The U.S. Open begins Thursday as the best golfers in the world battle for the largest purse in the event’s history. 

This year’s prize fund will total $20 million, up from $17.5 million last year. On Sunday, the winner will take home $3.6 million, nearly half a million more than the $3.15 million Matt Fitzpatrick earned last year.

“We want this to be big,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said during a press conference on Wednesday. That means giving fans and players a championship feel without sacrificing the tournament’s uniqueness.

“We could have sold 40,000 tickets a day but we sold 22,000 to make sure that the experience here is still a quality experience for those that get on the golf course,” he added. “And I think [the record] purse is part of that.”

Whan — like Los Angeles Country Club president Gene Sykes — said he is worried about PGA Tour-Saudi Arabia headlines stealing the U.S. Open’s spotlight, and is confident the golf will shine through the distractions.

But Whan was coy on Saudi Arabia’s investment in golf. “That doesn’t feel as new to me as it maybe does to some other fans,” he said, noting their presence in the game even when he was commissioner of the LPGA from 2009-22.

Whan said he didn’t know if the USGA had been approached by the PIF about any potential investment like the PGA Tour deal.

“If we were contacted, we’re pretty full up from a partnership perspective,” he added.

Europe’s “Big Five” soccer countries — France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. — are finally set to broadcast the 2023 Women’s World Cup from Australia and New Zealand.

On Wednesday, the international soccer federation announced that it has agreed to extend its partnership with the European Broadcasting Union that will see the tournament shown across EBU’s free-to-air-linear network across 34 European territories.

In October, the two had agreed to a deal that included 28 European entities, but the revised deal will include the “Big Five,” as well as Ukraine.

“This [new deal] will provide a huge promotional and exposure opportunity for women’s football,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said, “which is a top priority for us in line with FIFA’s commitment to the long-term development of the sport.”

Infantino had previously threatened to black out the tournament in Europe’s biggest soccer markets due to lowball offers from the country’s media companies.

In the U.K., BBC and ITV will share the media rights to the summer festivities, splitting the games up until the World Cup final, which will be shown on both BBC1 and ITV1. The two companies are paying a reported $9 million to $10 million for the rights — at most, 6% of the rights to the men’s tournament, but an improvement from initial offers in the 1% to 2% range.

The Women’s World Cup — which begins July 20 — will also be shown on Germany’s ARD and ZDF, France Télévisions, Italy’s RAI, and Spain’s RTVE.

Charlotte, North Carolina, appears to be serious about adding professional tennis to the city’s sports offerings.

The Charlotte City Council approved $65 million in funding for a vast tennis complex that would include a 14,000-seat stadium and potentially cost $400 million to build. Taxpayers would contribute around $130 million to the project.

Charlotte’s chances at scoring pro tennis look good, considering the remaining $200 million in funding would come from Beemok Capital — the company that owns the Western & Southern Open, a co-sanctioned ATP/WTA event annually played in Cincinnati.

Beemok is the firm of Ben Navarro, a billionaire businessman from South Carolina. He bought the Cincinnati tournament from the United States Tennis Association in 2022 and also owns a WTA event played in Charleston, South Carolina.

A decision on the future of the W&S Open could be made this summer. The first tournament in Charlotte would be in 2026 when the proposed complex would open.

Should Charlotte succeed in luring the event, the city would add pro tennis to its sporting landscape that already includes the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship, and two NASCAR Cup Series races. The NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh’s PNC Arena.

Charlotte annually hosts the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and college football kickoff games with marquee teams from the ACC and SEC. 

The Hornets’ Spectrum Center has also played host to NCAA and ACC tournament games in recents years. The city’s Quail Hollow Golf Club has previously hosted the PGA Championship and President’s Cup.

The number of sports bettors and fantasy sports players in the U.S. and Canada continues to grow, providing a critical lift to gaming operators forging a path to profitability.

The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association in a new study said the number of adults in those countries engaged in legal sports wagering and fantasy sports has surpassed 81 million, up 7% from a year ago and up 26% compared to 2021.

The research is good news for major entities such as DraftKings and Caesars still posting fiscal losses from sports betting and seeking consistent profits through an enlarged gaming market — an effort also boosted with recent legalization in North Carolina. Flutter Entertainment is similarly projecting full-year profitability for FanDuel in 2023.

“There’s unquestionably a market maturation happening with more regular bettors and more established patterns of activity,” said FSGA board member Paul Charchian to Front Office Sports.

The study also found decreasing crossover between sports bettors and fantasy players, with the level of those doing both the U.S. falling from 59% to 45% year-over-year as consumers become more discerning about their preferred games.

Big Player Losses

ProFootballTalk reported an undisclosed NFL player lost $8 million from betting last year, underscoring excessive wagering’s risks. NFL players are allowed to bet on sports aside from the NFL itself. 

The report adds to recent gambling policy violations by five NFL players, including four from the Detroit Lions, and a separate investigation into Indianapolis kick returner/defensive back Isaiah Rodgers.