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Just weeks after comments surfaced in which Phil Mickelson said he was involved with human rights violators for the “disgusting greed” of the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour gave Mickelson a $ 6 million bonus.

Mickelson received the award for second place in the first annual program to influence the players of the Tour, which rewards players for their ability to engage with fans. Tiger Woods won the grand prize of $ 8 million, the Tour announced on Wednesday morning. The program seems to have started in response to the Saudi Golf League, with its sweat rising from $ 40 million to $ 50 million in 2022.

The money will come as an unforeseen income for Mickelson, who has been bleeding sponsors lately. Workday, KPMG and Amstel Light ended their relationship with the six-time big winner, while Callaway Golf paused. The American Express event also missed Mickelson as host.

Mickelson told golf writer Alan Shipnuk that he was at least looking into the Saudi regime’s human rights history because getting involved with them was a way to put pressure on Tour.

“They’re scary mothers to mess with,” Mickelson said. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. record Jamal] Kashogi and have a terrible experience in human rights. They execute people there for being gay. Knowing all this, why even consider it? Because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the way the PGA Tour works. ”

Reaction to Mickelson’s comments was swift and immediate, with other golfers withdrawing from the Saudi League and Rory McIlroy calling Mickelson “naive, selfish, selfish, ignorant.”

Mickelson issued a long statement after Shipnuck made his comments public, apologizing and claiming that the conversation had not been recorded, which Shipnuck said was incorrect.

The 51-year-old man also said he planned to take a break from golf. It is unclear when Mickelson plans to return to the course.

Mickelson stated in December that he won the first PIP, which turned out to be incorrect.

INDIANAPOLIS – New York Giants release secret end Kyle Rudolph, the veteran announced on social media on Wednesday.

“It is certainly not the year that any of us expected, but a year that we will never forget,” Rudolf wrote in his publications. “… Thanks to everyone in the building who welcomed and helped this old man who had to learn everything again about a new organization.”

Rudolph has sent a message to ESPN’s Adam Shefter that he is not retiring and intends to play next season.

The 32-year-old Rudolph made just 26 catches in 257 yards with a touchdown in his only year with the Giants. It was one of the least productive seasons of his career, in which he made two Pro Bowls with the Minnesota Vikings in 2012 and ’17.

Thanks to everyone in the building who accepted and helped this old man who had to learn everything about the new organization. Finally, my teammates, in my 11 years in this league, I’m not sure I’ve been around a closer group of boys!

– Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph) March 2, 2022

His release was a fairly easy decision for the Giants and a new regime led by general manager Joe Schoen, who said on Tuesday that the team would have to make “difficult” decisions to go below the pay ceiling.

Rudolph had to count $ 7.4 million against the limit this year. The Giants save $ 5 million with this move, even if it includes $ 2.4 million of dead money.

New York will have to deal with the limited position in the free agency and / or project. Evan Engram is also scheduled to be a free agent.

Rudolf’s signing has been in question from the start by former general manager Dave Gettleman. After agreeing to a two-year deal worth $ 12 million last offseason, it was revealed that Rudolph would need surgery for a leg injury that limited him last season.

However, the Giants decided to abide by the contract and Rudolf missed the whole spring and most of the summer. He never made it to New York, as he seems to have lost a step while struggling to create a split – an average of just 2.9 yards per split, according to NextGen statistics. He averaged 4.0 yards and 3.4 yards away in the previous two seasons.

Rudolph, who went to Notre Dame, had spent the previous 10 seasons with the Vikings. Only his new season and 2014 – when he missed almost half a year due to injuries – was less productive than last season.

He has 479 catches for 4745 yards and 49 touchdowns in his professional career.

I usually avoid opinions these days, but when I saw the news that DeAndre Jordan was being chased by the Sixers, it worried me, maybe more than it should have. I have a problem with it, but not necessarily for reasons you might think at first.

When the news of Jordan’s pursuit of the Sixers came, it puzzled me. Of course, Jordan is an NBA veteran, and that’s what the Sixers have reportedly been on the market for: a big one that can set screens and catch lobes. This, in theory, is true. However, Jordan is at the end of his career and it can be said that he should have been out of the NBA for two or three years.

Let me say that Jordan himself is not what I have a problem with with these rumors. I understand that Doc Rivers may not trust Charles Bassie, a rookie, to support Embiid for a potential championship. I realized that Paul Reed had his ups and downs this season. I also understand that Paul Milsap, who is 37 years old and 6 feet 7, is probably not the answer either. Willie Cowley-Stein has not played an NBA game in months.

My problems stem from what the Sixers didn’t do, not what they could do. Let me explain.

When the Sixers swapped Andre Drummond, it left me with a bit of personal excitement. There was nothing against Drummond, who was really good at his role for the team. In fact, I think most Sixers fans can honestly say they miss it. Personally, I was thrilled to see that Reed was given a chance with a new opportunity. James Harden had a history of centering around him, and I thought Paul might be the man to be given some time.

We had a chance to see Reed in action at different times of the season, where he showed some impressive flashes. One of the most important moments for him was to compete against Demar DeRozan and Janis Adetokunmpo when the Sixers had problems with COVID. He didn’t stop them in any way, but he stayed in front of them and made them work for their staff – which is all you can ask for.

We had a chance to see Reed run shortly after the trading deadline, playing a combined 34 minutes in three games. There were mixed results, but the small sample size showed some acceptable minutes, which led to some intrigue. Harden, as you all know, was not available for these games with a hamstring injury. It wasn’t until the All Star break that we even managed to see Harden on the floor with one of the Sixers’ backups.

Scroll forward so far, and it’s obvious that we’ll just never see Harden and Reed play a minute of basketball together, at least for this season – which I just don’t understand at all.

Harden works best with large rims that can place screens and roll hard toward the rim; a mold that fits all Bassey, Reed and Cauley-Stein. So why not give them a chance? After all, these next 20 or more Sixers games are experimenting on the go to see what works best for this team before the postseason. The Sixers lacked a long-term response to the position of reserve center for the entire Embiid era in Philadelphia, and it seems that this problem will remain after this season.

The lack of Reed’s situation has nuances of Richan Holmes’ time in Philly when he was Sixer. Holmes showed flashes, but never got the chance to really solidify his role with the Sixers before being changed for financial reasons. He has since proven himself and recently signed a major expansion with the Kings. I’m not saying Reed is the next Holmes. Nothing is a given and it is far from guaranteed that Reed or any of the current centers on the list can provide average minutes at best.

Here’s what I mean: I would say that not having an answer is worse than having a bad answer to the Sixers’ big backup situation. Having three or four question marks behind Embiid is a serious concern.

It’s one thing if the Sixers play Reed or one of the big ones and it just doesn’t work out. Then I think signing Jordan or some other veteran center is very justified. However, Reed defended himself every time he was on the court this season. The minutes, though inconsistent, were not a nightmare – and that in itself is worth a look if you’re trying to find a long-term answer behind Embiid.

One of Reid’s biggest reasons for not being on the court was that the Sixers had to leave room for Simmons, who is long gone. Reed’s offense is still very gross, but he is more than capable of adjusting screens and catching lobes. The bar is significantly reduced in terms of what is required of him.

Now it looks like the Sixers will eventually sign Deandre Jordan, making him the fifth center on the team’s roster. The use of five places on the full-time list of four centers with huge question marks hanging over their heads is a huge concern for any struggling team – especially considering that there are other holes in this list of Sixers that could be overcome.

Although I’m not in the mood for it, I hope I’m wrong about Jordan. Harden has a history of raising his teammates and this may be the case with Jordan. He also spent his best years under Doc Rivers, albeit a few years ago. The signatures of Dwight Howard and Andre Drumman initially raised some questions, and they were fine. These are all fair points.

Jordan will probably have an average of only ten or fifteen minutes at most in the post-season, and all these minutes will probably be next to James Harden. If Jordan plays acceptable defense, sets up screens and catches a lobe or two, it won’t be a big deal.

However, if the Sixers get DeAndre Jordan, who has been negatively labeled by NBA fans and analysts over the past few years, things could get ugly quickly. If that happens, the Sixers won’t have an answer in their highlights because they just chose not to find it.

PGA TOUR enters a fantastic two-week stretch at Bay Hill this week with the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Four of the world’s top six golfers are on the field this week for one of the toughest challenges players will face in the TOUR. The thick bumps and nearly 7,500 yards that face the best in the world mean it will take incredible effort to get to the top.

We saw victory from long after long victory this year in TOUR and Honda Classic was no different with Sep Straka, who came out on top. There is a lot of depth in the world of golf right now, but the API usually sees one of the golfing elites prevailing.

Our GolfBet staff reviewed the odds board and determined their favorite picks for the week at Bay Hill. See them below.

Keith Mitchell – Top 10 (+350)

Jason Sobel: Although I realize that my weekly previews are getting dangerously close to looking like a Keith Mitchell fan page, there’s no reason to jump in now.

In five starts so far in 2022, Mitchell has four results of 12 or better, including last week’s T9 at Honda. He will now turn to API, where he completed T5 and T6 in three career starts. The truth is, I think his driving skills should help him more at Bay Hill than at PGA National, where he won his only PGA TOUR title three years ago, as the shots he gets should serve as more appropriate indicator this week. (Which says a lot, I understand, because Straka won while leading in this category.)

And just in case all this is not enough to convince you, let’s take into account the story of Mitchell, who remains after his last round on Sunday to congratulate his teammate from college for the victory. This should cost at least a few karma points.

Sungjae Im – Top 5 (+600)

Chris Murphy: Each of my results over the last few weeks has finished in the top five, so this week I will take a new approach and look to take advantage of this close, but not quite, result.

This week it’s with Sungjae Im, who I expect to recover quickly on Bay Hill after a disappointingly missed cut as a favorite in last week’s Honda Classic tournament. He was +1000 to win the event last week and now we get odds for him to be in the top five, albeit in a much stronger field, at +600.

The biggest problem for Im last week was Thursday, when he lost 2.6 strokes in the approach and another 2.9 strokes in one round. He bounced with irons on Friday, receiving a full blow on the field, but failed to make enough shots to get into the numbers to play over the weekend.

The South Korean is now heading to Arnold Palmer Invitational, another course that has suited his game over the past few years with three discounts and two top 3 spots in his last three trips to Bay Hill.

This course is well suited to his game, as it requires little staining and is also played on his preferred Bermuda surfaces. Everything is fine for Sungjae to have another solid week and a top finale in the API.

Victor Howland +1800

Matt Vincenzi: Howland comes this week with hot irons, which is the most important aspect of taming Bay Hill. In his last start on the Riviera, the 24-year-old received 6.1 strokes on approach. The performance lags only behind Tony Finau and the winner Joaquin Niemann in the category, leading Howland to fourth place.

Howland was also very good on the Riviera last season. He amassed 4.1 strokes in the approach (fifth place finish) and improved his hot form the following week. His next start came at the WGC Concession, where he finished second with 8.7 shots on approach, the best result of his career. Howland is heading to Florida again after a strong performance on the Riviera and I expect another performance on the ceiling.

The world’s No. 4 golfer recently won the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour (January 2022). Despite worldwide success, Hovland is still looking for a remarkable victory in the PGA TOUR. Bay Hill would be a logical place for that to happen.

Matt Fitzpatrick +3000

Derek Farnsworth: This is my first week as one of the best bets, so I could turn to the fences with a full bet. Fitzpatrick has never won a PGA TOUR, but has seven professional wins under his belt.

When trying to predict clear winners, many look to the latest form, many look to the history of the course, and many look to the course. Fitzpatrick has all three on his side this week. He finished T12 or better in each of his last four starts worldwide, including consecutive top 10 in his first two TOUR starts in 2022 (Pebble Beach T6 and Waste Management Open T10). He hit three consecutive top 10 on Bay Hill, including second place in 2019.

He has always said that he prefers difficult golf courses and those that challenge all aspects of your game. This definitely meets the requirements, as Bay Hill has been in the top 10 in terms of difficulty on tour in each of the last three years.

If Fitzpatrick can start a good start on Thursday and Friday, I like his chances of being in a dispute over the weekend. It is assumed that the wind will intensify on Saturday and Sunday, which should play in its strengths.

Jason Kokrak and Mark Lishman both finish in the top 30 (+310)

Rob Bolton: All right, FanDuel, I see you. You caught me. I join your conversation.

You will find this bet in Golf Specials 2. This is among a handful of tempting options that reflect a wider range than the same boards from the last two weeks at FanDuel.

Notwithstanding how Tori Pines rewards strength and precision, the same combination does damage to Bay Hill. These two are doing their job with this profile. In fact, both are in the top five of my Power Rankings at PGATOUR.com, so my expectations are for much more than fulfilling the conditions of this prop.

Kokrak has gone T10-T18-T8 here in the last three editions, respectively. He has six top 30 in his last eight trips, so even before rising to his current level on the world stage, he was a force in Bay Hill.

Leishman is a former champion (2017) who turned this title into five consecutive top-25s. He was a monster all season and we already know how reliable he is when the wind gets stronger, which will happen this week.

Will Zalatoris +2900

London Silinski: This may be a hot decision, but I personally believe that Zalatoris may be the third best iron player in the world after Colin Morikawa and Justin Thomas. The 25-year-old is ranked №1 in this area in SG: approach in his last 24 rounds and has two places in the top six in the last three starts.

We like to target Willy Z at non-birdie fest events, where his poor performance is less exaggerated. Fortunately, Bay Hill requires a precise iron game to fight, which is actually all we need to know. Zalatoris have actually been close to a neutral runner in their last 24 rounds, which is a scary thought for everyone else on the field this week, because if they win anything on the Greens, they are on the shortlist to win.

After T10 here last year on debut, I expect another huge week from this golf prodigy.

Hideki Matsuyama +2500

Brian Berryman: That number stood out the first time I went through the odds early Monday morning, and it was my first click of the week.

Bay Hill is a challenging golf course that will require a full comprehensive game to win. In the last 24 rounds, Hideki ranks sixth in this field in Strikes Received: Tee-to-Green and first in Wins Won: Total. He even got hit in his last four starts, a great indicator that every aspect of his game is snapping.

This hot stretch of play led to two wins and an additional final in the top 10 in his last six starts. He has never missed a cut in this event in seven attempts and is in great shape this week. Many signs point to Hideki this week.