The golf world is still in flux, but the sport had a ridiculously busy year in 2023.
From the pending “merger,” to Rory McIlroy’s run coming up short before he led Europe to a Ryder Cup route to the start of Tiger Woods’ comeback, here are the biggest moments from the sport over the past 12 months:
Jay Monahan’s surprise LIV Golf-PGA Tour partnership
Let’s start here, because just about everything that happened in the golf world this past year was connected to commissioner Jay Monahan’s surprise announcement on June 6.
When Monahan announced a sort of “merger” with LIV Golf and the DP World Tour in June, it seemingly put an end to more than a year of fighting within the golf industry. This announcement shocked the golf world, inside and out. Many people, including Rory McIlroy, were deeply offended by the partnership, even though it hasn’t been finalized and investigations have been opened by the US Senate and US Justice Department.
A day after the announcement, McIlroy said, “It’s hard for me not to sit up here and feel somewhat like a sacrificial lamb,” adding that he had only been aware of the partnership for a few hours prior to its announcement.
Monahan was heavily criticized—possibly rightfully—for the collaboration. From the start, he was very critical of LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia. At one point, he even brought up the 9/11 terrorist attacks to support the Tour rather than LIV Golf. Then he turned around, and he did it in almost complete secrecy. Following the announcement, there was an intense players’ meeting where a player allegedly called Monahan a “hypocrite” in front of him.
It remains to be seen if this deal is completed. The partnership has a self-imposed deadline of December 31st. In any case, Monahan’s choice to collaborate with LIV Golf was met with disapproval at the time and caused ripple effects throughout the industry.
Rory McIlroy tired as he fails to win a major, again
The LIV Golf battle has taken a toll on Rory McIlroy.
Following the partnership announcement, McIlroy became the face of the Tour in its rivalry with LIV Golf, and he was extremely irritated. Since then, he has resigned from the PGA Tour board, stating that it was not what he had signed up for, and he has stopped speaking at the major championships. He no longer wished to discuss LIV Golf.
It will soon be ten years since McIlroy last won a major championship. His final victory came at the 2014 PGA Championship, which came the same year he won the British Open. Since those major championships, he has achieved almost everything else that is possible, but he is unable to win a fifth major title for whatever reason. At the U.S. Open in Los Angeles last summer, he came within a shot of doing so, finishing one shot behind Wyndham Clark.
Even though he didn’t win a major championship for another year, McIlroy was still enjoying one of his best seasons ever. He finished in the top 10 13 times last season, including three of the four majors, and he won twice. From mid-May on, he didn’t place lower than 10 in any Tour event, and he contributed to Europe’s Ryder Cup victory (more on that later).
With his current form, McIlroy is certain to eventually win another major championship. We’ll see if that happens in 2024 now that his part in the Tour-LIV feud appears to be behind him.
Jon Rahm leaves for LIV Golf
LIV Golf closed out 2023 by landing perhaps the best golfer on the planet.
Earlier this month, world No. 3 and reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm made a commitment to join LIV Golf. With the possible exception of Dustin Johnson or Cam Smith, he is the biggest acquisition for the league supported by Saudi Arabia.
Rahm’s move was unexpected given how against LIV Golf he had been before switching sides, and it came after weeks of rumors. Seemingly at every turn, he supported Monahan and the Tour, saying that he wanted to play on the Tour and create his “best legacy.” However, Rahm revealed on Fox News that he had accepted an offer of allegedly more than $500 million, looking ready to embrace the league while sporting a LIV Golf bomber jacket.
He stated, “LIV Golf has a lot of things to offer that were very, very enticing.” “One of the most important things in my career is being a member of a team.”
Rahm now has permanent access to Augusta National thanks to his victory at the Masters earlier this year. Despite the fact that his world ranking is going to drop, he will still be able to compete in the major championships for the foreseeable future. He might not be able to compete for Team Europe in upcoming Ryder Cups. But his exit from the Tour is a major setback for the league and the sport in general.
Europe rolls over U.S. at Ryder Cup
This autumn’s Ryder Cup did not go well for Zach Johnson’s first stint as Team USA’s captain.
In October, Europe easily won the Ryder Cup in Italy, securing the trophy and continuing their winning run at home with a 16½ to 11½ victory. Despite a slight comeback on Sunday, the Americans were unable to overcome what was by far their worst opening day in the history of the competition.
But “HatGate” took over outside of Europe’s unadulterated dominance. A minor altercation broke out between McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, and his caddie Joe LaCava in Rome after Cantlay decided one day to forgo wearing his team hat in what appeared to be a protest. Cantlay was being teased by European fans waving hats at him; in response, LaCava waved his own hat. However, he blocked McIlroy’s path in the process. After that, there was an extremely heated altercation before McIlroy was thrown into a car and removed from the course.
This is about as tense as it gets when it comes to golf. After that, both parties apologized and moved on.
In 2025, the Ryder Cup will be held in the United States once more, this time at Bethpage Black in New York. The last two events held on US soil were won by the United States.
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