Golf news as Justin Thomas gets $2.25M boost and Scottie Scheffler leaves Greg Norman in dust

 The golfing world is abuzz with excitement after an action-packed few days across the sport.

The inaugural TGL came to a head this week as Justin Thomas and Co took home an eye-watering sum for their efforts as part of Atlanta Drive GC. The 2025 Masters at Augusta National is now right around the corner, with the availability of caddie Billy Foster becoming a talking point.

Elsewhere, Scottie Scheffler has had a week he will never forget despite not having played since the Players Championship earlier this month. PGA Tour stars now turn their attention to the Houston Open, which begins on March 27, fielding the likes of Rory McIlroy and Players runner-up J.J. Spaun. But before the action gets underway, we cover all of the big stories across golf over the past two days.

Justin Thomas rakes in $2.25M

Atlanta Drive Golf Club were crowned the winners of the first ever TGL SoFi Cup on Tuesday. Billy Horschel, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay won the tournament, defeating New York Golf Club’s Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Young in the best-of-three final series.

They launched a stunning comeback to win Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s tech-infused indoor simulator league 4-3. The winning Atlanta team secured the first-place prize money payout, earning $9 million to be split among the four players on the roster (Atlanta’s fourth is Lucas Glover).

That means Thomas raked in a $2.25M payout after the disappointment of his runners-up finish to Viktor Hovland at the Valspar Championship. Meanwhile, second-place finishers New York earned a $4.5M team payday, totaling $1.125M per player.

Billy Foster breaks silence on split

Legendary caddie Foster has opened up on his split with Matt Fitzpatrick. World No. 69 Fitzpatrick has endured an indifferent start to the 2025 season and fallen 58 places in the ranking in the last 12 months.

That led to his decision to part ways with his caddie of six years, with whom he won the US Open in 2022 and the Ryder Cup. Foster, who has previously worked with Tiger Woods, insisted he bore no ill feeling over the decision despite admitting his disappointment.

“I finished with Fitz last week,” Foster said on Monday, speaking to Prime Casino. “It was a bit disappointing but he's been playing poorly. You know when things aren't going well and you're not enjoying it out there sometimes it's just nice to have a break and just get a bit of freshness and have a different eye on the ball.”

Rory McIlroy’s brutal advice

McIlroy has been urged to fire his best friend and caddie, Harry Diamond, ahead of the Masters. Ex-PGA Tour golfer Nick O’Hern thinks the Northern Irishman should sack Diamond if he hopes to break his 11-year major championship drought at Augusta.

McIlroy, despite never having won the Masters, is one of the hot favorites this year after wins at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players. Yet, O’Hern believes he should seize the opportunity to hire a top-class caddie in the form of the aforementioned Foster.

Speaking about the situation on his Talk Birdie To Me podcast, O’Hern said: "Something that happened last week, Billy Foster split with Matt Fitzpatrick. And, that's a big open door and I'm sure there's a lot of big players vying to get Billy on their bag.

"Now, Harry, who caddies for Rory and, as we know, is one of his best mates and he does a very good job. However, in those crucial clutch moments, that's when you need someone who's got the experience, who's got the answer for the game, the feel that can sense it."

Scottie Scheffler makes history

World No. 1 Scheffler has topped the Official World Golf Rankings for 97 consecutive weeks now. Only Tiger Woods has managed to top that feat in the past, having had two separate stints in which he sat on the throne for over 100 weeks - firstly between August 1999 and September 2004, and then June 2005 to October 2010.

In doing so, Scheffler has just surpassed Greg Norman in the record books, with the Australian icon managing 96 consecutive weeks between June 1995 and April 1997. Norman lost his place briefly to Tom Lehman before returning to the No. 1 spot for seven more weeks after that. Norman later managed a whopping 11th time as world No. 1 from September 1997 to January 1998.

Scheffler, meanwhile, began his current hot streak after the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, where he tied for second, before winning on the PGA Tour seven times in 2024. He ended the year by defending his Hero World Challenge title in the Bahamas.