The wildest week in professional golf history is coming to an end with heads still spinning and no clear picture of what the future holds.

Most fans and media have not been satisfied with PGA Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne’s attempts to explain his optimism in partnering with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

“I am quite certain and have had conversations with a lot of knowledgeable people that the people that I’m dealing with [from the PIF] had nothing to do with [the Sept. 11 attacks],” Dunne told Golf Channel. “And if someone can find someone that unequivocally was involved with it, I’ll kill him myself.”

Dunne’s company lost 66 employees during the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001.

The 65-year-old Dunne told Sports Illustrated that he reached out to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan to see why he was spending so much on LIV and realized the Tour could potentially work something out for the good of golf. 

Reaction to Dunne’s comments has not been positive for the Tour, much like fans’ reception of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s confusing and sometimes awkward public appearances this week.

LIV Leads The Way

Six of the 10 players on Forbes new list of the highest-paid golfers in 2023 compete for LIV Golf: Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, and Patrick Reed.

Johnson brought in a total of $111 million on and off the course, topping the entire list.

The UEFA Champions League final kicks off Saturday afternoon at Turkey’s 75,000-capacity Atatürk Olympic Stadium as Inter Milan looks to deny Manchester City its first treble — three major European trophies in one season.

Last Saturday, Man City defeated hometown rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final after securing its third straight Premier League title in May. 

Inter Milan won two domestic tournaments — the Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana — but finished third in Serie A. The club has one treble of its own, accomplishing the feat in 2010, its last appearance in the Champions League final.

The winning club on Saturday will receive $21.51 million while the losers will take home $16.67 million. Those payments are in addition to the $55 million-plus each club has already won from other earnings throughout the Champions League tournament.

Man City is looking to become just the second English soccer team to win the treble, which was done by Man United in 1999.

With unparalleled success since City Football Group’s takeover in 2008, Man City currently boasts the highest brand value of any soccer club in the world at $1.6 billion, according to Brand Finance.

Winning the treble would boost Man City’s prestige that much higher as the club looks to continue dominating English and European soccer.

Saturday’s Champions League final will be broadcast at 3 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+, which are paying $250 million annually through 2030 for UEFA’s U.S. media rights.

Live racing resumed early Friday at Belmont Park, reviving hopes that Saturday’s 155th running of the Belmont Stakes will proceed as scheduled after air-quality issues suspended activity at the track.

The event carries significant ramifications for Fox Sports, which will now show the event after a lengthy tenure on NBC Sports. Fox Sports acquired the media rights early last year in an eight-year deal — including presenting sponsorship rights to the race for NYRA Bets, a wagering platform controlled by the New York Racing Association and 25%-owned by Fox Sports parent Fox Corp.

That more unusual structure to the rights agreement has network officials looking even more at betting activity around the race than television ratings, and NYRA Bets will be heavily promoted throughout Fox Sports’ three-and-a-half hour race coverage. 

“The most important metrics for Fox’s Belmont aren’t ratings and viewership. They’re handle and signups for NYRA Bets,” tweeted Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports’ executive vice president and head of strategy and analytics.

Fox holds an option to boost its NYRA Bets equity stake to 49%.

The network is also demonstrating its support for its first Triple Crown race by staffing the event with some of its top broadcasters, including “Fox NFL Sunday” host Curt Menefee, “Fox NFL Kickoff” host Charissa Thompson, and reporter Tom Rinaldi.

This year’s Belmont Stakes marks the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s record-setting victory at the race by 31 lengths, representing one of the most dominant victories ever in any sport.