World No. 13 Dustin Johnson was the highest-ranked player in the first LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Michael Madrid/USA TODAY
Dustin Johnson will headline next week’s inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series, a last-minute shift in thinking this week as the two-time major champion initially said he would stick with the PGA Tour race.
Johnson, 37, will be one of two players in the world’s top 20 who will join Louis Oosthuizen in the 54-hole championship at Centurion Golf Club outside London. 16 of the top 100 players in the world.
Phil Mickelson’s name was not on the roster announced Tuesday, but the 51-year-old Hall of Famer has shocked the golf world with his explosive comments about the PGA Tour and the Saudi regime that supports the LIV Golf Tour, according to Letter, the event will be held June 9-11 at Centurion Golf Club.
42 players were announced, leaving room for Mickelson and five players who will qualify through this week’s International Series in London.
Johnson was surprised after he said in February that he would not be involved in the new effort.
The contest will have a prize pool of $25 million, with $20 million earmarked for the individual portion of the contest and $4 million to be distributed to the winner.
Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia expressed his disdain for the PGA Tour at the Wells Fargo Championship a few weeks ago when he got an unfavorable verdict that he was participating One of several former Grand Slam champions in the tournament.
Asked about LIV Golf at the PGA Championship two weeks ago, Johnson said, “I think golf is in a good position, and I think what they’re doing…may be good for golf. I’m glad to see What will happen here in a few weeks.
He later added that he would be “watching,” but is now clearly playing.
Players such as Johnson and Garcia are expected to receive hefty appearance fees and even contracts to play a specified number of events in addition to bonuses.
Johnson’s agent, David Winkle, released a statement Tuesday night.
“Dustin has been considering this opportunity for the past few years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interests to pursue this opportunity. Dustin has never had any issues on the PGA Tour, He was grateful it gave him everything, but ultimately found it too convincing to give up.”
Johnson has also been endorsed by Canadian financial services firm RBC and will miss next week’s RBC Canadian Open despite being listed as a member of the field.
Others joining the field are former Masters champion Charles Schwartzel, former British Open champion and world No. 20 Ushutzen, former US Open champions Graeme McDowell and Martin Keimer, The latter also won the PGA Championship and The Players Championship.
Britons Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Richard Brand also participated, along with Americans Kevner, Hudson Swafford and PGA Tour winners earlier this year. Tallogucci. Australia’s Matt Jones and South Africa’s Brandon Grace are also part of the field.
Former U.S. Amateur champions Peter Uihlein and Andy Ogletree and three current amateurs compete: 2021 U.S. Amateur champions James Piot, David Puig and Thailand’s Ratchanon Chantananuwat, who earlier this year at 15 became the first person to win an official world championship. Young Players Trust Golf Asia Mix Cup Golf Ranking Tournament.
Players on the DP World (ex-Europe) Tour include Laurie Canter, Oliver Fisher, Sam Horsfield, Pablo Larrazabal, Shaun Norris, Wayne Ormsby and Bernd Wiesberger.
As part of an agreement with LIV Golf Investments, this week’s international series in England has received Asian nods, with five players qualifying for a field of 48 players based on their results.
Greg Norman, Commissioner and CEO of LIV Golf, said, “The desire of players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their strong belief in our model and confidence in what we are building for the future.”
“We are very pleased with the diversity in our field, with players from all over the world, including Grand Slam champions and those who debuted with us, playing their first professional events. We can’t wait to get started at Centurion Club This journey is with this group of pioneers committed to growing the game in exciting new ways.”
The PGA Tour and Commissioner Jay Monahan have denied posting the conflict to the tournament, which could lead to fines and a possible suspension. Monahan had previously threatened to ban players from the new league from the PGA Tour.
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But for now, LIV Golf is not a league. Norman changed his stance after Mickelson’s February comments painted the PGA Tour as “greedy” and acknowledged that Saudi Arabia’s human rights issues caused controversy among many involved.
The backlash against Mickelson led many to back down, including Johnson, who said at the time that he felt “it’s time to quell this speculation. I’m fully committed to the PGA Tour.”‘
Mickelson lost several sponsors after his comments, including the club’s longtime spokesperson Callaway as well as Workday and KPMG.
Several other players were critical of Mickelson, including Rory McIlroy, who said the concept was “dead in the water”, adding “Who’s left? Who’s going? I’m just watching There is no reason why anyone would go.”
At the time, McIlroy’s views were shared by many. He was one of the first to oppose the concept. Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka joined him, as did Bryson DeChambeau.
But Norman and LIV Golf have reunited and come back with a new plan that will run eight events this year without any need for any. The original concept was to be a 14-match league, with 12 four-player teams competing in individual matches each week.
While the new concept still requires teams, they will change with the competition, with eight events this year — the final being a full team event with a $50 million prize money — with 10 planned for 2023. Norman said the plan is for the league to start in 2024. Five of those games will be played in the United States, next week in England, another in Thailand and another in Saudi Arabia.
On May 10, SI.com/Morning Read reported that the first event was expected to feature 19 of the world’s top 100 players, six of whom were in the top 50 at the time. LIV Golf received 170 entries, of which 36 entered the top 50 of the official world rankings.
A few hobbyists are also expected to enter the field, and they have worked out NIL (name, image and likeness) deals.
But those numbers were bound to take a hit when the PGA Tour (and later the DP World Tour) announced that they would not allow their members to play in clash events.
“We have notified those who have applied that their request has been denied under PGA Tour rules,” PGA Tour senior vice president Tyler Dennis said in a memo to players. Not entitled to participate in the London events of the Saudi Golf League. As a member organization, we believe this decision is in the best interests of the PGA Tour and its players.”
The tour’s reference in Saudi Arabia is the funding of LIV Golf Investments, which is backed by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s autonomous sovereign wealth fund.
The 2019 Saudi International Championships began with an endorsement from the European (now DP World) tour, which has been criticized for its participation. The PGA Tour has been out of the league since this year, and that tournament is now the Asian Tour.
The LIV golf event will have a $25 million purse, with $20 million for the individual and $5 million for the team portion. Each event will have 48 players, 12 teams of four.
The winner will receive $4 million, with the last place receiving $120,000. There were no cuts, and the event was only 54 holes.
The first seven of these tournaments will be played this way, with the final tournament being a team match with a $5 million prize pool, with the last-placed team guaranteed $1 million, or $250,000 each.
Norman was announced as chief executive of LIV Golf Investments and commissioner of a league expected to start playing this year. The winner of two majors and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Norman has since said 10 more events will be played next year, followed by a league launch in 2024 — expected to include 14 events.
While Norman won’t feature as many top players as originally envisioned when trying to work out this year’s 14-game schedule, the numbers are better than expected. LIV Golf’s organizers believe weaknesses in the PGA Tour schedule present an opportunity.
For example, at the recent Mexico Open, there were only 31 players in the top 100 in the world, and champion Lahm was the only player in the top 15. Rory McIlroy was the only top 10 player in the Wells Fargo Championship to be won by Max Homa.
The first LIV golf event will be across from the RBC Canadian Open, which he expects to have a strong venue due to the coronavirus pandemic, as it is being held for the first time in three years. It’s the week before the U.S. Open.
But Norman and LIV Golf’s organizers are pinning their hopes on the fact that big bonuses, 54 holes, no chipping concept, shotgun starts, a field with only 48 players and added team form will be enticing.
Mickelson, who won the PGA Championship with his sixth major title last year, has not played since early February and has been heavily criticized for his association with the league. He skipped the Masters and the PGA Championship title defense, and his return to golf remains unclear.
The Tour’s decision not to approve the release came as a bit of a surprise. It usually grants such licenses for overseas activities, usually up to three per season. The question will become even more acute when the first event takes place in North America outside Portland on July 1.
By not granting any approval, the Tour is effectively hitting back at what it sees as a threat. Players face fines or suspensions if they participate, but no penalties will be imposed until the player participates in the game.
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(42 of 48 players announced)
Oliver Becker, South Africa
Richard Brand, England
Laurie Kantor, England
Ratchanon Chantananuwat (Amateur), Thailand
Hennie Du Plessis, South Africa
Oliver Fisher, England
Sergio Garcia, Spain
Tallogucci, USA
Branden Grace, South Africa
Justin Harding, South Africa
Sam Horsfield, England
Dustin Johnson
Matt Jones, Australia
Sadom Kaewkanjana, Thailand
Martin Kemer, Germany
Phracharakonwamai, Thailand
Sihwan Kim, United States
Ryosuke Kinoshita, Japan
Chase Koepka
Shinichiro Kobe, Japan
Pablo Lara Sabal, Spain
Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland
Jediah Morgan, Australia
Kevinna, USA
Sean Norris, South Africa
Andy Ogtree, United States
Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa
Wade Ormsby, Australia
Adrian Otaegui, Spain
Tekpetit, USA
James Piot (Amateur), USA
Ian Poulter, England
David Puig (Amateur), Spain
JC Ritchie, South Africa
Charl Schwartzel, South Africa
Swafford, Hudson, United States
Hideto Tanihara, Japan
Peter Uihlein, USA
Scott Vincent, Zimbabwe
Lee Westwood, England
Bernd Wiesberger, Austria
Blake Windred, Australia
.