Phil Mickelson headlines a field of 48 golfers at this week’s LIV Golf Invitational London — the inaugural event in a breakaway series threatening to tear the sport apart.
Other big-name players who are to tee off at the Centurion Club today include Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia.
The Saudi Arabia-funded tour aims to “supercharge the game of professional golf.”
Photo: Reuters
FORMAT
There are eight events in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Seven are regular-season events — in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia — where players are to compete as individuals and in teams for points and prize money.
Those competitions are to be played over 54 holes in a traditional strokeplay format, instead of the usual 72, and there is to be a “shotgun” start for all groups of players, who are to tee off from different holes at the same time.
At the end of the seven tournaments, an individual champion is to be crowned based on points accumulated throughout the season.
The eighth and final tournament is to be a season-ending Team Championship matchplay event in Miami played over four days.
As each event is to be made up of a different field of competitors, teams are to be decided each time via a draft.
PRIZE MONEY
The golfers in the LIV series will be playing for the biggest prize pots in history.
Each regular-season event is to have a prize purse of US$25 million, with the winner taking home US$4 million. A total purse of US$30 million is offered to the top three individuals of the season. The team championship is to have a prize fund of US$50 million.
STAR POWER
The signing of six-time major winner Mickelson is a major coup for LIV Golf organizers.
Mickelson has not played since the publication of comments in February, in which he criticized the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s Saudi Arabian backers.
European Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood are also in the field at St Albans.
DISPUTED FUNDING
The LIV series is controversially bankrolled by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, the chairman of which is Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom.
Amnesty International is adamant that the series is another example of the “sportswashing” of the Gulf state’s human rights record.
Human rights issues were raised during a news conference on Tuesday and are likely to continue cropping up.
“I think as golfers, if we tried to cure geopolitical situations in every country in the world that we play golf in, we wouldn’t play a lot of golf,” McDowell said.
“It’s a really hard question to answer,” he added.
TOUR TROUBLES
The LIV series is fronted by former world No. 1 Greg Norman, now chief executive of LIV Golf Investments, who has spoken of his vision for a “free and open market” in golf.
Those opting to play have done so despite warnings of disciplinary action from the US PGA Tour.
Two-time major winner Johnson on Tuesday said he had resigned his membership in the PGA Tour, following compatriot Kevin Na’s exit.
The move means they have effectively taken themselves out of the picture when it comes to potential punishment.
The DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, has said it is “evaluating each request on a case-by-case basis.”
RANKING POINTS
World ranking points are not on offer at LIV events, even though officials have held talks on the issue.
Another area of uncertainty is the four major championships, which are separately governed.
They have given different answers on LIV defectors, but the US Golf Association on Tuesday said that the players could play in next week’s US Open in Massachusetts.
The situation over the Ryder Cup appears clearer and Johnson has effectively made himself ineligible to play in the team competition again by quitting the PGA Tour.
McDowell, whose Ryder Cup eligibility is tied to membership of the DP World Tour, said he had thought “long and hard” about the issue, adding he hoped his involvement in the LIV series would not prevent him from taking part in future contests.
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