Norman heads Saudi-backed investment for Asian Tour
More than 25 years after Greg Norman tried to start a world tour, he announced Friday he will be the CEO of a new company that will start by adding 10 tournaments on the Asian Tour over the next 10 years that will add $200 million in playing opportunities and prize money.
A majority of the funding for LIV Golf Investments comes from the Public Investment Fund, the investing arm of Saudi Arabia chaired by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Still to be determined is whether this was the first step toward rumblings of a Saudi-backed “super league,” in which top players are offered as much as $50 million to be part of a team concept. Various iterations of the team concept have been trying to gain traction for nearly a decade, picking up momentum in the last two years.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has made it clear to his players that anyone who joins will no longer be part of the PGA Tour.
“This is only the beginning,” Norman said in a release, adding the company has secured a major capital commitment to be used to create “additive new opportunities” around the world.
The series is to start in 2022.
Marshall moving to Sun Belt
Marshall is moving to the Sun Belt Conference, becoming the ninth school to reveal plans to depart the dwindling Conference USA.
A video posted on the Marshall Athletics Twitter account teased the official announcement from the Huntington, West Virginia-based school that has been a member of C-USA since 2005.
Earlier this week the Sun Belt announced C-USA schools Southern Mississippi and Old Dominion would be joining the conference by 2023. The additions will give the Sun Belt 13 footballplaying members.
The Sun Belt is also pursuing FCS powerhouse James Madison.
Pendrith shoots 61
SOUTHAMPTON, BERMUDA » Taylor Pendrith of Canada got married two weeks ago and wasn’t sure what to expect out of his game. Once the weather cooperated, it proved to be better than ever in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Pendrith ran off five straight birdies at the turn and flirted with a sub-60 round until settling for two closing pars and a 10-under 61 at Port Royal, giving him a one-shot lead over Patrick Rodgers going into the weekend.
In the calm and beauty of Port Royal, Pendrith had nine birdies and on eagle to offset his lone bogey on the 13th hole to move past Rodgers into the lead at 11-under 131.
USF programs penalized
TAMPA, FLA. » South Florida has been fined $10,000 and placed on three years’ probation for NCAA violations committed by the football and women’s basketball programs.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions announced its approval of a negotiated resolution with the USF that ended an 18-month investigation.
The school and NCAA agreed Level II violations occurred within the Bulls’ football program under former coach Charlie Strong and in the women’s basketball program under longtime coach Jose Fernandez.
Raducanu falters in Romania
CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA » Top-seeded Simona Halep cruised into the semifinals of the Transylvania Open, but U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu lost to a fellow teenager in less than an hour.
The third-seeded Raducanu lost 6-2, 6-1 to 19-year-old Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine after struggling with her serve throughout the match. Raducanu double-faulted seven times and won less than half the points in her service games as Kostyuk advanced to her third semifinal of the season.
Kostyuk will aim to reach her first career final when she plays Halep, who eased past fellow Romanian player Jacqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-1.
Chen rebounds at Skate Canada
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA » Nathan Chen rebounded from a surprising struggle last weekend at Skate America to top the short program at Skate Canada.
Third last week in Las Vegas after winning 14 straight events since March 2018, Chen scored 106.72 points to open the competition at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Fellow American Jason Brown was second at 94.00, and Canada’s Keegan Messing was third at 93.28.