Justin Thomas luck stuns Rory McIlroy, Donald | Golf News

Golf fanatics have been on the sting of their seats this week with a sequence of thrilling occasions shaking up the game.

The pleasure peaked when Rory McIlroy clinched his second victory at The Players Championship, outplaying J.J. Spaun in a nail-biting three-hole playoff that prolonged the event to a fifth day at TPC Sawgrass.

The golf world was left shocked by Justin Thomas’ unbelievable stroke of luck during the TGL Finals Series’ second semifinal on Tuesday. Thomas led his workforce, Atlanta Drive Golf Club, to a commanding 9-3 win towards Shane Lowry’s Bay Golf Club, setting the stage for an epic remaining towards Xander Schauffele’s New York squad subsequent week.

Thomas’ success got here into play midway by way of the match, as Atlanta held a 4-2 lead. His iron shot on the par-five tenth took a miraculous bounce, steering clear of a hazard and setting him up for a two-putt par that helped him secure a win over Lowry.

TGL co-founder McIlroy could not conceal his astonishment at Thomas’ fortunate break, exclaiming “no” and including on commentary: “I don’t want to sound biased here but that is just the luckiest bounce I’ve ever seen.” This got here after McIlroy’s own Boston Common workforce was eradicated from the playoffs following a 10-6 defeat by New York.

Looking forward, McIlroy is gearing up for his subsequent problem on the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Fresh off his triumph at The Players, he introduced his intention to compete as soon as more earlier than making his solution to Augusta, aiming to snap his extended main title drought.

The World No. 2 has now determined to take part in The Houston Open for the primary time, which tees off on Thursday, March 27. This offers McIlroy a week’s relaxation earlier than he units his sights on his first inexperienced jacket.

Donald Trump’s $175M drawback

In different information, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reportedly poised to throw a wrench into discussions aimed toward resolving golf’s inside battle. The backers of LIV Golf have been in talks with the rival PGA Tour about a attainable merger, having held two conferences on the White House with United States President Donald Trump.

However, these promising discussions might be in jeopardy following a report by the Daily Mail this week that the PIF is stepping up its efforts to accumulate Wentworth Golf Club in England. Hosting the DP World Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship annually, a takeover by LIV would possible ruffle feathers amongst each the previously named European Tour and their allies, the PGA Tour.

According to the report, Wentworth’s present house owners, Chinese investment firm Reignwood Group, advised the Daily Mail that the Surrey-based membership they purchased for £135 million ($175.5 million) in 2014 just isn’t on the market, and no discussions have taken place with the Saudis. Despite this, the PIF is eager to develop its footprint in British golf, which might put a damper on the initial optimism surrounding Trump’s involvement within the merger talks.

Adam Scott, a member of the PGA Tour delegation that visited the White House final month, means that the continued negotiations are being hampered by disagreements over how LIV Golf and the PGA Tour can coexist. The Daily Mail’s report additionally hinted that Saudi Arabia’s curiosity in buying Wentworth is likely to be a strategic transfer to stress the PGA Tour into an settlement.

PGA Tour information

The PGA Tour obtained a important increase from final weekend’s viewership numbers. The remaining spherical of The Players on NBC considerably outperformed the ultimate spherical of LIV Golf’s Singapore occasion on FS1, with a ratio of 100-1.

McIlroy’s victory over Spaun attracted an average of 3.6 million viewers on NBC, marking a roughly 3 p.c increase from Scottie Scheffler’s win the earlier 12 months. In distinction, LIV Golf’s occasion, which ran from Saturday evening into the early hours of Sunday, noticed Joaquin Niemann’s win draw a modest average of 34,000 viewers, following the Saudi-backed golf tour’s new media rights deal with FOX Sports.

Meanwhile, PGA Tour members are at present voting till April 14 to elect two co-chairs for the Player Advisory Council. Rickie Fowler, Maverick McNealy, and Keith Mitchell had been introduced as candidates on Tuesday, chosen by the participant administrators. The prime two vote-getters will change present participant administrators Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson beginning January 1, 2026.