Ex-LIV Golfers Make Champions Tour Debut, RBC Heritage Withdrawals Begin And Masters Gnome Sold For Almost $30K: This Week In Golf

This Week In Golf: Our regular look at the biggest stories in professional golf, tournament previews and other key details you need to know.

The Masters is over and Major season has well and truly begun. Rory McIlroy claimed his second Green Jacket by a single stroke on Sunday as an impressive leaderboard failed to reel him in.

But Augusta National is now in the rear-view mirror, so we can start to look at what else is happening in the world of golf.

There is still no DP World Tour or Asian Tour golf this week, but there's plenty of other action to remain locked in to - including a PGA Tour Signature Event plus the return of the LPGA Tour and LIV Golf League.

Below are some of the key storylines to have already taken place as well as what else you can expect in golf over the coming days.

RBC HERITAGE (MAYBE WITH BROOKS KOEPKA)

The PGA Tour is straight back into it this week with its fourth Signature Event of the season - the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina.

Justin Thomas won this last year, scooping $3.6 million from a $20 million prize purse, and he's back to defend against a field which has seen multiple changes since its original iteration.

Firstly, Rory McIlroy chose not to play while Justin Rose withdrew at the weekend - with Rose replaced by Michael Thorbjornsen - while Brooks Koepka is on the precipice of making his first Signature Event start via the Aon Next 10.

At this stage, eight of the World's top-10 will be teeing it up at the RBC Heritage - including the betting favorite, Scottie Scheffler.

LA CHAMPIONSHIP

Off the back of a small break, the LPGA Tour also returns this week with the JM Eagle LA Championship.

Sweden's Ingrid Lindblad managed to win this tournament last year in what was just her third start on the LPGA Tour.

The young Swede triumphed by a single stroke at El Caballero Country Club and scooped over $550,000 in prize money - kicking her pro career off quite nicely indeed.

This time around, top names include Miyu Yamashita and Minjee Lee star while Asterisk Talley is among those given a sponsor's exemption. However, neither Jeeno Thitikul or Nelly Korda are in action.

LIV GOLF MEXICO CITY

LIV Golf is back for the first time since Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau's playoff duel in South Africa.

The PIF-backed circuit is in Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec this week, with both of its star names looking for a significant response to what was a really poor Masters showing.

Joaquin Niemann claimed one of his five wins here last year and will be looking for a first of 2026 while Rahm will be aiming to extend his advantage over DeChambeau in the standings with another victory of his own.

EX-LIV PROS MAKE CHAMPIONS TOUR DEBUTS

It's the Senior PGA Championship at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida this week - the first senior Major of the year.

While any Major is interesting and the $3 million purse only adds to that, a few names in the field are of particular note.

Former LIV golfers Henrik Stenson and Pat Perez are making their PGA Tour Champions debuts, with the Swede doing so only months after being relegated from the team-centered league.

Meanwhile, six-time PGA Tour winner Rory Sabbatini is also making his debut having turned 50 just a couple of weeks ago.

$29,000 MASTERS GNOME

People are going crazy for The Masters gnome in 2026, and it's been a similar story since they were first introduced in 2016.

The must-have item from The Masters shop retails at $50, but there is a limited number available every day and they go fast.

Such is their desirability, people are apparently willing to pay silly money for them online - especially an original, with evidence of this on Golden Age Auctions' website where a 2016 model was recently sold for almost $30,000.

What started at a modest $300 saw 48 bids in total and the final price agreed at $28,827.60. Quite how they arrived at that number is anyone's guess, but the gnome is at least officially theirs now.

NEW POPPIE'S 'POND' UNVEILED

Quick history lesson, in case you didn't know. The winner of the 1988 Chevron Championship was Amy Alcott. She thought it'd be a good idea to launch herself (fully clothed) into Poppie’s Pond next to the 18th green on the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills immediately after her victory.

Ever since, the champion has followed suit, making it a cool tradition to go alongside the first women's Major of the year (which takes place next week).

However, when the championship moved outside of California to The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas, it wasn't as easy. There was now a lake there which tried to imitate the original. And to help avoid horrible injuries, organizers put a small dock for people to run and jump off. There was also a sponsored robe for the winner to don after.

Now, for whatever reason, the good people involved with the Chevron Championship have decided they would build a 4-foot-deep pool instead, which you can see courtesy of Joseph LaMagna's post above. Let's just say opinion is currently divided on the idea...

TAYLORMADE RELEASES NEW PUTTER RANGE

TaylorMade putters have been incredibly successful not only this season but over the past several campaigns as well, with a wide variety of different makes and models on the market.

Now, there is a new one arriving on the scene - the proto TaylorMade Spider Tour range.

It will make its debut at the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage over the coming days, with the Spider Tour F and Spider Tour V models as the main shapes on show.

The sole plate of the new flat sticks also appears to be similar to that of TaylorMade's zero-torque model, the 5K-ZT, with further information likely coming to light over the coming weeks and months.

MINI TWIGS - WHAT ELSE TO KNOW

• Justin Rose has moved up to World No.4 following his T3rd result at The Masters
• Russell Henley has moved back into the World's top-10 (6th) after also ending T3rd at Augusta National
• Rory McIlroy has significantly cut the gap to Patrick Reed in the DP World Tour's Race To Dubai rankings thanks to his Masters victory, but the American's advantage remains in excess of 550 points
• Data from WHOOP showed McIlroy’s heart rate dropped to just 105 BPM as he stepped up to sink the winning putt at the Masters, while it was as high as 136 BPM when playing his bunker shot just before. He also took a mammoth total of 91,247 steps across the Masters weekend
• Half of Team USA's Curtis Cup roster has been decided. Kiara Romero, Farah O'Keefe, Asterisk Talley and Anna Davis have been locked in, with the rest of the side will be determined by the selection committee after next month's NCAA regional events
• Over 2,000 Your Golf Travel customers have unlocked more than £1.5 million in free golf holiday credits thanks to the company's 'Back-To-Back Payback' campaign. Golfers who booked and paid in full for a qualifying Your Golf Travel holiday would receive the entire value of their trip as credit for their next YGT trip if Rory retained his Masters title, which he managed by a single shot
• Jordan Spieth is among more than 10,000 entries to have been accepted by the USGA for the 126th US Open Championship, which is to be held at Shinnecock Hills in June
• It has been confirmed that Kevin Na will make his first DP World Tour start in more than five years at the Volvo China Open later this month