Dustin Johnson’s decision to participate in the LIV Golf Invitational Series’ inaugural event has both shocked and puzzled the golf world.

On Tuesday, the Saudi-backed league announced 42 players for the 48-man, 12-team event in London on June 9-11, and Johnson’s inclusion was as surprising as LIV booster Phil Mickelson’s initial absence.

The World No. 13 men’s golfer previously pledged allegiance to the PGA Tour — where he’s won 24 titles including the 2016 U.S. Open and 2020 Masters — but a massive payday from LIV was enough to flip the Tour’s third all-time earner ($74.3M).

• Johnson was paid $125M from LIV CEO Greg Norman to commit to the series, according to The Telegraph. 
• Total prize money for eight LIV events will be $255M, with seven regular-season tournaments featuring $25M purses — and $4M for winning.
• The top three individuals after seven regular-season events will share a $30M bonus, and a final match-play championship will feature $50M in payouts.

The 37-year-old is one of three former World No. 1’s (Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood) to commit to the tournament — and it appears there will be consequences.

According to the New York Post, Johnson sponsor RBC implied it has cut ties with him — a decision probably influenced by the fact that the London event will be played the same weekend as the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open.

In addition, the PGA Tour may discipline those who participate in LIV events.

The Utah Jazz have become notorious for overachieving in the regular season, then crashing out early in the playoffs — despite putting together an enviable, balanced roster.

Now, the first domino in a potential rebuild could fall sooner than later. ESPN reported Tuesday that head coach Quin Snyder might be on his way out, despite two years left on his contract.

Snyder shouldn’t have a tough time finding a job. With a track record that goes back to 1992 and includes stints with Coach K at Duke and Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta, he’ll likely be the most coveted coach on the market.

• Hired in 2014, Snyder is tied with Steve Kerr as the NBA’s third-longest-tenured coach.
• He’s 372-264 (58.5%) with the Jazz — both rank second in franchise history behind the legendary Jerry Sloan.
• He took only three seasons to turn a 25-win team into a 51-win powerhouse.

The report implies Snyder wants to move on, perhaps influenced by the unconvincing superstar tandem of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, who haven’t been on the same page when it matters most.

The Jazz are just 17-22 in the playoffs with Mitchell and Gobert playing together, compared to 200-108 in the regular season. 

Snyder is also severely underpaid, making a reported salary of $2 million per year. For comparison, Gregg Popovich, the NBA’s highest-paid coach, makes roughly $11 million.

No hitter in baseball had a month quite like the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt — and the veteran slugger’s torrid May could fill his pockets with extra cash.

On Tuesday, Goldschmidt’s RBI double in the Cardinals’ victory over the Padres extended his hitting streak to 22 games and on-base streak to 36. St. Louis has won eight of its last 11 to pull within three games of the first-place Brewers in the NL Central.

With incentives built into a five-year, $130 million contract signed in 2019, the 34-year-old could rake in up to $2 million on top of the $26 million he’s making in 2022 — which is already second among first basemen and 19th overall in MLB.

• Goldschmidt leads the NL in batting average (.352), hits (64), SLG (.626), OPS (1.049), OPS+ (202), and total bases (114).
• In May, he hit .404 with 10 HRs and 33 RBI for an .817 SLG, .471 OBP, and 1.288 OPS.
• Incentive clauses reportedly include $250,000 for a seventh All-Star Game selection, $250,000 for a Gold Glove (he has no errors in 383 chances), and $50,000 for a fifth Silver Slugger Award.

A run for his first MVP would add even more to Goldschmidt’s potential payday. 

His deal stipulates a bonus of $1.5 million for winning, $1 million for finishing second, $500,000 for third, $250,000 for fourth or fifth, and $100,000 for sixth through 10.

Heading into June, Goldschmidt has the third-best odds (+700) to win NL MVP behind Manny Machado (+275) and Mookie Betts (+350).