
Rick Shiels partnering with LIV Golf as ambassador
Rick Shiels partnering with LIV Golf as ambassador With nearly 3 million subscribers, Shiels can bring LIV Golf a massive audience and exposure for its players.
YouTube star Rick Shiels, who has nearly three million subscribers on his main channel, announced on Friday that he has signed a partnership with LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed golf league, and will now serve as an ambassador for the league.
To be clear, Shiels, who was a teaching pro in England before his golf instruction and equipment review videos exploded on YouTube, will not be competing in LIV Golf events. Instead, he will be filming content at every LIV Golf venue ahead of the league's tournaments that will promote and show off the courses, players and atmosphere.
"I'm going to be making some unbelievable content at every single LIV Golf event," Sheils said. Included in that content will be his popular "Break 75" challenges and videos that feature players like Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson and others off the course and away from golf. There are also plans for 5-man scrambles that feature Sheils and a LIV team trying to go as low as possible, along with two-vs-two matches with Shiels acting as the host.
On December 6, the PGA Tour announced the creation of a Creator Council comprised of social media stars like Bob Does Sports, Bryan Bros Golf, Erik Anders Lang, Fore Play/Barstool Sports, No Laying Up, Paige Spiranac, Roger Steele and Tisha Alyn who would help the Tour, "develop shared strategies for content development and fan engagement." The announcement of Shiels, who was not named to that panel, becoming a LIV ambassador appears to be the upstart league's answer to growing engagement and fans on the biggest social media platform.
Several PGA Tour stars have appeared with content creators on YouTube, and a growing number of equipment manufacturers are turning to content creators who boast a large online audience to promote their services and gear. Rahm and Xander Schauffele have appeared recently on Bob Does Sports, Erik Anders Lang recently signed a deal with Ping Golf, and Fore Play/Barstool Sports created a video with Tiger Woods at a TaylorMade commercial shot in late 2023 that has now generated over 3.2 million views.
With Sheils' large subscriber base and LIV Golf's ability to get star players involved at exotic locations, it will be fascinating to see what the content creator produces and if the videos boost interest in LIV Golf events, which will soon be broadcast on Fox Sports.
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Fox Sports
40 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Jon Rahm: Smaller fields make top 10s easier at LIV Golf
Associated Press OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Two-time major champion Jon Rahm comes into the U.S. Open off another top 10 at LIV Golf, which is nothing new. The Spaniard has never come in lower in the 20 events he has finished since joining the Saudi-backed league at the start of last year. Is that a big deal? 'I would happily trade a bunch of them for more wins, that's for sure,' said Rahm, who has two LIV victories but has yet to win this year. 'But I keep putting myself in good position.' One of the criticism of LIV is the 54-man fields over 54 holes, especially with a half-dozen or more considered past their prime and several unproven young players. Rahm delivered some context on his streak. 'Listen, I'm a realist in this case,' he said. 'I've been playing really good golf, yes, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't easier to have top 10s with a smaller field. That's just the truth, right? Had I been playing full-field events, would I have top 10 every single week? No. But I've been playing good enough to say that I would most likely have been inside the top 30 every single time and maybe even top 25.' He considered that impressive, and he figures most of those would be top 10s. Rahm tied for eighth last week in Virginia without ever having a serious chance of winning over the final few holes. He said against a full field, he doubts that would have been a top 10. 'I think winning is equally as hard, but you can take advantage of a smaller field to finish higher,' he said. 'As much as I want to give it credit personally for having that many top 10s, I wouldn't always give it as the full amount just knowing that it's a smaller field.' DeChambeau and LIV Bryson DeChambeau says the contract he signed to join Saudi-funded LIV Golf is up next year and he's already looking ahead to a new one. 'We're looking to negotiate end of this year, and I'm very excited. They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we'll come to some sort of resolution on that,' DeChambeau said Tuesday. 'Super excited for the future.' LIV contracts are confidential and there has been ample speculation whether the Public Investment Fund will shell out the kind of signing bonuses that helped lure players away from the PGA Tour in 2022. Meanwhile, unification with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf appears at a standstill as PIF officials want any future to include team golf. 'I think that LIV is not going anywhere,' DeChambeau said. He said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor behind the rival league, 'has been steadfast in his belief on team golf, and whether everybody believes in it or not, I think it's a viable option.' DeChambeau believes LIV is going in the right direction and referenced the indoor tech-infused TGL as having teams making money. 'I believe there is a sustainable model out there,' he said. 'How it all works with the game of golf, who knows? But I know my worth.' Xander and YouTube Xander Schauffele might spend less time on his phone than anyone, usually only scrolling through the news. A few weeks ago at the Memorial, during a rapid-fire series of random questions, he was asked who he would take with him on 'The Amazing Race' reality show. 'What's 'The Amazing Race,'' he asked. So when he was told about Tommy Fleetwood's latest venture with YouTube and asked if he would considering doing something like that, Schauffele replied, 'Is that like a serious question?' But he has spent time on YouTube for a reason. Schauffele made his U.S. Open debut in 2017, the year after the Open at Oakmont. What better way to check out the course than watching a U.S. Open at Oakmont? 'I watched some of the '16 coverage on YouTube. I would have watched it on any platform that would have been provided, but I watched some of that coverage there just to see sort of how guys were hitting shots and how the ball was reacting,' Schauffele said. Turns out that wasn't his first experience on YouTube. 'I've been in dark places where I've looked up swing tip things on YouTube as well, trying to make sense of it, just like every golfer has. I'll confess to it,' he said. "I'm luckily not there anymore, which is probably healthy for myself and my family. 'Yeah, there's a lot on there, I can tell you that much.' Rory and his driver Rory McIlroy expressed concern about his driver after badly missing the cut in the Canadian Open, his last tournament ahead of the U.S. Open. He said he worked at home over the weekend and realized he was using the wrong driver. And he was coy about which one he was using, suggesting that people could always go to the range to find out for themselves. McIlroy got plenty of attention with his driver when it was leaked at the PGA Championship that his driver did not pass inspection. It's a common occurrence, and testing takes place randomly at every major. Scottie Scheffler also had to change drivers after his didn't pass the test. He wound up winning by five shots. So was that a problem for McIlroy at the PGA Championship? 'It wasn't a big deal for Scottie,' McIlroy said. 'So it shouldn't have been a big deal for me.' The best honorary member Dustin Johnson had not played Oakmont since the won the U.S. Open in 2016. That's not to say he hasn't been back to the fabled club. Oakmont Country Club honors its major champions by offering them honorary membership. Johnson went back a few years later for the honor, going to a dinner and getting his green jacket (he got the more famous green jacket a few years later at the Masters). Honorary membership has its privileges that Johnson doesn't use. 'I'm probably their favorite member because I never come,' he said. Oakmont need not to be offended. Johnson was asked how many clubs he had honorary membership and he didn't bother counting. 'Quite a few,' he said. 'And I don't use very many, either.' ___ AP golf:


Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Jon Rahm: Smaller fields make top 10s easier at LIV Golf
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Two-time major champion Jon Rahm comes into the U.S. Open off another top 10 at LIV Golf, which is nothing new. The Spaniard has never come in lower in the 20 events he has finished since joining the Saudi-backed league at the start of last year. Is that a big deal? 'I would happily trade a bunch of them for more wins, that's for sure,' said Rahm, who has two LIV victories but has yet to win this year. 'But I keep putting myself in good position.' One of the criticism of LIV is the 54-man fields over 54 holes, especially with a half-dozen or more considered past their prime and several unproven young players. Rahm delivered some context on his streak. 'Listen, I'm a realist in this case,' he said. 'I've been playing really good golf, yes, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't easier to have top 10s with a smaller field. That's just the truth, right? Had I been playing full-field events, would I have top 10 every single week? No. But I've been playing good enough to say that I would most likely have been inside the top 30 every single time and maybe even top 25.' He considered that impressive, and he figures most of those would be top 10s. Rahm tied for eighth last week in Virginia without ever having a serious chance of winning over the final few holes. He said against a full field, he doubts that would have been a top 10. 'I think winning is equally as hard, but you can take advantage of a smaller field to finish higher,' he said. 'As much as I want to give it credit personally for having that many top 10s, I wouldn't always give it as the full amount just knowing that it's a smaller field.' DeChambeau and LIV Bryson DeChambeau says the contract he signed to join Saudi-funded LIV Golf is up next year and he's already looking ahead to a new one. 'We're looking to negotiate end of this year, and I'm very excited. They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we'll come to some sort of resolution on that,' DeChambeau said Tuesday. 'Super excited for the future.' LIV contracts are confidential and there has been ample speculation whether the Public Investment Fund will shell out the kind of signing bonuses that helped lure players away from the PGA Tour in 2022. Meanwhile, unification with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf appears at a standstill as PIF officials want any future to include team golf. 'I think that LIV is not going anywhere,' DeChambeau said. He said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor behind the rival league, 'has been steadfast in his belief on team golf, and whether everybody believes in it or not, I think it's a viable option.' DeChambeau believes LIV is going in the right direction and referenced the indoor tech-infused TGL as having teams making money. 'I believe there is a sustainable model out there,' he said. 'How it all works with the game of golf, who knows? But I know my worth.' Xander and YouTube Xander Schauffele might spend less time on his phone than anyone, usually only scrolling through the news. A few weeks ago at the Memorial, during a rapid-fire series of random questions, he was asked who he would take with him on 'The Amazing Race' reality show. 'What's 'The Amazing Race,'' he asked. So when he was told about Tommy Fleetwood's latest venture with YouTube and asked if he would considering doing something like that, Schauffele replied, 'Is that like a serious question?' But he has spent time on YouTube for a reason. Schauffele made his U.S. Open debut in 2017, the year after the Open at Oakmont. What better way to check out the course than watching a U.S. Open at Oakmont? 'I watched some of the '16 coverage on YouTube. I would have watched it on any platform that would have been provided, but I watched some of that coverage there just to see sort of how guys were hitting shots and how the ball was reacting,' Schauffele said. Turns out that wasn't his first experience on YouTube. 'I've been in dark places where I've looked up swing tip things on YouTube as well, trying to make sense of it, just like every golfer has. I'll confess to it,' he said. 'I'm luckily not there anymore, which is probably healthy for myself and my family. 'Yeah, there's a lot on there, I can tell you that much.' Rory and his driver Rory McIlroy expressed concern about his driver after badly missing the cut in the Canadian Open, his last tournament ahead of the U.S. Open. He said he worked at home over the weekend and realized he was using the wrong driver. And he was coy about which one he was using, suggesting that people could always go to the range to find out for themselves. McIlroy got plenty of attention with his driver when it was leaked at the PGA Championship that his driver did not pass inspection. It's a common occurrence, and testing takes place randomly at every major. Scottie Scheffler also had to change drivers after his didn't pass the test. He wound up winning by five shots. So was that a problem for McIlroy at the PGA Championship? 'It wasn't a big deal for Scottie,' McIlroy said. 'So it shouldn't have been a big deal for me.' The best honorary member Dustin Johnson had not played Oakmont since the won the U.S. Open in 2016. That's not to say he hasn't been back to the fabled club. Oakmont Country Club honors its major champions by offering them honorary membership. Johnson went back a few years later for the honor, going to a dinner and getting his green jacket (he got the more famous green jacket a few years later at the Masters). Honorary membership has its privileges that Johnson doesn't use. 'I'm probably their favorite member because I never come,' he said. Oakmont need not to be offended. Johnson was asked how many clubs he had honorary membership and he didn't bother counting. 'Quite a few,' he said. 'And I don't use very many, either.' ___ AP golf:


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
MrBeast says he spent $500K to rent out Disneyland for date with fiancée
MrBeast says he spent $500K to rent out Disneyland for date with fiancée Show Caption Hide Caption What to expect on your visit to Disney's Castaway Cay Castaway Cay is Disney's private island, reserved exclusively for Disney Cruise Line guests in the Bahamas. YouTube's most-subscribed-to content creator has once again made a larger-than-life purchase by paying $500,000 to rent out an entire Disneyland theme park for a "romantic date" with his fiancée. In a new YouTube video, MrBeast, the social media persona of Jimmy Donaldson, takes his fiancée Thea Booysen on six dates that range from $1 to $500,000, concluding with what he says was an evening at Disneyland all to themselves (in addition to a handful of friends and crew, of course). The group rode Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Pixar Pal-A-Round (the 150-foot-tall Ferris wheel); played several carnival-style games; and built custom lightsabers at Savi's Workshop in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. "There are no words to describe how special it is to have Disney all to ourselves," Donaldson said in the little over 17-minute video. "I think we all made memories that are going to last a lifetime." Birthdays at Disneyland: Duchess Meghan, Prince Harry take Archie and Lilibet to Disneyland for birthday MrBeast is not the first celeb to rent out Disneyland On Feb. 27, 1992, actress Elizabeth Taylor rented out all of Disneyland to celebrate her 60th birthday. The entire park shut down for the birthday bash, which required extra security. Hundreds of celebrities attended the party, which proved to be a successful marketing promotion for Disney. Theme parks: New report finds Disneyland, Disney World contribute $67B to US economy Can you actually rent out all of Disneyland? Disney did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on MrBeast's video or consumers' ability to rent out an entire theme park. However, several Disney-centric blogs like Magic Guides say it is not possible. "Closing down the resort for a day would be a public relations nightmare and would severely disrupt how guests could plan and book their trips," Magic Guides' author Joshua Powell wrote. Disneyland does offer some private and after-hours experiences, though, like Disney After Hours, in which customers can purchase tickets for three extended hours after the park's traditional closing time. The theme park also offers Disney's Fair Tale Weddings & Honeymoons, which allows couples and their family to rent various venues, including The Sleeping Beauty Castle Forecourt and Small World Mall. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@