Paige Spiranac is a golf influencer superstar. But maybe she can also become a new influencer for all things Wisconsin?
She’s doing a pretty good job with it already by showing off her fondness of Wisconsin.
Spiranac conducted a question-and-answer session on Instagram with her 3.9 million followers Tuesday night and hit a hole-in-one with her endorsement of the state.
“I love Wisconsin so much,” said Spiranac, when a commenter asked if she has a “secret crush on the state of Wisconsin.” “I love the people. I love the food. I love the golf there. Sneaky one of the best golf states.”
She wasn’t done.
“Seriously, go to Wisconsin. I love it. I love it. And Wisconsin loves me back. Like every time I go there, something great happens. I’m good luck for the Brewers. They had a bobblehead night for me.
“Like, should I move to Wisconsin?”
Someone should get her connected with Travel Wisconsin’s marketing line immediately if she keeps up her praise of the state.
Spiranac certainly has been no stranger in recent years. So what’s her connection to Wisconsin and is she good luck for the Brewers?
Golf social media influencer Paige Spiranac waves to the crowd after throwing out a first pitch prior to the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, June 16, 2023, at American Family Field. Spiranac was a featured guest as part of the Brewers’ Golf Night.
Paige Spiranac has appeared at two Brewers games, has her own bobblehead
Spiranac indeed might be a good fortune for the Brewers.
It’s a small sample size, but the former college golf star is 2-0 at Brewers games the last two seasons. She’s thrown out ceremonial first pitches in back-to-back years.
As an ambᴀssador for X-Golf, she was in town to help open the new facility at American Family Field late in the 2022 season. She had a “ceremonial first swing” at X-Golf America inside the Brewers stadium and then threw the first pitch the next day before the Brewers had a walk-off win over the New York Yankees.
She returned last season for Golf Night and had her own Brewers-themed bobblehead giveaway. Spiranac also gave her best ballpark food reviews before the game at Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard. Cheese curds. Fish fry. She had it all covered.
Golf social media influencer Paige Spiranac shows how big the beer-battered walleye is at J. Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard inside American Family Field on Friday, June 16, 2023. Spiranac was at the Brewers game for Golf Night.
Paige Spiranac also golfed with Jerry Kelly last year at Geneva National
A week before she was in Milwaukee for the Brewers game, Spiranac teed it up at one of the state’s best golf courses with one of Wisconsin’s biggest golf stars.
Spiranac played in a charity event with Jerry Kelly at the Player Course at Geneva National.
And it was a memorable one, especially for Kelly. He sH๏τ an incredible 13-under — a round that consisted of 10 birdies and two eagles. Spiranac’s six birdies for a 6-under 66 wasn’t too bad, either. The event raised money for Special Operations Warrior Foundation and Heart of a Lion, two organizations that support veterans.
“It was the greatest round of golf I’ve ever witnessed,” Spiranac tweeted after the event. “What a great day at Geneva National!”
This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.
The Player Course at Geneva National is rated among the best public courses in the state, according to GolfWeek. And Wisconsin indeed has some of the top-ranked public courses in the country. The secret may be out, Paige.
Brewers stadium: American Family Field will feature two new scoreboards for Opening Day 2024
Will Paige Spiranac be back in Milwaukee in 2024?
The Brewers have announced their promotional giveaway schedule but their theme nights aren’t yet released. If the Brewers again have a Golf Night, it’s a pretty safe bet you could expect Spiranac to return.
Her immediate schedule will take her next week to the popular WM Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour’s schedule, she said in her Instagram story.
After that, don’t be surprised if she makes her way to Wisconsin to enjoy our golf courses, some frozen custard and another ball game.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Paige Spiranac gushes over Wisconsin and its golf courses on Instagram
According to the new deal announced on Wednesday, McIlroy would be in line for a equity in the PGA Tour – PA/Zac Goodwin
The Saudis have been handed the chance to unify professional male golf after an American consortium, headed by the owners of Liverpool FC, made an investment in the PGA Tour that could reach £2.4 billion.
The deal with the Strategic Sports Group (SSG) comes eight months after plans were announced for a merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, which could yet happen this spring.
SSG confirmed that door is still open for Saudi investment in the American tour but there are fears that because of the threat of American regulatory control and the suspicion that SSG will dilute Saudi influence, the funders of LIV Golf might now choose to remain on their own path and so cause even bigger divisions in the game.
One possible scenario could even include a partnership between the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the DP World Tour, which would split elite male golf in two.
Uncertainly continues to rule, despite the PGA Tour announcing that the launch of the “for-profit” PGA Tour Enterprises is “a first of its kind programme” that will hand £1.2 billion of equity to the players who have remained loyal through the LIV saga.
There would be between 180 to 200 Tour members in line for a share on a sliding scale, with the percentages based on “career accomplishments, recent achievements, future participation and services”. This could amount to equity worth in the region of £20 million each for the superstars.
‘The only way to move forward is for PIF to be involved’
The deal with SSG was pᴀssed “unaminously” through a vote of the Tour’s policy board, which boasts six pros include Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. Woods spoke on the conference call to the players thanking the Strategic Sports Group – a group of US-based sports owners spearheaded by Fenway Sports – “for believing in our sport and in the potential growth we can enjoy together”.
The mood was thus celebratory in Sawgrᴀss HQ, but it was far too early to hail peace in our time. As Scot Bob MacIntyre, a new member on the United States circuit, put it: “The only way to move the game forward is for PIF to be involved.”
No doubt, as Jay Monahan, the Tour commissioner and CEO of this new commercial enтιтy, said “today marks an important moment for the PGA Tour and fans across the world”. But this is not nearly the end of the civil war that has engulfed the pro fairways for the last two years. And it might actually herald the opening of a yet more destructive battlefront.
The ball is definitely in the Saudis’ court, with the Tour stating that “the transaction announced on Wednesday allows for a co-investment from PIF in the future, subject to all necessary regulatory approvals”.
And although that is exactly where Yasir Al-Rummayan, the PIF governor who is also the chairman of LIV Golf and Newcastle United, always wanted the ball, this is by no means a done deal.
LIV spent more than £500 million in close-season signings with Jon Rahm, the world No 3, the standout acquisition alongside Ryder Cup partner Tyrrell Hatton, And while this might have been a show of financial might, Al-Rumayyan is clearly intent on not ditching his baby yet.
If PIF does decide to join SSG as minority investors in the new company that is valued at £9.5 billion, the resulting investigations by the US Depart of Justice and the Senate could take up to a year to complete. That would mean a revolutionary golf calendar not being installed until 2026 at the earliest. That gives LIV, at worst, two more seasons, and depending on the details of any deal, could see more eye-catching captures.
The longer LIV survives, the more present the danger and Al-Rumayyan could conceivably turn down the Tour and SSG and go to the DP World Tour. Wentworth HQ would then have a quandary: either remain in its alliance with the PGA Tour or side with PIF and allow the likes of Rahm and Co to play in their events.
With the absence of world ranking points on LIV, this would make the league more tempting to the heavyweights and sort out the Ryder Cup problem. There would suddenly be no concerns regarding the future eligibility of Rahm and the rest of the rebels.
Any of this could come to pᴀss, but for the moment there is optimism that PIF will honour “the framework agreement” – no matter how loose that now seems in light of SSG’s arrival – signed last year.
Monahan confirmed that he recently met with Al-Rumayyan and sources within the DP World Tour insist the talks are “progressing very nicely”.
Furthermore, Al-Rumayyan knows Fenway Sports, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, through the English Premier League and also might see the value in linking up with the other investors in SSG – owners of high-profile sports franchises in America such as the New York Mets, the Atlanta Falcons and the Boston Celtics.
SSG has said it would welcome working with PIF and Al-Rumayyan would be established as a big player in US sport. An influential seat at the top table could have been the Saudi masterplan from the start.
But what to do with LIV? And how will the DP World Tour benefit and, oh yes, the fanbase too – that section which has largely been forgotten as the players have become richer while the product became poorer? The SSG deal is merely the first answer. So many more remain to be found.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
The deal will see $1.5bn invested immediately into the tour (Getty)
The PGA Tour has confirmed a historic investment deal with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of American sports team owners, believed to be worth in the region of $3bn (£2.4bn).
The agreement will see the consortium invest in PGA Tour Enterprises, the new, for-profit enтιтy created when the PGA Tour announced it would consider outside investment last year. The new enтιтy is now said to be valued at roughly $12bn (£9.45bn) in the wake of this investment.
The deal will see $1.5bn invested immediately into the tour, with around $900m ringfenced for an equity programme which will see the top 180 players become shareholders in the new company. The majority of the equity shares will be siphoned off to the top 36 players as a reward for turning down offers from the Saudi-backed LIV.
Crucially, the deal is separate from ongoing negotiations between the tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund which will see more money pumped into PGA Tour Enterprises. Discussions between the PGA Tour and PIF, which bankrolls LIV Golf, remain ongoing after the previous ᴅᴇᴀᴅline was extended at the end of 2023. It had been hoped that a deal, which would see the PIF become co-investors in PGA Tour Enterprises, would be concluded prior to the Masters in April.
Strategic Sports Group entered into final negotiations in December last year, beating a bid from Endeavour – the majority owner of the UFC and WWE – after extensive discussions with the PGA Tour policy board.
The consortium is being led by Fenway Sports Group, which owns Premier League side Liverpool and MLB team Boston Red Sox. It also features prominent American sports owners such as the New York Mets’ Steve Cohen and the Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blank.
There will be hope that this first deal can be the beginning of the end for golf’s bitter civil war which has divided men’s professional game since LIV’s launch in 2022. The Saudi-backed circuit recruited several big names with huge sign-on fees, such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, and splintered the men’s professional game as a result.
On 6 June last year, the PGA Tour and the PIF announced a shock framework agreement that would see both rival tours merge but progress has been slow since then, in part due to regulatory concerns from the US Department of Justice. In the meantime, LIV has continued to prise away the PGA Tour’s top talent, with reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm and European Ryder Cup star Tyrrell Hatton the latest to jump ship ahead of LIV’s third season.
Any such deal may allow LIV’s players to return to PGA Tour compeтιтion, although there are suggestions that the initial deal with the PIF may not include the Saudi-backed circuit.
Tyrrell Hatton (right, pictured with Rory McIlroy) is the latest golfer to join the LIV tour
Rory McIlroy says he has “changed his tune” on LIV Golf and believes players should not face punishment if they return to play on the PGA Tour.
The four-time major champion has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV series.
In 2022, McIlroy said players who had joined LIV Golf should not be allowed to compete on other tours.
“I think life is about choices. Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here,” he said.
Speaking on Tuesday, the Northern Irishman, 34, added: “I think it’s hard to punish people. I don’t think there should be a punishment.
“If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back.
“Obviously, I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties.”
McIlroy’s Ryder Cup-winning team-mate Tyrrell Hatton is the latest high-profile golfer to sign up to LIV Golf and will make his debut in this week’s season-opening event in Mexico.
The Englishman’s deal with LIV is reportedly worth about £50m – more than double what 32-year-old Hatton has earned on the PGA Tour during his career.
“I had a long talk with Tyrrell on Sunday, completely understood where he was coming from,” McIlroy said.
“It got to the point where they negotiated and got to a place he was comfortable with and he has to do what he feels is right for him. I’m not going to stand in anyone’s way from making money and if what they deem life-changing money.”
Earlier in January, McIlroy said he would be open to play in a LIV Golf-backed tournament if the controversial tour became more like cricket’s Indian Premier League – a softened stance that LIV chief executive Greg Norman said was a “significant turning point” for the sport.
Negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf, over a potential merger are continuing into 2024 after they failed to reach an agreement at the end of 2023.
