Entertainment
U.S. Open could be plagued by same issue as Masters after Scottie Scheffler concerns
Rory McIlroy won the Masters while Scottie Scheffler claimed the PGA Championship earlier this year, but both tournaments were marred by mud balls
The U.S. Open is bracing for the same weather issues that plagued the Masters and PGA Championship earlier this year, with concerns on the horizon as play approaches next week at Oakmont.
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Join us on WhatsAppRory McIlroy triumphantly conquered his major drought at Augusta earlier this year, snagging the Masters and completing his collection for golf’s career Grand Slam. Scottie Scheffler followed suit a month later with a win at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, marking his third major to complement his 2022 and 2024 Masters victories.
Yet unfavorable weather took its toll on both the Masters and the PGA Championship, causing mud balls—a golfer’s bane. At Augusta, an irked Jordan Spieth lambasted the conditions post his third round, according to the Guardian, decrying the mud balls which negatively affect a ball’s flight and spin due to dirt picked up in bad weather.
“My iron play killed me the last two days and to be brutally honest with you, it was primarily mud balls,” Spieth said. “It’s just so frustrating because you can’t talk about them here. You’re not supposed to talk about them.
“Mud balls can affect this tournament significantly, especially when you get them a lot on 11 and 13. They’re just daggers on those two holes.”
At the PGA Championship, rain once again disrupted play. Although the forecast for next week’s U.S. Open seems promising, poor weather this weekend and potential early-week showers in Oakmont, Pennsylvania could bring the issue of mud balls back into focus.
The ‘preferred lies’ rule allows golfers to lift, clean, and place their ball within a certain distance from its original position on well-mown areas. However, this option was not available to players during the event due to a decision by the PGA of America, and it won’t be available at the U.S. Open either.
Last month’s major winner, Scheffler, like Spieth, expressed frustration with the rules. “I mean, I don’t make the rules,” Scheffler stated.
“I think when you’re looking at the most authentic forms of golf, like when you’re going to play links golf, there’s no reason at all to play the ball on a link golf course. It doesn’t matter how much rain falls. The course could be flooded with water, and somehow the ball is still going to bounce because of the way the turf is and the ground underneath.
“In American golf it’s significantly different. When you have overseeded fairways that are not sand capped, there’s going to be a lot of mud on the ball, and that’s just part of it. When you think about the purest test of golf, I don’t personally think that hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway you should get punished for.
“On a golf course as good of conditioned as this one is, this is probably a situation in which it would be the least likely difference in playing it up because most of the lies you get out here are all really good. So I understand how a golf purist would be, oh, play it as it lies.
“All of us. I’m not the only guy,” Xander Schauffele remarked at the PGA Championship when discussing the challenges with mud balls.
“I’m just in front of the camera. I wouldn’t want to go in the locker room because I’m sure a lot of guys aren’t super happy with sort of the conditions there.
“I feel like the grass is so good, there is no real advantage to cleaning your ball in the fairway. The course is completely tipped out. It sucks that you’re kind of 50/50 once you hit the fairway.
Entertainment
Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture
The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.
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Join us on WhatsAppWith the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.
Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?
Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.
“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.
Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..
Entertainment
Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.
Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.
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Join us on WhatsAppIt’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.
These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.
Entertainment
Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses
It looks like LIV Golf is over.
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Join us on WhatsAppThe Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.
That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.
So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.
But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?
Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.
Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour
Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.
That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.
If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.
But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.
Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.
For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.
Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time
With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.
He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.
DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.
He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.
He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.
He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.
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