As golf's civil war rages, all the top PGA Tour and LIV players are at the Masters this week

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — In some ways, golf finds itself at a point in time not unlike pro football in the 1960s, when two rival leagues duked it out but found a path to reconciliation that produced a game far bigger than anyone could've envisioned.

Bryson DeChambeau, for one, is hopeful that the still-smoldering split between the established PGA Tour and upstart LIV Golf could lead to a Super Bowl-like extravaganza that brings everyone together.

“You can look at it like the NFL and you could have NFC-AFC sort of working in their own fields and at the end they come together, put on a huge event at the end of the year,” said DeChambeau, who plays on the LIV circuit. “That could be really cool.”

If nothing else, major championships such as the Masters, which begins Thursday at Augusta National, provide a brief detente in this civil war of the links.

All the top players — from reigning Master champion Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka representing Team LIV to world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy teeing it up for the old guard — will be looking to not only claim a green jacket, but score bragging rights for their de facto team.

“Obviously, the more togetherness that you get, the better it is for everyone. There’s no doubt about that,” said Sergio Garcia, the 2017 Masters winner who bolted for LIV. “But there’s room for everyone. I don’t think that’s a problem at all.”

Even though LIV appears to have strengthened its hand with its stunning signing of Rahm, who was on the PGA Tour when he won at Augusta a year ago, there are actually five fewer players from the new tour than the 18 who played in 2023.

That's largely because LIV events — with their smaller fields and 54-hole format — do not receive world ranking points, one of the main conduits for entry into the Masters.

Still, the Saudi-funded circuit has demonstrated that its top players can compete with the best of the PGA Tour.

Koepka and Phil Mickelson were runner-ups to Rahm a year ago at the Masters, and Koepka went on to capture his fifth career major title at the PGA Championship. Of the 27 major championships that have been staged since the beginning of 2017, 13 were won by golfers who now call LIV home.

Koepka took issue with those who say the split is ruining the game.

“Look, the best players in the world never got together week in, week out. I think that’s kind of forgotten,” Koepka said Tuesday. “It was the majors, (World Golf Championship tournaments) ... those were pretty much the 10 events where everyone was, for sure, going to be there. And then it was just kind of sprinkled in everywhere else. I think that’s kind of how it is" now.

But hard feelings remain, especially since a supposed merger agreement announced 10 months ago had yet to be finalized.

Just listen to Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion and outspoken critic of LIV.

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand it,” he said. “Now, everything can get better. But let me tell you, if the LIV tour is better for golf, I’m missing something there.”

Rahm acknowledged that when he accepted a reported $350 million offer to join LIV in December, he was hopeful that it would spur the two sides to reach some sort of reconciliation by the time the Masters rolled around.

Now, with a divide that seems as gaping as ever, he's one of the most prominent faces on a tour that has been called everything from the future of the game — with its shotgun starts and team element — to a refuge of sellouts who are helping the Saudis sportswash the image of a repressive regime.

“It’s a bit of a detour on my path,” Rahm said. “But change can be better.”

Just how much things have changed was apparent from the attire he donned a year ago as he departed Augusta National to what he picked out for his practice rounds leading into this Masters.

Gone was the green jacket. Now he's wearing a shirt emblazoned with a Legion XIII logo.

The team he now leads in LIV.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Bryson DeChambeau tees off on the eighth hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Brooks Koepka, from left, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay hits on the second hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, and Nicolai Hojgaard, of Denmark, walk onto the 12th green during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, hits on the 12th hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, reacts on the 12th hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Bryson DeChambeau hands his driver to his caddie on the eighth hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Brooks Koepka hands over his club on the second hole during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jon Rahm, of Spain, walks to the 10th green during a practice round in preparation for the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would keep its main interest rate at the highest level since 2001, just as markets expected.

The S&P 500 was down 0.1% in afternoon trading, roughly where it was before the Fed’s announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 146 points, or 0.4%, as of 2:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was virtually flat.

In its policy statement, the Fed said out loud the fear that's recently sent stock prices lower and erased Wall Street's hopes for imminent cuts to interest rates by the Fed's policy-making committee: "In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective."

Traders themselves had already downgraded their expectations for rate cuts this year down to one or two, if any, after coming into the year forecasting six or more. That's because they saw the same string of reports cited as the Fed, which showed inflation remaining stubbornly higher than forecast this year.

But even with the threat of rates staying high for a while, Treasury yields eased a bit following the announcement. That’s because the Fed also offered financial markets some assistance by saying it would slow the pace of how much it’s shrinking its holdings of Treasurys and other bonds.

Such a move could help grease the trading wheels in the financial system, offering stability in the bond market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.63% from 4.65% just before the announcement.

The market's focus now turns to an upcoming press conference by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He could give some guidance about the chances for a cut to rates later this year.

He recently hinted rates may stay high for a while as Fed officials wait for more confirmation inflation is heading down toward their 2% target. That was a disappointment for Wall Street, after the Fed earlier had indicated it was penciling in three cuts to rates during 2024.

Without the benefit of easing rates, which can goose the economy and investment prices, companies will need to deliver better profits.

CVS Health tumbled 16.6% after reporting weaker results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It said it’s been hurt by increased costs at its Medicare Advantage business, and it cut its forecast for profit over the full year.

Starbucks dropped 17.5% after falling short of expectations for both profit and revenue in the latest quarter. Sales trends weakened at its stores outside the United States in particular, and it cut its full-year forecasts for profit and revenue.

Super Micro Computer, which has been one of Wall Street’s hottest stars, gave back 14% despite topping expectations for profit. The company, which sells server and storage systems used in AI and other computing, fell shy of analysts’ forecasts for revenue. Expectations had bult up after its stock had already tripled this year amid a broader frenzy on Wall Street around artificial-intelligence technology.

Advanced Micro Devices dropped 9.3% despite reporting profit that matched expectations. Its revenue came in a bit shy of forecasts, as did the midpoint of its forecasted range for revenue in the current quarter.

They helped to offset a 2.4% gain for Amazon, which reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The retail behemoth credited reaccelerating growth at its cloud-computing business, in part, as it benefits from demand for AI.

Chemical producer DuPont was another winner, up 6.9%, after reporting stronger profit than expected. It said demand from customers in the semiconductor industry continued to recover.

In the bond market, Treasury yields had been easing since the morning following some weaker-than-expected reports on the economy.

One report from the Institute for Supply Management said the U.S. manufacturing sector unexpectedly fell back into contraction last month. Economists had been looking for one of the hardest-hit areas of the economy to stay steady. Perhaps more concerningly, manufacturers also reported prices were rising at a faster rate.

A separate report said U.S. employers were advertising slightly fewer jobs at the end of March than economists expected. The hope on Wall Street has been that a cooldown in the number of openings could help keep the job market in check, not allowing it to get so hot that it adds upward pressure on workers' wages and inflation overall. The downside is that if it weakens too much, a major support for the economy could give out.

The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for the Fed, eased to 5.00% from 5.04%. It's still near its highest level since November.

In stock markets abroad, many exchanges were shut for holidays. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3%, and London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3%.

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimon Zhong contributed.

A banner for cruise operator Viking, marking its initial public offering, hangs on the front of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on April 22, 2024. Asian stocks fell Wednesday, May 1, 2024 with most of the markets in the region closed for a holiday. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks closed out their worst month since September. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE- A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's stock prices at a securities firm in Tokyo, on April 30, 2024. Asian stocks fell Wednesday, May 1, 2024 with most of the markets in the region closed for a holiday. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks closed out their worst month since September. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)