LIV's money is gone. Now what?

PGA TOUR ^. CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Cameron Young went wire-to-wire at the Cadillac Championship for a six-stroke win over Scottie Scheffler, the largest margin of victory at Doral since Hubert Green beat Nicklaus by six in 1976. He led after every round without sharing the top spot once. Twenty-four birdies, second-best strokes gained putting in the field, and a self-imposed penalty on Sunday's second hole that didn't even slow him down.

This is Young's second win of the season after THE PLAYERS in March. He's now north of $11 million in earnings and atop the money list for the third time. A year ago he was outside the top 60 in the world. Now he's world No. 4 and joining names like Nicklaus, Tiger, Trevino, and Faldo on Doral's winners list.

$3.6 million. Wire-to-wire. Six clear. The Blue Monster has a new landlord.

LIV GOLF ^. PGA TOUR

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is pulling its financial backing of LIV Golf after 2026, and multiple player representatives have already reached out to the PGA Tour to explore what a return looks like. Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, who both turned down the Returning Member Program in February, now face genuine uncertainty about where they'll play next year.

The Tour isn't rolling out a welcome mat. CEO Brian Rolapp told the Wall Street Journal that plenty of people at the Tour have "scar tissue" from the antitrust lawsuit, and that factor will be "accounted for in some shape or form." Meanwhile, the Tour is projecting purse increases backed by its $1.5 billion Strategic Sports Group investment and new TV rights negotiations. LIV's leverage just evaporated.

LPGA TOUR ^. RIVIERA MAYA OPEN

Korda's third win of 2026 came at Mayakoba, her second in consecutive weeks. She finished 17 under, four clear of Arpichaya Yubol. There's no real suspense when Korda gets to the weekend with a lead right now. The LPGA has the same dominance problem the PGA Tour had with Scheffler last year, except Korda seems even less interested in letting anyone close.

18 wins. 27 years old. Not finished. Annika comparisons aren't hyperbole anymore.

ALSO THIS WEEK

LOOKING AHEAD

The Tour heads to Charlotte for the Truist Championship, one of eight Signature Events with a $20 million purse. Quail Hollow's Green Mile closing stretch is one of the toughest finishes on Tour, and the field reflects it: eight of the top 10 in the world rankings are teeing it up. Names to watch: Rory McIlroy (four-time winner here, first start since the Masters), Cameron Young (riding two wins in his last three starts), and Matt Fitzpatrick (three wins this season, looking for an unprecedented three in a row).

McLaren launched its first golf clubs this week: the Series 1 blade and Series 3 players-distance iron, both at $375 per club. That's north of $3,000 for a set. The metal-injection-molding process is legitimately different, the feel is reportedly premium, and Justin Rose is gaming the Series 1 at Doral. But Golf Monthly's hands-on review of the Series 3 was blunt: performance is solid, visuals are too busy, and at this price there are better irons for half the cost. My take: wait for independent testing data before you spend supercar money on irons. The Srixon ZXi5 apparently matches the Series 3 in performance for considerably less.

ALSO THIS WEEK

RTD just crossed 500 subscribers. That sounds small if you read newsletters with seven figures of readers, but for a hyper-local thing about Triangle golf that started in March, it feels like something. So we're marking it.

Subscriber #500 already got a personal note from us and a voucher for a one-hour simulator session at Back Nine North Raleigh (one hour, plus one guest). If they're up for it, we'll feature their story in an upcoming Local Drop. Four questions about their golf life in the Triangle, the one club that never leaves their bag, that kind of thing.

The bigger reason you're reading this: we have four more vouchers to give away.

This is the close of our founding partner window with Back Nine, and we want to send it off properly. Here's how the drawing works.

Every current subscriber is already entered. You don't have to do anything. Over the next two weeks we'll draw four winners and announce them right here in Local Drop. Each winner gets the same voucher: one hour at the Back Nine sim with a guest, plus a spot in a future Local Drop spotlight if they want it.

Want a bonus entry? Hit reply to this email and tell us your favorite Triangle course, or the one you've never played but want to. We read every reply, and good ones might end up quoted in a future issue.

If you've been forwarded this and you're not a subscriber yet, the math is pretty simple. Subscribe by Sunday, May 17 and you're in the drawing.

Thanks to Back Nine for making the founding window something we could actually be proud of. Five sim sessions, four winners, and a thank-you to subscriber #500. And thanks to all of you for reading, and for being among the first to join me on this.

UNC, NC State, and High Point all drew the Chapel Hill Regional at UNC Finley Golf Club, May 11-13. Texas is the top seed, UNC is No. 2. The top five teams advance to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad. Wake Forest was sent to Tallahassee as the No. 2 seed. If you're near Chapel Hill, spectating at Finley is one of the best free golf experiences in the Triangle.

Pinehurst Resort opened Wiregrass inside the historic clubhouse. It's a farm-to-table concept led by Executive Chef Geoffrey Kenney, featuring hyper-seasonal menus built around local NC farms. Open nightly for dinner, 5 to 9:30 p.m. The Carolina Dining Room closes in May for renovation and reopens in late December.

ALSO THIS WEEK

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