Golf

Lance Ball -- a former NFL running back who played for the Denver Broncos -- was arrested for domestic violence this week after allegedly strangling and assaulting someone.

The alleged incident occurred on Monday in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, about 25 miles southeast of Denver. Douglas County deputies responded to a residence for a report of "physical domestic disturbance." 37-year-old Ball was taken into custody.

Cops say the alleged victim was transported to a hospital for treatment.

According to KDVR, the incident stemmed from an argument between Ball and the alleged victim ... when he returned to the residence after golfing.

Ball was booked on charges of domestic violence, assault in the second degree, and criminal mischief.

He played in the NFL for several years after the former Maryland Terrapin went undrafted in 2008, suiting up for the Rams, Colts, Titans, and Broncos during his time in the league.

A prominent 9/11 memorial organization is teeing off on the PGA's decision to join forces with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour ... saying the move is nothing but an act of betrayal.

9/11 Families United -- a group of thousands of family members whose loved ones were killed or impacted during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- tells TMZ Sports it is "shocked and deeply offended" by Tuesday's news of the PGA/LIV merger.

"PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan co-opted the 9/11 community last year in the PGA's unequivocal agreement that the Saudi LIV project was nothing more than sportswashing of Saudi Arabia's reputation," chairman Terry Strada, whose husband died in the World Trade Center's North Tower, said in a statement.

"But now the PGA and Monahan appear to have become just more paid Saudi shills, taking billions of dollars to cleanse the Saudi reputation so that Americans and the world will forget how the Kingdom spent their billions of dollars before 9/11 to fund terrorism, spread their vitriolic hatred of Americans, and finance al Qaeda and the murder of our loved ones."

Of course, the 9/11 hijackers had strong ties to Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of the nineteen men who carried out the attack were citizens of the Middle Eastern country. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was also born in Saudi Arabia in 1957.

Despite the hijackers largely coming from Saudi Arabia, the country has always denied playing any role in the terrorist attack that killed nearly 3,000 people. The FBI and CIA have also stated Saudi Arabia was not behind the attacks.

"Make no mistake – we will never forget," Strada added.

Monahan is well aware of the backlash directed at players who jumped to LIV last year -- he was previously asked about 9/11 Families United calling it an act of betrayal at the time ... and he felt it was necessary for those athletes to apologize to those affected by the terrorist attacks.

It's safe to say the 9/11 org. no longer feels his words were sincere.

"Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV Golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour. They do now -- as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed."

"Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA as it appears their concern for our loved ones was merely window-dressing in their quest for money – it was never to honor the great game of golf."

After more than a year of bitter arguing that included lawsuits and public feuds, PGA Tour is merging with Saudi-backed LIV Golf ... and a lot of the players are pissed!

The stunning announcement was made Tuesday morning, with the companies saying they'll form a new, yet-to-be-named organization -- news that some of the PGA Tour players say totally blindsided them.

Collin Morikawa, the 18th-ranked player in the world, clearly had no idea the merger was in the works, Tweeting ... "I love finding out morning news on Twitter"

Another pro, Wesley Bryan, expressed anger over the merger.

"Love finding out info on twitter. This is amazing. Y’all should be ashamed and have a lot of questions to answer."

Bryan fired off another message ... "I feel betrayed, and will not be able to trust anyone within the corporate structure of the PGA TOUR for a very long time"

Tuesday's announcement was especially shocking because of the disdain the organizations have had for one another since LIV launched.

Aside from just being a business dispute, a lot of Americans were against LIV because of its tie to the Saudi Arabian government. In fact, LIV Golf is backed by Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF), controlled by the Crown Prince. A majority of the 9/11 hijackers (15 of 19) were from the country.

Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA Tour, once posed the question ... "Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?," in response to blowback on American golfers who took large checks from LIV.

Monahan was talking about several high-profile former PGA Tour players who bolted for LIV, including Phil Mickelson who reportedly received around $200 million to join the org. Dustin Johnson left too, reportedly getting $125 million. Brooks Koepka reportedly got $100 million.

Not all players took the big money ... Tiger Woods reportedly turned down a whopping $800 million offer, while Rory McIlroy reportedly said no to $500 million.

Tom Kim proved Thursday night that even pro golf stars have flashes of weekend warrior in them ... 'cause in a wild attempt to rescue a brand new ball from a hazard area, he got absolutely lathered in mud.

The hilarious scene all went down during Kim's first round at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in New York ... when on the sixth hole, the 20-year-old blasted his tee shot way off line.

Turns out, the ball was struck so badly ... it went over a creek and settled in a patch of high weeds.

Kim then had two options -- take a penalty stroke and drop the ball near the hazard ... or, strip off his shoes and socks and go in after it.

Turns out, Kim chose the latter ... and it ended up being a comically poor decision.

Check out the footage of Kim trying to find his Pro V1x ... the dude waded through waist-high mud for several moments, before he had to turn back without the ball and crawl to safety.

Video shows Kim left the hazard covered in mud ... and after the round -- while he was a good sport about it -- he was clearly embarrassed.

"You know," he said with a sheepish smile, "I miss the days when I played on a tour without cameras."

Bryson DeChambeau has ruffled some feathers yet again on the golf course ... this time, the LIV star hit an approach shot so poorly, it drilled one of his fellow competitors right in the back.

The wild scene went down just minutes ago during the first round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in New York ... when Kenny Pigman was standing on the 18th tee box, getting ready to smoke a drive.

You can see in replays from the ESPN broadcast of the tournament, as he was leaning over his ball ... another ball suddenly came careening right for him.

Turns out, the ball was hit off of DeChambeau's club on the 17th hole ... less than 200 yards away.

Thankfully, a "fore" call was yelled ... allowing Pigman to duck for cover -- but he was still nailed in the back of the shoulder by the wayward shot.

DeChambeau, who's made a habit through the years of annoying others on the course, like Brooks Koepka, clearly didn't mean to hit Pigman ... and he came over to apologize shortly after.

And, somehow, despite the horrendous shot, DeChambeau was able to save a bogey on his hole ... and is now in the middle of a great round.

Tiger Woods has just notched a big victory in court over his ex ... a judge has ruled Erica Herman's gripes with the golfing legend must go to a behind-closed-doors arbitrator -- something Woods has been wanting for months.

Herman initially sued Woods back in early March ... alleging he wrongly kicked her out of their Florida home following their split in 2022. She argued at the time her disputes should play out in public court -- not private arbitration -- claiming an NDA that he made her sign in 2017 should be nullified on the grounds that Woods allegedly conditioned her job and right to live their home on their romantic relationship -- which she says constitutes "sexual harassment" under Florida law.

Woods countered that she couldn't bring him to court, saying the NDA required any qualms between the two to be meted out in arbitration. He added that he had never been sexually inappropriate with her.

Martin County, Fla. judge Elizabeth A. Metzger ruled in Woods' favor late Wednesday, saying Herman must abide by the NDA's arbitration provision.

She also said in her ruling Herman's sexual harassment claims were "vague and threadbare" and "implausibly pled" ... writing, "Herman has had the opportunity [to] provide factual specificity for any claim relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment, however, she has not done so."

It's unclear if Herman has plans to appeal.

Woods and Herman began dating around six years ago, shortly after she had been hired to work at his Florida restaurant. She alleged in court filings that once they became romantic, he "forced her to sign an NDA ... or else be fired from her job."

The couple dated until the fall of '22 ... when Herman claimed Woods concocted a scheme involving false promises of a spontaneous vacation to throw her out of their home. She argued it all violated an oral agreement they had -- and she sued his trust for $30 mil.

No, Dustin Johnson didn't hurt his back earlier this year swinging a club -- instead, he strongly insinuated Wednesday it was a different kind of stroke that caused the injury.

Johnson was out in New York getting ready for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club when he was peppered with a few questions about the muscle pull that yanked him from the Saudi International golf tournament back in February.

The 38-year-old former Masters champ didn't explain fully what caused the problem ... but he sure hinted it had something to do with fooling around with his wife, Paulina Gretzky.

Check out video of the exchange with a reporter ... when the media member asked the LIV star if he had gotten hurt playing golf or "lifting up" one of his children -- Johnson broke out a huge, wry grin.

"Yeah, lifting up a kid," he said, stifling a laugh. "Just a bigger kid."

The remark left the room full of journalists in stitches ... and the ear-to-ear smile that Johnson continued to wear didn't require any further follow-ups.

Of course, Johnson could've been talking about something completely different ... but both he and Paulina have had all day to clarify the comments -- yet the two have remained tight-lipped.

Bad news for anyone hoping to see two ex-NFL stars settle their longstanding beef in the ring ... 'cause Vontaze Burfict is slamming the door on a boxing match with Le'Veon Bell -- saying he wants to golf instead!!

In case you missed it, Bell was talking about potential future opponents on the "Misfits Boxing" podcast recently ... and said he wanted to get revenge for what he felt was a dirty play during a game in 2015.

It's pretty obvious who he was referring to, considering Bell suffered a knee injury in Week 8 against the Bengals that season ... after Burfict and another Cincinnati defender made a tackle on the running back.

"It's someone from football," Bell said. "They had purposely injured me. I don’t think I want to say the name, but people who watched my career when I hurt my knee, people know. Yeah, people know. I would love to put my hands on him in a ring."

Vontaze got wind of Le'Veon's comments, and instead of accepting the offer the ex-Steelers running back laid down, Burfict suggested they do a charity golf event instead.

“[Le’Veon Bell] why we lookin to fight?" Burfict wrote on Instagram. "Why not show everyone WE can change the narrative. Let’s show the world WE can squash beef in other ways than boxing. Let’s meet and compete on the golf course."

He continued ... "Get some charities involved so WE can help people in need and show kids that we resolved our differences to make the world a better place.”

Le'Veon didn't seem too thrilled with Burfict's idea ... writing, "lol sure bro."

But that didn't stop him from clapping back at Burfict's former teammate, Adam "Pacman" Jones, who said he'd bet $100k that VB beats Bell in a fight.

"I throw hands, I don't wrestle .. tell em step in the squared circle tho & i’ll beat the dog s*** out of him … & you can put whatever you want on dude, it’s yo money to lose," Bell tweeted at Jones.

Tiger Woods' public split with Erica Herman is getting nastier ... the golfer's ex is now specifically accusing him of sexually harassing her on multiple occasions during their relationship.

Herman made the allegations in new court documents that were filed on Friday ... claiming Woods initially sexually harassed her shortly after she began working for his Florida restaurant, The Woods Jupiter.

Herman says in the docs Woods personally hired her in 2014, and then developed a romantic relationship with her. In 2017, she claims he then "forced her to sign an NDA ... or else be fired from her job."

"A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment," Herman's attorneys wrote in the court filing.

Herman then claimed in the docs Woods sexually harassed her again in 2022.

She alleged that because their sexual relationship had ended, he kicked her out of their home -- which she claims is clear sexual harassment.

"The landlord made the availability of her housing conditional on her having sexual relationship with a co-tenant," Herman's attorneys wrote in the docs. "That conduct amounts to sexual harassment under federal and Florida fair housing laws."

Woods has yet to address the new, specific sexual harassment claims -- though he adamantly denied any sexual misconduct with Herman in court documents that were filed in March. In part of his denial, Woods called Herman "a jilted ex-girlfriend."

In her filing Friday, Herman addressed the remark ... calling it "consistent with his harassing behavior."

"That peevish response is taken from the classic playbook of powerful men accused of sexual harassment who respond by belittling and insulting their victims," Herman's attorneys wrote in the filing.

Herman argued in the docs, once again, that an NDA she had with the golfing legend should be declared unenforceable under the federal Speak Out Act, which prohibits the enforceability of an NDA agreed to before a dispute arises involving sexual assault or sexual harassment.

Kevin Costner is shooting his shot in the middle of his divorce drama ... he was spotted taking some solid swings at a driving range in Utah while he shoots his latest movie project.

The actor was at BigShots Golf in St. George Tuesday night, just hours after TMZ broke the story his wife Christine's calling it quits after 18 years of marriage ... and those at the range tell us he was having a great time.

He's in the Beehive State for his new western epic, "Horizon: An American Saga," so the group he was with was likely part of the cast and crew. Kev had a pretty great swing and even appeared to be doing some coaching.

As we reported, sources familiar told us Kevin was completely blindsided by Christine's filing ... and it was devastating for him. There were internet rumors Kevin got a woman pregnant on the set of "Yellowstone," but sources close to the actor called it "total BS."

Brooks Koepka got a birthday present of a lifetime this year ... the golf superstar is going to be a daddy!!

The 33-year-old and his model wife, Jena Sims, shared the awesome news on Wednesday ... saying, "happiest birthday, the best is yet to come 🤍🤍🤍"

The married couple also shared several snaps from the beach ... showing Brooks kissing Jena's growing baby bump as she wore a white bikini top, grey sweatshirt and jeans.

Their friends were quick to send their kind words on social media ... with everyone saying congrats.

Of course, Brooks and Jena first went public at the U.S. Open back in 2017 ... and were married in June 2022.

They've been attached at the hip ever since ... and Jena makes sure to attend all of Brooks' tournaments.

To commemorate Brooks' best birthday ever, Jena even got him a cake ... which read, "HBD daddy."

Soccer reigned supreme once again when it came to lining pockets in 2022 ... with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé making the most money out of all athletes, according to Forbes' annual list -- and LeBron James and Stephen Curry rounding out the top five.

In the top spot is 38-year-old Ronaldo -- who parted ways with Manchester United in November to join Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr in January. The superstar raked in $136 million total on and off the field over the past 12 months.

Coming in at second and third on the list are Messi and Mbappé, respectively. Messi earned $130 million ... while 24-year-old Mbappé -- the only athlete under 30 to grace the top 10 -- pocketed $120 million.

King James is in the top five yet again at fourth on the list, earning $119.5 million. Meanwhile, Steph Curry ($100.4 million) and Kevin Durant ($89.1 million) are the only two other NBA players to make the top 10.

Canelo Álvarez is the lone boxer in the top 10 -- the 58-2-2 Mexican-born fighter made $100 million pounding on opponents inside the ring ... and an additional $10 million out of competition.

Two of golf's biggest names, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, proved the LIV money is real ... with DJ earning $107 million, and Phil earning $106 million.

Finally, Roger Federer -- who's won 20 Grand Slam men's single's titles in his career -- held it down for his respective sport ... as he was the only tennis star to make the top 10, earning $95.1 million.

Forget tuxes and red carpets, Tom Brady was more into tee boxes and fairways on Monday ... eschewing a spot at the Met Gala -- an event he used to attend regularly with Gisele Bündchen -- for a round of golf.

The newly retired quarterback was spotted roughly 3,000 miles away from his ex-wife and the bright lights of the famed New York fashion event ... getting in hacks at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

Brady didn't seem to care much about missing the show that he's gone to multiple times over the last decade ... as he appeared ultra focused on improving his golf game.

The former Buccaneers and Patriots star could be seen hitting his wedges, irons, and driver -- while mobbin' around in a golf cart with his pal.

Of course, Gisele didn't seem to be missing Brady too much out in NYC either ... she rolled up to the event dateless -- and looked stunning.

The two used to attend Met Galas often ... hitting almost every single one from 2010 to 2019 -- and their looks over the years were iconic.

Sydney Sweeney and fiancé Jonathan Davino are still engaged -- at least publicly -- but after her costar's relationship just imploded, there's a growing mystery over when another shoe might drop.

Davino was photographed earlier this week leaving their home. Not a big deal, but he had bags packed as he left the house. Along with his luggage -- golf clubs and a dog bed.

It's entirely possible he was just going on a golfing trip. Also, earlier Tuesday -- the day the pics were shot -- he was walking Sydney's dog, Tank, so maybe the pooch is going on the golfing trip and all is well. Two theories -- either all is well and Tank's just going on a fun trip, or there's no one else to take care of him so Jonathan's just being compassionate.

On the other hand, Sydney was seen earlier this week without her engagement ring, and the timing is interesting. The photo of a ringless Sydney was shot Thursday, 2 days after Jonathan left with bags packed.

As you probably know, Sydney's costar, Glen Powell, is now a single man after his girlfriend Gigi Paris, very publicly said she's moving on.

Rumors have been swirling that there's more than a professional relationship between Sydney and Glen, and those rumors were, in part, fueled by the 2 of them after appearing on a red carpet earlier this week looking adoringly at each other.

Chase Koepka got an early shower in the middle of a golf tournament down in Australia -- but he wasn't being doused with water, it was booze ... and for good reason too.

The pro golfer was teeing off Sunday in Adelaide -- where LIV Golf is hosting a tournament with a sellout crowd in attendance -- and on the 12th stop of the course, he hit a hole in one ... which is pretty impressive considering it's a par-3.

The spectators thought so too ... so much so, in fact, that they started chucking their beers, cans and cups right at the dude from up in the stands. A literal beer shower, if you will.

CK didn't mind it one bit ... he was absolutely stoked and reveling in the brew -- rightly so. BTW, the whole beer-throwing thing here is a tradition at this hole in particular ... it's apparently known as the "Watering Hole," so the athletes know what they're in for.

Koepka commented on the drizzle later on, and it didn't bother him one bit. He's quoted as saying ... "I smelled like beer the whole entire rest of the day. Yeah, it was wild. Crazy experience. I mean, obviously to do it on a hole like that was super special."

The American golfer is far from the only star to be out there at the Grange Golf Club this weekend ... he's joined by other stars in the sport like Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Phil Mickelson -- who abandoned the PGA and linked up with the Saudis for this new league.

Tiger Woods is still dealing with the aftermath of his horrific car accident -- the golf superstar just underwent yet another surgery on the leg he damaged in the crash.

The 47-year-old's team shared the update on social media just minutes ago ... saying Tiger had a subtalar fusion procedure to treat post-traumatic arthritis he's experienced after fracturing his ankle bone in the Feb. 2021 incident.

Woods' team says he went to Dr. Martin O'Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Institute in NYC ... and the procedure was a success.

"Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation," the statement read.

It is unclear when Woods will be able to return to the golf course ... but he hasn't been 100% ever since the accident.

As we previously reported, Tiger suffered major damage to his right leg, which included comminuted open fractures to both his upper and lower tibia and fibula during the crash. All of it required several procedures to fix.