Andrew 'Beef' Johnston feels Rory McIlroy "wasted a lot of energy" in his staunch support of the PGA Tour.
McIlroy was one of the biggest opponents of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series, which lured huge names from the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau.
Yet in a shocking turn of events this week, it was announced that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) had merged with LIV Tour's backers – Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
That has left McIlroy, who said he still "hates LIV" in an awkward position, and Johnston feels the world number three has expended unnecessary energy defending the PGA Tour.
"Potentially, I think in some respect it could help him because I think he's just going to turn around and say, 'Alright, I'm going to concentrate and I'm going to do me'," said Johnston in an interview with Stats Perform.
"And that's what he should [do]. I've kind of been hoping Rory would do that. He shouldn't have to get involved and back the PGA Tour as hard as he has.
"I think he's wasted a lot of energy on that and I'd love to just see him focus on golf and pick up more titles and more majors because he's one of the best golfers we've seen.
"I just want to see him concentrate on his golf. So hopefully he gets through this meeting and he just goes, 'Do you know what I'm looking forward, just let it be.' And he can crack on. I'd like to see him do that, to be honest."
Reflecting on the news, Johnston said: "It's just insane. It's nuts. For what, two years, it's been so far away from that, so far away from doing that.
"I think I was talking about it a week ago or so. I said 'There's never ever going to be a deal because there's lawsuits going on and everything's kicking off, and no one will budge at all'. And all of a sudden, bang! That news comes out of the blue. And when I mean out of the blue, I don't think anyone knew.
"I don't even think Tiger [Woods] or Rory knew. I mean if they don't know that none of us are going to know."
Asked if it was a positive step for the sport, Johnston said: "It depends how they format it.
"If they format it where a player can tee up on any of the three tours knowing that if I have a good couple of seasons I can get into the Ryder Cup, I could get into LIV or however they're going to format the tournaments, and there's a way that you could be rewarded for playing good golf and getting into these high money bonus events, which I'm sure is going to happen, then great.
"There's going to be a lot of unhappy people and a lot of unhappy players right now. My first thoughts are people who have backed the tour, like Rory and Jon Rahm, people like that, and they've turned down a hell of a lot of money.
"They really propped the Tour and backed the Tour only to be sort of stabbed in the back. Absolutely blindsided by this. I can't imagine how they're feeling, they've got to be absolutely fuming about it."
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Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
Samuda and Munn-Barrow triumph at AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament
Owen Samuda and Jodi Munn-Barrow emerged as champions of the AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament, held at the Caymanas Golf Club in St. Catherine over the weekend. The annual event, one of Jamaica’s most prestigious golf tournaments, saw over 80 golfers competing despite challenges posed by recent weather conditions.
Samuda, who has been enjoying a stellar run of form, dominated the male category with back-to-back rounds of one-under-par 71, finishing with an impressive two-under-par 142. He won by a commanding 13-stroke margin, cementing his reputation as one of the country’s top golfers.
Reflecting on his victory, Samuda shared, “After the disappointment in the Jamaica Open last week, I realized that you can’t drive a car while looking behind you. I came into this tournament with a lot of confidence and positive thoughts. I played really well yesterday, and even better today, so I feel great about the win.”
Samuda’s performance marked the only under-par scores across the tournament. Former national champion Oshae Haye finished second with an 11-over-par 155, while Zandre Roye and Sean Morris tied for third at 14-over-par 158.
In the female category, Jamaica Golf Association President Jodi Munn-Barrow delivered her trademark consistency to claim the Ladies 0-6 title. Munn-Barrow posted scores of 75 on both days, totaling six-over-par 150 to secure her win by a comfortable 21 strokes over Michele McCreath, who finished at 171.
“It was a little more difficult this time,” Munn-Barrow admitted. “I haven’t been playing much because of my involvement with the Jamaica Open, so my game this weekend was scrappy. But I managed to get the ball around, and I’m happy with how I performed despite not being at my best.”
The tournament also featured numerous category winners, including Quentin Hugh-Sam and Philip Gooden, who scored 168 to win the Men & Men Senior 7-12 section. Other winners included Gifford Wilmott (Men & Men Senior 13-24) with a score of 157, and Diane Hudson, who topped the Ladies 13 and over category with a score of 184.
The event, held for the 29th year, is a tribute to seven of Jamaica’s past national golf representatives: Milton "Buddy" Josephs, Izette Rhone, Lenan "Lennie" Chin, John Fulford, Al Chong, Claude Stewart, and Mark Chin. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Lawes Street Trade Training Centre, with the goal of raising JMD$1 million annually.
Peter Chin, president of the Buccaneers Golf Club, praised the event’s resilience despite weather challenges. “This tournament has been running since the 1990s and is the oldest golf tournament outside of the Jamaica Open on the JGA calendar. The course was in great condition considering the rain over the past few weeks,” Chin said.
The AMG Buccaneer Memorial Golf Tournament was sponsored by AMG Packaging, with Scientific & Medical Supplies as an associate sponsor.
'Enigma' Haaland offers too much threat to be left out, says Mills
Former Manchester City defender Danny Mills believes Erling Haaland is an "enigma", which is why it is so hard to leave him out of the side.
Haaland has been a revelation since joining City in July 2023, and he has won the Premier League Golden Boot in both seasons so far, while also scooping up the Premier League Player of the Year award in his debut campaign.
He has scored 105 goals in 114 appearances in all competitions for City, netting 16 times this term already.
Haaland is averaging 1.09 goals per game in the Premier League this season, after making a record-breaking start to the campaign in which he scored 10 times in the opening six matches.
Mills, who played for City between 2004 and 2009, thinks the 24-year-old's high-scoring record comes down to the efficient way he approaches matches.
"Erling Haaland is a bit of an enigma," Mills told Stats Perform. "He's not your usual centre forward.
"We expect our centre forwards to either drop deep, be a bit of a playmaker and create chances, or put on a high press, work the channels, and have lots of touches, closing people down.
"Haaland stands in the middle of the pitch, makes the runs when he needs to, is very efficient, and puts the ball in the back of the net more often than not. He gets himself in good positions.
"We can talk about him missing big chances, but he's also scored an awful lot of goals. That's the thing — a centre forward will always say you're better off being in the position and missing the chance than not being in the position because the goals will come. Everybody misses chances."
Haaland also set the record for most Premier League goals in a single season in 2022-23, with 36, and he once again sits top of the goalscoring charts this term, though he has seen his goals dry up somewhat in recent weeks after his lightning-quick start.
The Norwegian netted his 12th Premier League goal of the campaign in City's 2-1 loss to Brighton before the international break, ending a run of three games in all competitions without a goal.
Nobody has had more shots than Haaland in the English top-flight this season (55), while only Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins (11) has missed more big chances than him (10).
Mills suggested that Haaland is held to a higher standard than other forwards in the competition, but says even when he is not scoring, he offers too much to be left out of the starting line-up.
"When we talk about patchy form for Erling Haaland, patchy form for him is still way better than most other players' form. It's better than 95% of Premier League strikers," Mills added.
"That's why he gets criticised for missing big chances, because we expect him to score every single time. But he's just different.
"I think it's very, very difficult to leave him out because he offers so much. He's so big, strong, powerful, and scores all types of weird and interesting goals at times.
"He occupies three or four defenders because they’re all worried about his pace in behind, his aerial ability, or what he's doing. Leaving him out would be a big, big call.
"It's not like he's going through a drought. An Erling Haaland drought is that he hasn't scored for two games. There are centre forwards all over the world who would love that to be their record, not their drought.
"So, I think we need to have some perspective. Yes, he might miss one or two chances, but he's a massive threat and a fantastic goalscorer."
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