Ryder Cup supporters Ian Poulter (center left) and Lee Westwood (right) are among the players, along with fellow Englishmen Lori Canter (left) and Sam Horsfield (center right)
The most lucrative and controversial golf tournament in the world is being held this week on the outskirts of London.
Here’s everything you need to know about who’s playing, the prizes on offer and why it’s rocking the golf world.
Who is playing?
Two-time grand champion Dustin Johnson, world number 15, is the highest ranked player in the field of 48 people. The next highest is the former South African champion from the Open Louis Oosthuizen, 21st in the world.
Phil Mickelson also joined. The American became the oldest major champion when he won the US PGA Championship in 2021 – his sixth major – at the age of 50.
He last played for Saudi International in February before going into a four-month self-imposed exile after making “reckless” comments about the Saudi regime, for which he has since apologized.
Stubborn Ryder European Cup players are also on the field, including England’s Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, Graham McDowell of Northern Ireland and Sergio Garcia of Spain.
“Would you play in Russia?” Poulter & Westwood grill
What is LIV Golf?
LIV Golf is a start-up organization led by two-time big winner and former world number one Greg Norman.
The 67-year-old Australian is the CEO of LIV Golf Investments. At the end of 2021, it was announced that they would have to commit more than $ 200 million (£ 145 million) for 10 new Asian tour events to be held annually over the next decade.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which helped fund Newcastle United’s recent takeover, is a majority shareholder in the company.
In March this year, LIV Golf announced a series of $ 250 million invitations from eight events, and then, in May, Norman told BBC Sport that he had provided an additional £ 1.6 billion in funding from PIF to turn the series into 14 -league event until 2024
Why is it controversial?
In short, there are two reasons – the source of funding for LIV Golf Investments and its threat to the status quo of the game.
The PIF of Saudi Arabia is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A declassified US intelligence report released in February 2021 claimed that Bin Salman was complicit in the assassination of Saudi dissident Jamal Hashoghi, a claim that Bin Salman denied.
The Gulf Kingdom is one of the countries accused of investing in sports and using high-profile events to “sport wash” its reputation in other parts of the world.
Asked about the Saudi regime and Hashoghi’s assassination, Norman said “we are all making mistakes”, adding that “they are changing their culture in their country”.
PIF also provides money for many sporting events, including Formula One, boxing, football and golf.
On the part of the players, the dominant US-based PGA Tour refused to allow its members who resigned to play in the events and threatened to ban players who still take part, although no official sanctions have been imposed.
Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Kevin Na are among the players who are canceling their PGA Tour membership.
Europe-based DP World Tour has also not yet announced sanctions – although both rounds are expected to wait for players to start at 14:15 BST on Thursday before announcing the decision.
DP’s World Tour, which has a strategic alliance with PGA Tour, hosted the event in Saudi Arabia for three years before becoming the flagship event of this year’s Asian tour as part of a LIV Investments financing deal.
What did the players say?
Dustin Johnson initially distanced himself from the new LIV Golf series in February, saying he was “committed to the PGA Tour”. However, he has since resigned from the PGA Tour and signed with LIV Golf for $ 150 million.
Speaking at the Centurion Club on Tuesday, the 37-year-old said: “I don’t want to play for the rest of my life, it gives me the opportunity to do what I want to do.”
In comments supported by every other golfer, Graham McDowell, when asked about Kashoggi’s murder, said: “We all agree that this is reprehensible.
He added: “No one will dispute this fact, but we are golfers. We are not politicians.
“If Saudi Arabia wants to use golf as a way to get to where they want to be, we are proud to help them on this journey, using golf and the skills we have to help develop the sport. “
Phil Mickelson said he “needs more balance on and off the track and that gives me more balance.” Regarding his lifelong membership in the PGA Tour, he added: “I do not want to give up [my membership] but I don’t know what will happen. “
Greg Norman said: “We have a long-term vision and we are here to stay. We will develop the game, give more opportunities to players and create a more fun product for fans.”
He also revealed that LIV Golf Investments has made a “mind-bogglingly huge” offer to try to tempt 15-time big winner Tiger Woods. – We are talking about high nine figures.
In May, Woods dismissed the LIV initiative, saying, “I believe in heritage. I believe in big championships. I believe in big events, comparisons to historical figures from the past. There’s a lot of money here.”
Asked if he considered himself a rebel or an innovator, Ian Poulter said: “I consider myself a global golfer and have been for 24 years. I’ve played on a lot of tours and events around the world and that’s what I keep doing. “
Rory McIlroy, who has not played in any event in Saudi Arabia on “moral” issues, declared the idea of LIV Golf “dead in the water” in February. Speaking earlier in June, he said he was “indifferent” to this first tournament, adding: “I certainly don’t think the pitch is something to jump up and down for. See the pitch in Canada. [the PGA Tour Canadian Open starts on Thursday]. These are the right golf tournaments. “
What is the format and the money that is offered?
LIV stands for the Roman numeral 54 and is linked to the three-day 54-hole game format of the first seven of the eight planned events for 2022.
The introductory invitation takes place at the Centurion Club, about 30 miles north of London.
The series will include six more tournaments of this nature in 2022 – four in the United States, one in Thailand and one in Saudi Arabia – each with the same prize pool of $ 25 million, which means that each stage of the series is more profitable from the richest tournament on the PGA Tour.
Each event will include a team and individual competition, with 12 captains selecting three players in a draft format. Every day, players will go to different holes at the same time in what is called a “rifle start”.
The individual winner of each event will take $ 4 million – by comparison, PGA Tour’s flagship Players Championship won Cameron Smith $ 3.6 million for his March victory, while Colin Morikawa won $ 2 million for his 2021 Open Championship victory. d.
There is no discount and the player who finishes last will take $ 120,000.
There are $ 5 million to be split between the top three in the team competition.
The eighth and final event, at the Trump National Doral in Miami in October, will be a four-day $ 50 million Team Championship elimination tournament featuring 12 teams. The winning team will receive $ 16 million, with each of the four players earning a 25% discount.
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