Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, our writers discuss the future of LIV Golf’s star players and the upcoming PGA Championship at Aronimink.

For the first time since news broke that the Saudi PIF will not fund LIV Golf following this season, the league’s CEO, Scott O’Neil, and players spoke to the media at this week’s D.C. tournament. What was your biggest takeaway from what you heard from Trump National?

Jack Hirsh, Associate Equipment Editor (@JR_HIRSHey): That LIV is on the ropes. I think we knew this already, but nothing O’Neil said would do anything to convince me otherwise. It seemed like O’Neil was acting more reactionary than anything, which means he didn’t see the PIF pulling funding. That’s not a death sentence, but the next time the media hears from him, he’s going to need to come up with a more concrete plan about how LIV was going to survive. It didn’t sound like he knew how that would happen yet.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): As expected, it feels like everyone is trying to figure out what’s next or if there is a next for LIV Golf. O’Neil didn’t offer many specifics on what funding they might get or how a 2027 season would look. I thought Jon Rahm saying that the players would need to make “concessions” to keep the business alive was telling. What does that look like? Who is interested in doing that? Still a lot of unknowns.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): LIV as we know it is over. That’s already been true — the original vision was a marriage of Greg Norman and Yasir Al-Rumayyan and had nearly blank-check access to the Saudi PIF reserves — but it was even clearer this week, as O’Neil explained that the plan is to make a new plan and players spoke of concessions and unknowns. 

One looming question is the future of Bryson DeChambeau, whose contract is up at the end of this year and who said last week he could focus on growing his YouTube channel and playing “tournaments that want me” if it doesn’t work for him to return to LIV or the PGA Tour. How valuable is Bryson to the future of the PGA Tour? And who holds the leverage in Bryson’s future?

Hirsh: There’s no doubt Bryson is super important to the PGA Tour from the standpoint of how many eyeballs he can draw to it that wouldn’t otherwise watch. That said, people are going to see right through his bluff. Bryson is entertaining, no doubt, but if he’s not playing competitive golf, then some of that really goes away. What is to differentiate him from any other YouTuber? I think his viewers hold the greatest amount of leverage in his future. Maybe I’m wrong and people would continue to watch him if he stopped playing any competitive golf once his exemptions ran out. But if I’m not and he loses his command on his viewers, you’re going to see he come back to the PGA Tour with his tail tucked.

Schrock: Bryson has value to the PGA Tour. If you’re just looking at a spreadsheet of who brings in eyeballs and whose presence would translate into dollars and cents, Bryson would be in the green. But the PGA Tour is doing good without him and I don’t think he’s doing himself a lot of favors by saying the PGA Tour is struggling and complaining about the policy regulating players’ social media content creation at tournaments. It will be fascinating to see what a return would look like for Bryson, should he want to come back. He was the lead plaintiff in the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour in 2022, which members had to pay to defend. He disparaged the PGA Tour on his way out and worked to recruit players to LIV. Basically, everything Brooks Koepka didn’t do, he did. Bryson had all the leverage in negotiations when Koepka ditched LIV. With the PIF no longer involved, he has lost that leverage and now it’s up to the PGA Tour to decide if and how he returns. Playing YouTube full-time is a good headline but, as Jack noted, eventually the exemptions run out. They don’t hand those out for breaking 50 with Steph Curry.

Dethier: They each really stand to benefit from an enthusiastic partnership. They’ll also each survive just fine without the other. There’s some risk in trying to force something that neither side fully buys in on; to Bryson’s point, he should only play the PGA Tour if he wants to and if they want him to.

While appearing on The Rich Eisen Show last week, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said he’s interested in doing whatever makes the PGA Tour better when it comes to player reintegration, but “we need to balance that with the interest of our current golfers.” How does Rolapp go about improving his Tour while also not irking current members who never left in the first place?

Hirsh: Oh man! Isn’t that the million-dollar question? I don’t think there’s a scenario where the PGA Tour product vastly improves for the fan, but the majority of Tour pros (especially guys ranked from like 75-125) aren’t irked. Personally, I’m not a fan of the proposed two-tier Tour, but I can see how that would make it easier for the casual fan. As for reintegration. I say guys who wouldn’t otherwise be exempt need to take the Patrick Reed route. Sorry, not sorry.

Schrock: When someone finds the answer to this question, let me know. I do think we’re really only talking about a handful of players and the real questions revolve around Bryson and Rahm. Feels like the second-tier bucket — the Tyrrell Hattons and Joaquin Niemanns — can take the Patrick Reed route back via the DP World Tour and most of the membership wouldn’t bat an eye. But how Rolapp constructs a punishment and way back for Bryson and Rahm, two players who have irked membership in a way Brooks Koepka didn’t, will be a fascinating tight-rope act. 

Dethier: I think we’ve seen versions of these reintegration programs with Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed — but those guys returned voluntarily, while LIV was still in existence. This version is far more complex. Especially with Bryson declaring that he’ll be with LIV as long as LIV exists, and that he wants to watch out for the league’s young would-be stars and their futures, too. I don’t see a simple fix.

The second men’s major of the year has arrived, as we head to Aronimink outside of Philadelphia for the PGA Championship. What’s your top storyline for this year’s event?

Hirsh: That more golf tournaments need to be in Philly. I’m biased, but come on, we only get a golf tournament in the Philly metro every four years (the next one on the schedule is the 2030 U.S. Open at Merion). There are dozens of outstanding tournament-quality venues within 90 minutes of the airport. Not to mention it’s the best food city in the northeast (I said what I said). I think the Philly crowds are going to show out in force this week and show everyone exactly why we need to have a regular event. I’m sure the Cobbs Creek project will be highlighted and hopefully, soon, that might be the host of a tournament in Philly.

Schrock: I feel like every PGA Championship has the same top storyline, which is: So, what’s the identity of this major? Ever since the move to May, the PGA Championship has been adrift. It’s a major, but doesn’t really have the major juice we will get at the U.S. Open, Masters or Open. It’s almost Chevron-esque in that you’re telling me it’s a major but I’m not seeing it. Going to Valhalla and Quail Hollow hasn’t helped. I’m bullish on Aronomink giving us a major feel we’ve been missing at this event but we’re still looking for an identity for the fourth major. 

Dethier: Jordan Spieth hunting the career Grand Slam, fellas! [Returns to earth] Honestly, for me it’s the ongoing Scottie-Rory major hunt. To Schrock’s point, as the PGA continues to hunt for an identity, its strongest virtue is that yeah, it’s a major! These are the ones that we really keep track of. I can’t wait. 

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler have won four of the last five majors, with McIlroy already taking the Masters this year. Which player do you like better heading into the PGA?

Hirsh: Rory just won one. Scottie has finished second his last like bajillion events. I more likely see him defending his title than Rory getting halfway to the slam.

Schrock: Rory won at Augusta with his B- game. Scottie has been playing with his B- game for like the last two months and barely finishes outside the top five. I feel like Scottie’s floor is Sunday contention and a to -five, whereas Rory could win or bomb out early. I’ll take Scottie. 

Dethier: Scottie’s the best golfer in the world and continues to play like it, so I’ll take him at an old-school major championship test over anyone. But I think Cameron Young might win, and I also think these three could end up 1-2-3 in some order, like they did at Augusta National. 

Alex Fitzpatrick wasn’t a PGA Tour member until he teamed with his brother, World No. 4 Matthew Fitzpatrick, to win the Zurich Classic last month. But in his first two starts as a Tour member, Alex tied for 9th at the Cadillac Championship and now 4th at the Truist Championship Sunday. Has his play been the biggest surprise of 2026? If not, what has been? 

Hirsh: Yeah, and I don’t think anything will top it. To go from having zero status to winning a team event with your brother and finishing top-10 in the next two Siggies? Now he’s playing in his second major. Quite the whirlwind.

Schrock: In a year of surprises, from Brooks Koepka’s return to Rory’s second jacket and a freakin’ Gary Woodland win, I think Alex Fitzpatrick’s last month, namely how he has played post-Zurich, is the biggest surprise. I would like to throw in Brandt Snedeker winning in Myrtle Beach today, which was his first win in almost eight years and first since he had experimental surgery on his sternum. He had five top-10s in six years coming into this week!

Dethier: The biggest surprise of 2026 is what Sungjae Im did from that bunker on the weekend. Other than that, though? Yeah, I’d say the Brothers Fitzpatrick take the cake, with a nod to some epic, inspiring wins from the trio of 40-somethings (Rose, Woodland, Snedeker). Also, did you see what happened on the Euro Tour this weekend? Golf is full of glorious, unexpected surprises. Maybe another one this week.

Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster course hosted its first PGA Tour round in 10 years on Thursday at the 2026 Cadillac Championship. While the course used to present a difficult challenge to the best golfers in the world, that was not the case in Round 1.

That was evidenced by the low scores that populated the leaderboard, but also by comments from some of the biggest Tour stars in the field, including Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler.

Those stars called it “straightforward,” and described it as “right in front of you” and “not super tricky,” all of which suggests some of the “Monster” has been taken out of the Blue Monster course.

Stars go low at Trump Doral: ‘Right in front of you, they don’t hide anything’

While many players went low in the opening round of the Cadillac Championship, none went lower than Young. The 2026 Players Champion fired an eight-under 64 on Thursday to take the early lead.

Despite windy conditions, Young’s round featured eight birdies and, most notably, zero bogeys.

While Young called the Blue Monster a “good solid golf course” after his round, he also described the challenge it presents as “pretty much right in front of you,” that it “doesn’t hide anything,” that “learning the course wasn’t a huge deal” and that the greens are not “particularly firm.”

“Yeah I think it’s pretty much right in front of you for the most part. I think most of the tee shots are pretty apparent, which is what good courses give you,” Young said of Trump Doral’s Blue Monster. “I think it doesn’t try to hide anything. So learning the course wasn’t a huge deal… I think you can be pretty aggressive into a lot of the greens. They’re not particularly firm.”

He continued: “I think it’s a good solid golf course. Right in front of you, they don’t hide anything. It’s kind of what you want.”

Scheffler didn’t fare as well as Young on Thursday. Surprisingly, Scheffler was only able to get to one under through his first 18 holes, though that’s a first-round trend he’s experienced this season.

Despite not having the best day, Scheffler did not suggest that the course was any harder than Young had.

Scheffler called it “straightforward” and said that the course does not demand “a ton of strategy” or a “ton of decisions off the tee.”

“I think a golf course like this there’s, this golf course is I don’t want to say straightforward, but most of it is in front of you. You can see what you need to do and there’s not a ton of like strategy, I don’t know if that’s the right word,” Scheffler said on Thursday. “There’s not a ton of decisions off the tee. There’s some lines and stuff and maybe some areas you can play from if you’re not playing your best, but outside of that it’s like you can definitely learn enough from a couple of days.”

Spieth admitted he only played one 9-hole practice round at the Blue Monster to prepare for this week, not counting Wednesday’s pro-am. Despite that, Spieth shot a seven-under 65 on Thursday to get within one shot of Young.

When asked to explain why he was able to perform so well on a course he’d barely seen, Spieth said “it’s not super tricky,” and then elaborated on his opinion.

“It’s not super tricky. During the pro-am you’re still looking, all right, here’s this corner. Michael is saying, Hey, check this is out. This pin will be in the middle of the greens in the pro-am, and you’re like there were some I wanted to see and write down the grain changes, when you’re hitting a wedge into this one, just nerdy stuff that helped knowing on a few of the pins.”

He continued: “It’s not tricky, so it was more just getting back out and recognizing what do I need to prioritize on the range, what shots am I really going to have throughout the week versus others. And you have quite a few long irons, more long irons than I think you have a lot of other places and so I’ve been trying to prioritize kind of up the bag getting good control of those clubs and I did today.”

Brian Harman, the 2023 Open champion, shared a different opinion, calling the Blue Monster course “very difficult.”

“I never played here. So it’s my first look at it. It’s very difficult especially coming in, 17, 18 with the wind blowing a little bit now. There is, 18’s as hard of a finishing hole as I can think of,” Harman said. “It’s very difficult because if you’re out of position there’s really not a lot of spots that are very easy to get up-and-down from. So it’s like you really need to drive it good and then you really need to iron it good and then make some putts. So if you’re out of position it’s tough. But I got fortunate.”

But despite his opinion on the course’s difficulty, Harman went out a shot a four-under 68 on Day 1. His round was also bogey-free.

Will Zalatoris can act. 

He says he couldn’t — “never been in a drama class in my life” — but there he was over the summer, the ball-and-stick golfer doing slapstick in a cameo for the “Happy Gilmore” sequel. He had a few lines. He choked a guy. He got tackled. Forget the green jacket. Give him the Golden Globe. 

But did you see him in the 2022 U.S. Open?

That’s a tournament, of course. But Zalatoris’ best work came there. Entering the final day tied for the lead, he received the entering-the-final-day-tied-for-the-lead intro, where, to set the mood, at-home viewers watch contenders wheeling cars into parking spaces, contenders unloading trunks and contenders swaggering to the clubhouse as music plays and analysts analyze. And there was Zalatoris. 

Masking a limp. Pretending he was OK. 

“The second your car pulls in, you have a camera right there once you get out,” he said. “And I remember trying to hide kind of my limp heading into the last round. Just because of how stiff I was and how locked up my back was. 

“And I was still able to go out and possibly win a major.”

Four years ago, he nearly did, but a 15-footer that would’ve tied him for the 72nd-hole lead brushed past the cup’s left side, and Matt Fitzpatrick was your winner. But what if Zalatoris hadn’t been hurt? What if his back cooperated? Or at least not crippled him? We obviously can’t know that. But we could learn soon what a healthy Zalatoris could look like. The ’22 Open foreshadowed more pain to come. There’ve been surgeries. Plural. There’ve been withdrawals. Plural. There’ve been returns. Plural. The latest comes Thursday, when Zalatoris tees off at the American Express tournament, his second start since undergoing a procedure last May, and his first on the PGA Tour. 

He’s hopeful, as he had been previously, but this time feels different, since it physically is. His surgery seven months ago was a full disc replacement; a 2023 procedure was a microdiscectomy after he’d herniated two discs. Put another way, Zalatoris said he believes the latest work solves all of his issues, rather than taking away only some of them. But new discs? Sounds unsettling. He’s just 29, too. That seems like a lot of opening and closing to be performed before 30. But Zalatoris said he knew the operation had been done on others — “finally I said, look, let’s go for it, we’ve got the technology, we’ve been putting it in long-drive guys, we’ve been putting it in hockey players, it’s been saving guys’ careers,” he said — and a week after he missed the cut last May at the PGA Championship, the work was done. 

Eight weeks later, he was putting. 

A couple weeks after that, he was chipping.

Fifteen weeks in, his doctor told him to play. 

Now, Zalatoris can’t stop. Thirty-six? Back-to-back days of 36? Gym work? All of the above. And all good.  

“I’m able to do the things that I haven’t been able to do for years,” he said. “So I know that’s kind of a weird thing to say at 29 years old, but obviously you know what I’ve been through for the last three, four, five years.”

By no means was his play poor over that stretch, though. Over 10 majors from 2020 through 2022, Zalatoris was a player, securing six top 10 finishes, including the ’22 U.S. Open runner-up and two others. He was the 2021 PGA Tour rookie of the year. Then, in August of 2022, he won his first PGA Tour event, and he led both the PGA Tour’s season-long points race and the DP World Tour’s. But stops-and-gos followed. “Everything kind of from there turned into, can you play, can you get by?” he said. A week after his victory, he withdrew from the BMW Championship because of his back, then he WD’d at the 2023 Masters and underwent his microdiscectomy before returning at the end of that year — and playing about a year and a half until he underwent his latest procedure.  

Doubt came at that point, he said. 

He wondered whether he could continue. 

“Is this something — even though the surgeon says, hey, I’m not going to see you for 20 years — is this true?” Zalatoris said. “The little things that of course always creep into your mind. …

“The mental side of it was very tough. Leaving the PGA not knowing if that was going to be my last professional golf tournament, given all the issues that I had had. But I would say that it only just gives you more appreciation when you come back out here.”

In his latest time away, he said he’s reworked his swing. (“A lot of it is actually trying to understand my body a little bit better in terms of just how I rotate around my body,” he said. “A lot of people always were pretty critical of my posture, how much I was kind of diving at the ball. The difference was is that I would say over the last year I did a very good job of managing it, but this time around there’s no management.”) He said he watched only some golf. The Ryder Cup. The majors. When friends were in contention. He played, though. One- and two-dollar games. He explored, too. “Last fall I made a conscious effort of, once I was able to play 18,” he said, “go play a bunch of new golf courses, go have some fun.”

But it’s what he didn’t do that has him most optimistic. 

“I’m not at home hitting a million golf balls, trying to figure out my golf swing,” Zalatoris said, “when in reality I had a compromised back.”

So what can you expect come Thursday?

Patience will be required. Backs are more fickle than even golf. Pain in that area is a bit like a shank — it comes seemingly out of nowhere, it hurts and it lingers. So things may take some time. Maybe Zalatoris contends. Maybe he makes the cut. Maybe he gears toward April and Augusta. That’d be symbolic. Three years ago, he withdrew from there. 

Or maybe we see him again contend at the U.S. Open. Where his acting career started. 

That give him some finality. He’d take a win this time, though. 

“I still am that same kid from 2022,” he said. 

“I just have a lot more appreciation for where I’m at.”