may feel something special when I get on the grounds at Augusta [National], and I hope I do, but I'm going to feel just as amped up on the first tee next week in Houston because this -- playing golf on the PGA Tour for 90% of us out here -- is (a) really, really hard, and (b) the realization of a dream.

"So, I'm not going to put too much emphasis on the fact that, yeah, I'm in the Masters. ... That is cool, don't get me wrong, I'm excited about it, and I cannot wait to set foot on the grounds. That will be amazing. But I think more of what has sunk in to me is, this guarantees me that -- this is my 10th season on the PGA Tour -- it's guarantees me that I'm going to have 12, at least. Pretty cool. ...

"It's just always my dream to never get a real job, actually, believe it or not. I never knew what it was going to look like. When I was a kid, I watched my dad work really hard, and it didn't look like fun. So I was like, I want to play baseball for a living or tennis or something, and then it turned into golf, and now I know for sure I'm going to have a job on the best tour in the world for two-and-a-half more years."

The win qualifies Malnati into the remaining PGA Tour signature events for 2024 and guarantees his card through the end of 2026. That's a big deal for somebody who has never finished in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup.

The bigger story is how Malnati was able to truly appreciate the moment on Sunday in a way he could not have appreciated it nine years ago when he won the Sanderson Farms Championship. He was in his 20s then with no kids and little perspective on what all of this was going to look like. Now? He knew in the moment what a big deal this was and that it's probably never going to happen again.

There is beauty in being able to appreciate a moment like this as it is happening. That is difficult to do in life. Most of us do our jobs and move on to the next thing. Rarely do we stop and drink it all in like Malnati did Sunday at Innisbrook. Rarely do we understand as things like this are happening that they are both meaningful and incredibly unlikely. Especially for professional athletes, who must have outrageous belief in themselves just to survive in their respective leagues. 

That Malnati was able to set that aside just after winning and embrace the vulnerability that he did is as extraordinary as it was unusual. As wonderful as it was appreciated. As consequential as it was beautiful.

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Texas Children's Houston Open last stop before Masters top-50 cut off

Tom Hoge sits at No. 57 in the Official World Golf Ranking heading into the Texas Children's Houston Open. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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The Texas Children's Houston Open is the final week for players to try to get into the Masters Tournament through the Official World Golf Ranking.

Byeong Hun An is a lock to stay in the top 50. He was No. 60 at the end of 2023 and then started the year finishing fourth at The Sentry and tied for second at the Sony Open in Hawaii to get inside the top 50. He secured his position in the top 50 with a tie for eighth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Everyone else in the top 50 — all the way to No. 54 — is already in the Masters through various other criteria, including four who won on the PGA TOUR this year.

The Masters field could reach as high as 90 players. An will get in through the OWGR, and a few players — no more than one will get in — have a chance to play their way into the top 50. The Texas Children's Houston Open and Valero Texas Open winners also get invitations.

Tom Hoge is at No. 57 and likely would need around third place in Houston to get in. Mackenzie Hughes (No. 63) and Alex Noren (No. 66) would need a runner-up finish to have any mathematical chance.

Among those on the bubble who chose not to play in Houston are Christiaan Bezuidenhout (No. 55) and Brendon Todd (No. 64).