GRAEME MCDOWELL

It sure doesn't sound like Wentworth will be a place for PGA Tour players and LIV Golf players to visit over tea.

Getting to the Tour Championship isn’t all that’s at stake in the second FedEx Cup playoff event.

Here's a look back at key anniversaries from the U.S. Open.

Rory McIlroy says he was wrong about his prediction in February that the Saudi-backed rival golf league was “dead in the water.”.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is blasting the Saudi-based LIV Golf league as a series of exhibitions that spends billions to recruit players without getting a return on the investment.

The Saudi-funded golf breakaway has started outside London, attempting to bring a sense of faux regal pageantry to the rebellion splitting the sport.

The PGA Tour says members who are playing in the Saudi-funded league in London are no longer eligible to play tour events.

Phil Mickelson has returned to golf after four months out of public view and is facing severe scrutiny because of where he’s playing and who is paying him.

ST. ALBANS, England — (AP) — Graeme McDowell accepts it is “incredibly polarizing" to join the Saudi-funded rebel golf tour. Nobody is going to argue that fact.”The Northern Irish golfer was referencing the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. “I really feel like golf is a force of good in the world — I just try to be a great role model to kids,” he said. "As golfers, if we tried to cure geopolitical situations in every country in the world that we play golf in, we wouldn’t play a lot of golf. I’d agree with what Graeme said.” ___More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

The stars of the new Saudi-funded golf league have tried to fend off concerns about human rights abuses and signing up to accept hundreds of millions of dollars despite the risk of being banned from long-standing events.

Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson says he has resigned his PGA Tour membership to participate in the new golf series backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

The first Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational has Dustin Johnson and 12 other PGA Tour members as part of its 48-man field next week outside London.

Harold Varner III shot an 8-under 63 to take a one-shot lead in the RBC Heritage on Saturday in pursuit of his first PGA Tour victory.

Scottie Scheffler didn't win the U.S. Open on Sunday.

Scottie Scheffler didn't win the U.S. Open on Sunday.

Billy Horschel and Talor Gooch lead the group of survivors at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Bay Hill Golf Rory McIlroy hits from the third tee box during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament Thursday, March 3, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) (John Raoux)ORLANDO, Fla. — (AP) — Rory McIlroy opened with a 7-under 65 on Thursday and had reason to expect a score like this at Bay Hill, not so much because of the course but rather the day of the week. With three birdies and a 40-foot eagle on the par 5s, McIlroy set a daunting target for Jon Rahm and the others playing in the afternoon. But there is a rhythm to playing Bay Hill that makes McIlroy comfortable, mainly taking advantage of the par 5s and some of the shorter par 4s. “I played the par 5s particularly well, and that was the bulk of the score,” he said. His lone victory at Bay Hill was a 67-64 finish, so he does know how to close.

Rory McIlroy has opened with a 65 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and has a three-shot lead over the early starters.

The Florida swing on the PGA Tour resumes with the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

The curtain has dropped again at The Greatest Show on Grass after a one-year hiatus.

Sahith Theegala crashed golf’s biggest party.

Patrick Cantlay shot a 10-under 62 in perfect conditions at La Quinta Country Club for a share of the first-round lead with rookie Lee Hodges in The American Express.

Formula One racing got a huge boost in interest in North America through the Netflix series “Drive to Survive.”.

Talor Gooch of Oklahoma had no problem with 25 mph wind that swept over Sea Island.

Yuka Saso birdied the third playoff hole to beat Nasa Hataoka on Sunday and become the second teenager to win the U.S. Women’s Open after Lexi Thompson collapsed down the stretch.

Both golfers shot bogey-free rounds, with Todd making five birdies on the front nine and Johnson five on the back. Todd said the round became a game of whatever you can do, I can do just as well. Its hard to miss the leader boards obviously, so (Johnson's) name was up there from a pretty early point, Todd said. Mackenzie Hughes, who led after a 60 on Thursday, shot his second straight 68 for sole possession of fourth place. Nick Watney withdrew just before the second round of last weeks RBC Heritage Championship.

McCarthy became the third PGA Tour player to test positive for the virus since its restart and the second this week, joining Cameron Champ who withdrew on Tuesday. Gordon, a 23-year-old Vanderbilt graduate playing his fourth PGA Tour event on a sponsor's exemption, is 12-under 128 after 36 holes. The Travelers field continued to shrink after Denny McCarthy tested positive for the coronavirus. McCarthy, who shot an opening-round 67, said he began began feeling sick Thursday night and tested positive for the virus on Friday morning. McDowell and Brooks Koepkas caddies both tested positive.

Jim Furyk shot a 12-under 58 on the same par-70 TPC River Highlands course four years ago, the lowest score in a tour event. I kind of joked walking off there that 59 wasn't even the record because of Jim's 58, Hughes said. Phil Mickelson, paired with McIlroy in his first competitive round since turning 50, was one of five players to shoot 64. Patrick Cantlay also shot 60 at TPC River Highlands as an amateur in 2011. The Travelers is the third event on the tour calendar since golf resumed.

Cameron Champ tested positive when he arrived Tuesday and took his mandatory test at TPC River HIghlands. McDowell told Golfweek that his caddie, Ken Comboy, tested positive. The alarm bells have started to ring now that Kenny has failed this test, McDowell told Golfweek. Nick Watney was the first player to test positive, on Friday at the RBC Heritage. He told Golfweek he tested negative at the Travelers Championship on Monday, and he would decide when he reached home whether he should quarantine from his family.

During his short offseason, Koepka had stem cell treatment on his left knee because the patella tendon was partially torn. As Li Haotong of China was making his debut at the Presidents Cup, Guan Tianlang was preparing to qualify for the PGA Tour Series-China. Ishikawa showed signs of getting back to form last year when he won three times on the Japan Golf Tour, his first titles since 2016 and his biggest year in Japan since 2010. Otherwise, the Japan Golf Tour season doesn't start until a week after the Masters. The last seven rounds on the PGA Tour in Hawaii were played under lift, clean and place rules.