PGA

A security guard was left saying "sorrey" after the Canadian Open on Sunday ... when he mistakenly LAID OUT a PGA Tour golfer who ran onto the green to celebrate his buddy's big victory!!

The wild moment went down shortly after Nick Taylor nailed a 72-foot eagle putt to win the tournament on the fourth playoff hole in Toronto ... which made him the first Canada native to win the event in more than half a century.

Adam Hadwin -- who finished tied for 12th place in the same tourney -- was super stoked for his fellow Canadian's historic win ... so he grabbed a bottle of champagne and sprayed it as he darted toward Taylor.

But one security guard went into protective mode before Hadwin could even get near the big winner ... 'cause he rushed over and put the pro's ass on the grass!!

A group of people darted over to check on Hadwin right after the brutal hit ... but thankfully, he wasn't injured. Taylor looked upset over it all ... yelling as he watched his friend get laid out.

Hadwin has been a good sport about it all, though ... cracking jokes and having a playful interaction with Carolina Panthers receiver Adam Thielen.

Hadwin's wife, Jessica, also laughed off the situation ... saying, "I'm thrilled to report that @ahadwingolf is still among the land of the living and in true Canadian form, apologized to the security guard for being tackled."

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.

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.

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.

Next on the tee ... John Smoltz?!?

The MLB legend is hoping to hear that a whole lot at PGA TOUR Champions events in the very near future ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to compete on the senior golf circuit as soon as he gets his ailing hip surgically repaired.

The 55-year-old didn't mince words when talking about his golf goals with us earlier this year ... explaining that the first time he tried to find success on the PGA Tour Champions, he was just simply too hurt to make a real run.

Now, though, he says he's already got one of his hips redone -- and he's hoping when he gets the other one fixed ... it could lead to serious success.

"I've got a new hip, I've got one more hip to do, and then after that," he said, "I want to see what my competitive juices take me to."

Hip pain or not, Smoltz is already considered one of the best celeb golfers on the planet. The former Atlanta Braves closer has competed alongside pros regularly ... and won before.

In fact, Tiger Woods said just a few months ago that Smoltz and Tony Romo were the two best non-pros he's played with.

If John doesn't get healthy enough to compete on the PGA TOUR Champions ... he tells us, don't worry, he'll still find some way to get into competitive tourneys.

Tiger Woods is a single man ... and the oddsmakers are taking bets on who he'll date when he goes back on the prowl -- with Tom Brady's ex-wife Gisele Bündchen being the favorite to be his next partner.

Tiger called things off with Erica Herman late last year ... and their split has been nasty -- with his girlfriend of six years filing a $30 million lawsuit over how things ended.

BetOnline is wasting no time looking into the future ... throwing out odds for who Woods will date next -- and there are a ton of interesting names on the list.

Gisele comes in on top at +2500, which means the oddsmakers think there's an outside chance she moves from one G.O.A.T. to another ... and Kim Kardashian is right behind at +3500.

Shakira -- who recently went through her own rough breakup with Gerard Piqué -- is listed at +5000 if she decides to give it a shot with another athlete.

There seems to be a bit of a "messy breakup" trend here ... as Amber Heard is also an option at +15000.

Golf influencer and model Paige Spiranac also made the cut ... coming in at +25000.

And for Ss and Gs, there are a few adult film actresses like Mia Khalifa, Lana Rhoades, Riley Reid and Mia Malkova on the list ... and their odds are set at +50000, which are surprisingly the same as Tiger's ex, Lindsey Vonn.

Good news, bad news for Jordan Spieth at the Players Championship on Friday -- bad news: his tee shot was so off target, it hit a spectator. Good news: the accidental contact knocked the ball back onto the fairway -- avoiding landing in the drink!!

The wild moment went down on the 9th hole at TPC Sawgrass ... when a struggling Spieth's drive headed straight for the water.

Luckily for Spieth -- and unluckily for the fan -- the ball drilled the attendee right in the knee ... and it ricocheted back onto the fairway with a perfect bounce.

Here's where it gets even crazier -- Spieth was on the verge of missing the cut on the final hole ... and a bogey or worse could've sunk him.

As it turns out, the ball's landing spot helped the star finish the hole with an eagle -- leaving him comfortably inside of the cut line.

The story has an even happier ending, as Spieth gave the fan his glove as an apology/thank you gift.

Spieth finished the round +3 ... and is even through two days of competition.

Machine Gun Kelly got himself a new hair-do during his performance at PGA ... but maybe not the one he wanted.

The rocker-turned-rapper says he got "electrocuted" onstage as he performed at the Coors Light Bird's Nest in Phoenix ... a Super Bowl weekend bash.

As he's singing, you see his hair go from flat to standing straight up on end. It's unclear if something really did happen or if it's just a stage prank. We're leaning toward prank, because he seems unfazed. Also, no EMTs showed up.

MGK performed for nearly 2 hours and, unsurprisingly, it was sold out. Among the guests -- A-Rod and his GF.

After the show, MGK met up with fiancée Megan Fox to hit up Drake's party.

It's no surprise things are already getting rowdy at one of the more crazy events on The PGA Tour ... but if you had streaker on your BINGO card, fill in a square.

The jarring scene happened Friday during Waste Management's Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, AZ. As you can see, a random guy evades security and runs onto 16 hole ... wearing only his undies, and earning a huge applause in the process.

At one point, the nude bandit grabs the pin and gives fans his best stripper impression ... before completing his routine with a belly flop into the pond and finally getting corralled by security.

PGA Tour star, Max Homa's mind was off of birdies and onto bees during his round on Thursday -- at least momentarily -- 'cause one of the winged insects landed right on his ball ... and didn't want to move!!!

The funny scene all happened on the ninth green at Torrey Pines at the Farmers Insurance Open ... when Homa went to line up his birdie putt.

Broadcast video shows as the 32-year-old golfer reached down to examine his ball, a bee was parked on it ... and seemed rather cozy.

Homa tried -- carefully, we might add -- to get the little guy to move, but he wasn't budging.

"He's tyring to get rid of a frequent flyer there," one of the event's broadcaster's joked.

Eventually, Homa got it to fly away -- avoiding the stinger in the process.

Want to feel bad about your golf game? Here's long drive star, Kyle Berkshire, setting a new record ... by absolutely crushing a ball over 235 MPH!!!

The pro golfer -- who's become a legend for his ability to hit balls 450-plus yards -- set up inside of a TrackMan simulator on Thursday ... and went to town with his driver to try to land a new ball speed marker.

According to Golf.com, Berkshire took around 70 swings ... but with one of them, he was able to break the record for ball speed, hitting it a staggering 236.2 MPH.

In fact, according to the outlet, Berkshire accomplished the feat two more times in the sesh ... and said afterward he actually could've gotten to 238!!!

Berkshire said he fueled up with caffeine and music ... and said, "You've really got to put yourself in a place of fight or flight to push yourself past your maxes."

The 26-year-old, who PGA Tour star Bryson DeChambeau has trained with, believes at some point he'll completely dust his new record -- aiming for 240 MPH by next year.

Tiger Woods could have been nearly $1 BILLION richer if he had joined LIV Golf this year ... so says Greg Norman, who confirmed the new, Saudi-backed league offered the legend around $700-$800 million to defect from the PGA Tour.

Norman, who's LIV Golf's CEO, revealed the details of the staggering offer during an interview with Tucker Carlson that aired on Monday night -- saying the huge proposal came from the league even before he had officially taken the executive role with the org.

"That number was out there before I became CEO," Norman said. "So, that number's been out there, yes. And, look, Tiger's a needle mover, right?"

"So," he added, "yes, that number is somewhere in that neighborhood."

Tiger, of course, did not accept the offer ... and when he spoke about the new golf org. while at The Open in Scotland last month -- he ripped some of golf's biggest stars for taking the money and bolting from the PGA Tour.

"I think that what they've done is they've turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position," Woods said of the LIV golfers -- which includes huge names like Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson.

Woods also called out Norman for his role with LIV at the July event -- saying he didn't believe the former golf star was doing things that were "in the best interest of our game."

"What these players are doing for guaranteed money, what is the incentive to practice?" Woods added. "What is the incentive to go out there and earn it in the dirt? You’re just getting paid a lot of money upfront and playing a few events and playing 54 holes. They’re playing blaring music and have all these atmospheres that are different."

Donald Trump is calling for all PGA golfers to jump ship and join the Saudi-backed LIV tour ... claiming if they don't take the massive payday now, they'll be left in the dust when there's an "inevitable merger" between the organizations.

#45 made the comments on his Truth Social media platform on Monday -- just days ahead of LIV's tournament at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.

"All of those golfers that remain 'loyal' to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes," Trump said. "And you get nothing but a big 'thank you' from PGA officials who are making Millions of Dollars a year."

"If you don’t take the money now, you will get nothing after the merger takes place, and only say how smart the original signees were."

Trump's involvement in LIV has garnered criticism from many -- especially families of 9/11 victims, considering Trump once publicly speculated Saudi Arabia played a role in the World Trade Center attacks.

Members of 9/11 Justice -- which consists of those affected by the 2001 terrorist attacks -- sent a letter to Trump earlier this week ... calling for him to cancel the event.

LIV Golf responded ... saying, "As we have said all along, these families have our deepest sympathy. While some may not agree, we believe golf is a force for good around the world."