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After a flattering Atlantic profile of Mohammed bin Salman, that wasn’t enough to keep Golf Saudi’s sugar daddy and backer of the fluttering LIV Golf Investments to what he does best: screw with oil prices, complain about bad PR over Kashoggi and cut heads off.

It also seems he has yet to give up his sportwashing effort to lure pros away from the PGA Tour for a new golf league. Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch says the Crown Prince’s people have reconvened after the Phil Mickelson meltdown and demise of their league concept to try a new approach.

The latest conjecture has the Crown Prince’s coat holders planning to stage a tournament with an enormous purse that could dwarf the $20 million offered at the PGA Tour’s flagship stop in soggy Florida. The goal would be to engineer litigation by inviting Tour members to compete while hoping commissioner Jay Monahan denies the permission required to do so, thereby presenting an opportunity to challenge his control over where members play, or to at least jeopardize the Tour’s tax-exempt status as a 501c organization.

One tournament probably won’t do it. But then again, news of a record beheading day suggests MSM still has his touch.

From the AP’s Jon Gambrell on Saturday’s record hall of 81 executions, a new record mass execution for the Kingdom.

An intense Saturday of rain-delayed play saw high winds after a front moved through Ponte Vedra. Temperatures dropped and the TPC Sawgrass’ 17th saw one of those days of trouble, with 19 water balls spread between first and second round play.

While that’s nothing compared to the all-time worst of 50, Kevin Kisner said the conditions produced “pure luck” and impugned The Players Championship’s “integrity.” Other players seemed to take things in better stride if you read Adam Schupak’s Golfweek wrap of the antics. Credit to players like Collin Morikawa who said he just missed his shot and while difficult, the task was doable.

And if you take a look at PGA Tour’s compilation of all 19 water balls—drop area shots included—it’s staggering how many shots were dead just a few yards off the club face. Or how many purely awful strikes were made trying to play the ball down. I estimated 9 of the 19 just were unlucky due to a gust or just missing the 3,912 green. The rest never had a chance.

On Golf Channel’s Live From, it was nice to have some sparring back on set that’s been lost since Frank Nobilo and David Duval left.

Paul McGinley held firm in believing the conditions were tough and nothing more than a “freak day”.

Execs from NBC working out of PGA Tour headquarters are making stellar use of the synergy by working with a creative agency to come up with their next expensive abomination.

The big unveiling came during rain-delayed round one coverage of the 2022 Players. With, warning, more to come in the coming days.

One of the most trusted voices and best broadcasters in sports history was relegated to introducing the “mixed reality” intrusion…

What will these creatives think of next?

PGATour.com’s Jeff Eisenband was tasked with explaining this campaign which announces to the world, we intend to take Coveted Demo Desperation Syndrome to the lamest possible places.

Congrats to these two longtime competitors and keep them in your prayers as they captain at the Old Course and Cypress Point.

Mike McCoy in 2023 at St Andrews and Nathan Smith in 2025 at Cypress Point.

The full release:

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (March 9, 2022) – The USGA announced on Wednesday that Mike McCoy, of Des Moines, Iowa, will captain the USA Team for the 2023 Walker Cup Match on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland and Nathan Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pa., will captain the USA Team for the 2025 Walker Cup Match at Cypress Point Club in Pebble Beach, Calif.

“Both Mike and Nathan have long, exceptional histories with the USGA and outstanding amateur golf resumes,” said Stu Francis, USGA president. “Given the historic nature of the next two matches being staged at St. Andrews and Cypress Point, we wanted to give both of them the time to enjoy this leadership opportunity and plan their next few years accordingly. We congratulate each of them on an honor well deserved and look forward to watching them lead two talented USA Teams.”

Wednesday’s induction ceremony is set for Jacksonville International’s Terminal A, aka the Global Home, with a one surprise presenter (Sam Woods for Tiger Woods) and one total non-surprise (Davis Love for Tim Finchem).

The key details, including a new “trophy” for the World Golf Hall of Fame inductees made by Tiffany & Co. The ceremony will be carried live on Golf Channel at 7 pm ET:

World Golf Hall of Fame Announces Presenters for 2022 Inductee Class:

2022 Inductee, Susie Maxwell Berning (Judy Rankin)

2022 Inductee, Tim Finchem (Davis Love III)

The same day the NFL suspended Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley over a $1500 bet and costing him his $11 million salary, it was hard not to think of Ridley’s situation when Golf Channel aired a perplexing feature (below) about sports betting during Monday’s Live From The Players. In just over five minutes, the piece served up a combo platter attempting to use golf’s long history of players wagering on the course as a legitimizing force for the fan gambling push. With plenty of the usual grow-the-game, it’s-what-the-kids-want gibberish.

(After the feature the PGA Tour’s Norb Gambuzza revealed in an on set discussion that the 501(c)(6) non-profit is hoping to up its share of the U.S. sports betting market from 1.5% to 4-5% in the next few years. So much for the slow, careful buildout.)

Also making the piece pretty weird: ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt was the primary voice for a pro-gambling message.

The feature’s message suggests it'’s cool for players to bet in a practice round or at home when playing golf, yet there will be consequences if they bet on PGA Tour action under their integrity statutes. However, since the PGA Tour does not announce fines and suspensions, we probably won’t know if a player ever does such a thing or is punished in the same manner as Calvin Ridley.

Regarding disclosure, Gambuzza was asked by Rich Lerner in the post-feature discussion if player injury reports will be optional. It’s a good question given that other sports provide various ways for gamblers to have some sense who might be at less than 100% or even doubtful for a game. Golf is going to leave such information up to the players.

With all of the weirdness at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, you might have missed Ryan Brehm’s must-win win in Puerto Rico. Playing in the last event of a medical exemption, Brehm could have finished second and kept a PGA Tour card for the 126-150 category.

Instead he won, vaulting Brehm into this week’s Players. But it’s his story that’s the kind Netflix should be including in a documentary. Thankfully, Brentley Romine did a superb job here capturing all of Brehm’s story that includes a 91 m.p.h. fastball and his wife serving as his caddie.

“It sounded like I had a bunch of pressure, but there really wasn’t,” Brehm said. “This was an opportunity for me to swing for the fences and see if we could win.”

Touch ‘em all.

With his wife, Chelsey, on the bag, Brehm cruised to a six-shot win Sunday at the Puerto Rico Open to not only retain his card but lock it up for two more years.