💰 Billions injected

Happy Thursday! Professional golf is changing before our eyes, and the PGA Tour tees off today at Pebble Beach.

Before we get into it… If you’ve been enjoying the Quick Nine, I’d love for you to share it with a friend or two. We’re a small (but mighty!) publication, so every reader truly counts. 🙏

Now, onto the news…

Top stories:

1. PGA Tour strikes $3 billion deal

2. Rahm’s team takes shape

3. Full Swing Season 2

1. The PGA Tour reached an agreement with Strategic Sports Group (SSG) on Wednesday — a deal worth up to $3 billion.

• SSG is a consortium of billionaire sports owners, including John Henry (Boston Red Sox), Steven Cohen (New York Mets), Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), and Wyc Grousbeck (Boston Celtics).

• As part of the deal, the PGA Tour will launch its for-profit entity (known as PGA Tour Enterprises) in which certain players will have the opportunity to receive equity stakes. Grants will be decided based on recent and career achievements, services to the Tour, and more.

• The injection of cash from SSG — $1.5 billion to start and another $1.5 billion to be triggered at a later date — is separate from a potential investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) — which funds LIV Golf. Those negotiations are “ongoing,” the Tour said Wednesday.

• Notably, SSG did consent to the PGA Tour striking a future deal with the PIF, pending approval from the US government.

• Meanwhile, golfers on the PGA Tour and LIV (including Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau) spoke out this week on the importance of getting the game’s best players back together.

• “I hope people can just put down their weapons and come to the table and figure it out because that's what's good for the game of golf and for fans in general,” DeChambeau said Wednesday.

• Jordan Spieth, however, had a slightly different tone after the PGA Tour announced its lucrative deal, saying that an investment from the PIF wasn’t necessarily needed.

• “I think the short answer is we don’t have to,” Spieth, a recent addition to the Tour’s Player Advisory Council, said Wednesday. “The long answer is, the positive there is unification … but I’m not sure if or how or when it would get done.”

2. Jon Rahm’s LIV team — Legion XIII — officially takes shape and will make its debut this week in Mexico.

• Reigning Master’s champ Jon Rahm said that his team name is a nod to the Roman army unit, Legion XIII Gemina. “I wanted to go down the warrior spirit mythology side,” he said.

• They are also LIV’s 13th team.

• Joining Rahm is Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton, who reportedly snagged $63 million for making the switch to LIV, and Caleb Surratt, who, three weeks ago, was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee and 10th ranked amateur in the world.

• Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent — one of three golfers who qualified for LIV through its promotions event — rounds out Rahm’s squad.

• In other LIV news, Adrian Meronk and Lucas Herbert have officially joined — Meronk to the Cleeks and Herbert to Cam Smith’s Rippers.

3. Full Swing Season 2 to premier March 6th.

• The Netflix docuseries will feature Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim, Joel Dahmen, Matt Fitzpatrick, Alex Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Keegan Bradley, Justin Rose, and Ryder Cup captains Luke Donald and Zach Johnson. 

• Producer Chad Mumm said his team shot 900 hours of footage for Full Swing’s anticipated second season. He also confirmed Wednesday that “no cut explanation” would be needed.

• This is the only trailer for Season 2 thus far.

4. Good posts ⌨️

Rain is expected this week at Pebble, along with heavy winds on Sunday. Maybe we’ll see more drivers into No. 7? Longer irons, at least, would be fun.

For those keeping track, the 6th hole at Pebble will look different this year.

And, this was the best.

5. Good videos 🎥

GOLF’s Dylan Dethier stood on the range with Phil Mickelson for 30-minutes, as the 6-time major winner worked through his bag and talked through it all.

• I especially liked when Mickelson said he has two stock-shots for each iron — one full swing and one with a slightly shorter backswing that goes 10 yards shorter (around the 7:30 mark).

The Golfer’s Journal recently published a 25-minute video on Nashville that’ll make you immediately want to listen to country music, eat at Hattie B’s, and find a way to play the Golf Club of Tennessee.

6. Schedule reminder 📺

• PGA Tour: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am starts today. How to watch. 

• LIV: LIV Golf Mayakoba starts Friday. How to watch.

That’s all for today! Thanks so much for reading y’all and enjoy the golf this weekend. Hopefully, you can get on the course as well. Talk soon, Nick B. 🏌️‍♂️