Jordan Spieth leads young golfers after donating putting green to Cobbs Creek Golf Course
One of golf's biggest names helped a group of kids from the Philadelphia area play the game he loves on Monday.
Thirteen-time PGA Tour winner Jordan Spieth spent part of his day at the Cobbs Creek Golf Course mentoring students on a brand-new junior golf putting green that he donated through his nonprofit, the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation, totaling $250,000.
"A heartfelt thank you to Jordan and Annie Spieth for their remarkable generosity," said Jeff Shanahan, president of the Cobbs Creek Foundation.
It's part of the more than $750,000 in total funding from the Truist Championship to the Cobbs Creek Foundation. The goal is to create a lasting impact far beyond the fairway.
"We're dedicated to supporting our communities in which we host events and make a lasting impact. Our partnership with the Cobbs Creek Foundation is a prime example of this – investing in golf, education and community development," said Joie Chitwood, the executive director of the 2025 Truist Championship.
Chitwood hopes this effort will help welcome new faces to golf while making sure everyone has access to play just like the pros.
"It's that commitment to giving back that reflects the values that we hold at the Truist Championship — using sport to inspire and create positive change," Chitwood said.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
At two-year anniversary of PGA Tour, LIV Golf 'framework,' two sides are further than ever
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"I'm still here playing the PGA Tour. We had a tour where we all played together and the guys that left, it's their responsibility, I think, to bring the tours back together. Go see where they're playing this week and ask them." Scheffler's shot at LIV was clear. While the league certainly made an impact on the Tour early by poaching some of its top players along with forcing the Tour to make more money available to its players through signature events and the Player Impact Program, that has diminished. Lynch: Prepare for posturing on anniversary of Framework Agreement that already achieved its goal LIV's momentum stalled since signing Jon Rahm LIV had all the momentum after signing Jon Rahm 18 months ago. That is gone. Tyrrell Hatton followed Rahm, but, since then, the league has not attracted any marquee names. The latest addition, former Arizona State standout Josele Ballester, is No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Meanwhile, the top-ranked amateur, Luke Clanton from Florida State, is making his professional debut at the PGA Tour's Canadian Open. "I want to play the PGA Tour, pretty simple," Clanton said when asked whether he considered joining LIV. "I want to play against the best, I want to compete in majors, and that's it. Simple." The PGA Tour is now in a position of strength as LIV stands firm on its demands to remain under its current format, despite a flawed business model. While the PIF's investment in LIV Golf is in the billions, the return on investment is far less. LIV lost $394 million in 2023, excluding its U.S. events, according to Money In Sport, which published LIV's financials from LIV Golf's UK arm. Although PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in March he can see a future where the leagues are aligned with room to "integrate important aspects of LIV Golf into the PGA Tour platform," he added that "hurdles" remain. "We will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners," said Monahan, who has headed the negotiations with the PIF's Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Monahan's comment came a few weeks after negotiations appeared to have broken down during the late February meeting. The biggest hint came from Rory McIlroy, who said following the meeting it takes "two to tango," before adding, "I don't think the PGA Tour needs a deal." Then Scott O'Neil, who replaced Greg Norman in January as LIV's CEO, told a group of media members in April at Trump National Doral, where LIV held its first U.S.-based event of the season, LIV, too, does not need a deal. "Have to do a deal? No," O'Neil said. "Nice to do a deal? So long as we're all focused on the same thing, which is growing the game of golf. I think we're all kind of up for that." The most recent known offer was in March when the British daily Guardian was the first to report that the PIF was willing to make a $1.5 billion investment into the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises in exchange for LIV Golf continuing its current format and schedule, and Al-Rumayyan becoming a co-chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises. That was quickly turned down by the Tour. LIV Golf still being crushed by PGA Tour in TV ratings The ratings boost LIV was counting on to help its cause after signing a multi-year deal with Fox Sports has not happened. According to the seven Sundays this year in which both tours have held an event, the PGA Tour is averaging 3.1 million viewers on CBS and NBC, while LIV is averaging 175,000 on FOX, FS1 and FS2. About 18 times more. LIV, though, held its first four events in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore; and has since played in South Korea. Those tournaments are being aired at all hours of the day in the U.S. The best comparison came in early April when LIV had one of its highest-profile events of the year, if not the highest, at Doral; and the PGA Tour stop was the Valero Open in San Antonio, a lower-tier event that lacked several stars. Valero drew 1.746 million viewers for its final round compared with 484,000 for LIV. LIV's best ratings were below the average for TGL, the indoor, tech-infused golf league created by Tiger Woods and McIlroy. TGL, in its inaugural season, averaged 500,000 viewers; 650,000 for the 10 prime-time matches on ESPN (nine were carried by ESPN2). LIV's initial attempt to lure PGA Tour players was impressive with Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson among those who made the jump. They were later joined by Cam Smith and Rahm. While Rahm and DeChambeau continue to play at a high level – as do others such as Joaquin Niemann and Patrick Reed – several have regressed since joining LIV. Koepka, Johnson and Smith, who have combined to win eight major championships and were signed to contracts worth at least $100 million to defect from the PGA Tour, according to reports, missed the cut at the year's first two majors – Masters and PGA Championship. LIV Golf not going away … deal or no deal Still, LIV Golf continues to operate as if it will be around … deal or no deal. While the league has not added a golfer of note in the past 18 months, it continues to secure sponsorship deals and attract high-level officials. And O'Neil has restarted discussions with the Official World Golf Ranking for LIV golfers to earn points. The PGA Tour clearly does not need LIV. And with PIF, valued at more than $900 billion, willing and able to support LIV despite it losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually, LIV doesn't need the PGA Tour. That leaves many to wonder whether a deal ever will be made that unites golf's rival leagues. Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
LIV Golf reaches two major anniversaries with an uncertain future ahead
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(Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images) (Han Myung-Gu via Getty Images) What they do next will shine a bright light on LIV's future path. Do they opt to re-sign with LIV, betting that the tour will increase its relevance? Or do they opt to end their contracts and sit out the year the PGA Tour requires to re-join its ranks? (They could, theoretically, still play in majors and on other non-LIV tours around the world, just not on the PGA Tour itself.) Advertisement DeChambeau, in particular, is an interesting case. You could argue that LIV Golf is only his third-most-important golf commitment, behind the majors — where he's once again winning and threatening — and his own social media channel. You could also argue that LIV needs DeChambeau a whole lot more than DeChambeau needs LIV right now. The Mad Professor's next move will be a fascinating one to watch — and one he will surely describe in minute detail. It's worth noting that LIV Golf is positioning itself as an organization whose goals aren't measurable by typical metrics like U.S. television ratings or existing fans' buy-in. The goal, as Mickelson noted earlier this week prior to LIV's Virginia event, is to expand the game's reach beyond what the PGA Tour can accomplish. 'We want all the best players in the world to be able to compete against each other more often and on a global scale, and the model that I was a part of for decades just didn't allow for that,' Mickelson said. 'We never played against each other. We didn't have elevated events. We never played all of us against each other outside of the majors. It was not able to move internationally. When they did have tournaments and [World Golf Championships] internationally, a lot of players didn't play. That's disappointing from a sponsor standpoint, from a fan standpoint. 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NBC Sports
3 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Mr. 57 threatens 59, shares lead after first round of RBC Canadian Open
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