Previously one of the PGA Tour’s harshest critics of LIV and its players, Rahm disparaged LIV’s shotgun starts, lack of a cut, and watered-down fields of competitors (Pat Perez). He reveled in the PGA Tour’s courtroom wins and swore that, after making more than $51 million by 2023, a huge payday to join LIV would not tempt him. Then he left, reportedly for a possible total of $566 million, with $302 million just to sign.

“I mean, I’m not going to sit here and lie to you,” Rahm said. “It’s definitely one of the reasons.”

No. It’s all 566 million reasons.

Tiger’s tale

Last year, Woods willed his rebuilt 47-year-old body through three days of misery, and will try to do so again at 48. He made the cut on the number last year, but, after fighting pain and weather for three days, the cold, the rain, the Augusta hills, the age and the injuries forced him to withdraw Sunday morning.

Woods’ surgically repaired right foot, shattered in a car accident in 2021, was the culprit here last year, but it was again surgically repaired last April. However, though he played in his 2023 Hero Challenge, he has not played a full-field, 72-hole event since the 2023 Genesis Invitational, which he also hosts. He withdrew from the 2024 Genesis with the flu and hasn’t competed since.

The good news: He looked spry during a practice round Monday.

The bad news: It’s supposed to rain here Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Wither Phil

Mickelson took $200 million from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and led the charge to LIV, where he has withered. In fact, since he left in June of 2022, the only time Mickelson has played passably well was over the four days at Augusta in 2023.

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