WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Thomas Detry of Belgium is joining LIV Golf for 2026, the fifth year for the Saudi-funded league that is increasing its total purse to $30 million and got statements from Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm that they're not about to leave.
LIV Golf wrapped up a week of previews — the season starts Feb. 4 in Saudi Arabia — that concluded Wednesday with CEO Scott O'Neil saying he had no problem with Brooks Koepka leaving and that those who remained were committed to the league.
He also held out hope the Official World Golf Ranking, which has been reviewing the LIV application for more than six months, will decide whether to include LIV before its season opener.
The preview week began with blockbuster news that Koepka, a five-time major champion and former No. 1 in the world, had been allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour without having access to equity in the tour for five years and by making a $5 million charitable donation.
O'Neil would not discuss any financial terms of Koepka's departure.
“I don't think this is where he wanted to be,” O'Neil said, adding that he is rooting for Koepka.
“I will tell you I’ve got 57 guys that are running towards the light, and they understand the mission,” he said. “They understand what’s expected of them, and they jump in and dive it and do it extraordinarily well.”
The tour said it was offering the path back only to three other players who have won majors or The Players Championship since 2022 — DeChambeau, Rahm and Cameron Smith. They all said they were staying put.
Rahm and DeChambeau had not given any indication of wanting to return to the PGA Tour and they affirmed that on Tuesday.
“Right now I’ve got a contract. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do at LIV Golf this year,” DeChambeau said.
“I'm not planning on going anywhere,” Rahm said.
O'Neil said prize money would increase from $25 million to $30 million, which includes the team performance. He said just over $22 million would go toward the individual result.
Changes to some of those teams include players and team names. Detry, No. 58 in the world who won his first PGA Tour title last year in the Phoenix Open, joins the 4 Aces team led by Dustin Johnson, who signed an extension to stay with LIV.
LIV also said Elvis Smylie, the 23-year-old Aussie who won the Australian PGA Championship a year ago and was runner-up in the French Open, joined the Australia-based Ripper team.
Two teams have changed names — the Iron Heads will now be the Korean Golf Club, though its previous captain, Kevin Na, is no longer with LIV. Stinger GC, a team composed of South African players, is now called Southern Guards. The U.K.-based Majesticks kept the name but changed the branding to include the Union Jack flag.
Byeong Hun An, who won the U.S. Amateur in 2009 but has yet to win on the PGA Tour, joined LIV and will be captain of the South Korea-based team.
Trevor Immelman, the former Masters champion and now CBS Sports lead golf analyst, said in December that one of the obstacles to receiving ranking points was that the majority of LIV members were invited with contracts to join the league, different from the 24 tours that are part of the OWGR.
LIV, which began with 48 players in 2022, now has 57 players, including five wild-card players.
“The intention is to get this done before the season starts. That’s the intention. But hey — I don’t have a vote, ironically enough,” O'Neil said. “Hopefully that that news comes through and true, and I’m still going to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize if we get this thing done.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
FILE - Thomas Detry, of Belgium, hits from the seventh tee during the first round of the BMW Championship golf tournament Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge on Wednesday gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend an immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
Plumes of tear gas, bursts of chemical irritants and the screech of protest whistles have become common on the streets of Minneapolis, especially since an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away.
Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.
CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.
It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.
Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.
“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.
She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.
Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.
“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.
The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; and Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, contributed.
Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
