The new golf tour began on Thursday in London, with fans arriving at the Centurion Club to witness some of the sport’s most important names playing at the inaugural event in north London.
But what is the LIV Golf series, the new company that threatens to shake the foundations of the sport to its core?
This is a new tour organized by LIV Golf Investments consisting of eight events around the world, which began on Thursday in London.
Led by former world number 1 Greg Norman, the team-based series runs from June to October with the goal, he says, of “comprehensively improving the health of professional golf globally to help unlock sports (sic) unexploded “. potential “.
It is backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and the man whom a US intelligence report appoint responsible for approving the operation that led to 2018. assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi’s assassination.
The PIF has pledged $ 250 million in total prizes. Each of the first seven events will have a total prize pool of $ 25 million, with $ 20 million split between individual players and the remaining $ 5 million split between the top three teams at the end of each week.
Before the first event in London, the 12 teams were announced, as well as their captain. On Tuesday, the captains selected the rest of their teams in a draft format similar to the NFL and NBA drafts.
Unlike typical golf events, the London event lasts three days, not four, with the 48-person course starting with a shotgun outing, all at the same time, hoping to be a shooting event. more attractive and action-packed style.
Competing in a traditional punch format, the lowest score will be the winner.
While in the first two rounds, the top two scores will count for each team, in the final round the top three scores will count, with the team’s lowest overall score after 54 holes will be named the winning team.
For the final event, a team championship, the format changes to a four-round knockout tournament.
Which golfers have signed up?
The exciting money on offer has attracted a mix of golfers to sign up for the opening event in London, of all ages, backgrounds and achievements on the golf course.
Six-time big winner Phil Mickelson and former world number one Dustin Johnson are among those who will headline the event, while other big winners Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel also took part.
Ryder Cup fans Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were also part of the first cohort to register, and the field includes 18 players ranked in the top 100 in the world.
On the other hand, it also provided a platform for other golfers who are just taking their first steps in the sport, including Thai Ratchanon Chantananuwat, 15. According to various reports, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed will be the next big names to sign. until the fugitive tour.
Why is it so controversial?
The LIV Golf series has not arrived without its question marks.
The source of the money, the PIF of Saudi Arabia, has generated inquiries and criticism directed at the organizers and players about the choice to play for money from the country given its human rights record.
The country has been criticized by human rights groups for years. In March, Saudi Arabia executed 81 men in the largest mass execution in decades. Rights groups have criticized the country for executing people who were minors at the time of the crimes for which they were convicted.
Another avenue of controversy surrounding the league is the separatist nature of established golf circuits.
The PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour, have long been where players have exercised their craft through the golf calendar, outside of the top four.
But, citing monetary and life balance issues as an excuse, the decision of a faction of players who split up to play in the LIV Golf series has had a mixed reaction from their touring companions.
What do players say?
On the eve of the series, the most lucrative golf event in the world, reporters listened to competitors at an often tense press conference in St Albans, England.
Mickelson was the main focus, mainly because he is one of the biggest stars in the sport, but also because this will be his first competitive event since his controversial comments about the events funded by Saudi Arabia go be published earlier this year by your biographer.
The six-time major winner was quoted in a 2021 interview with author Alan Shipnuck for his upcoming book, “Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar,” saying he would consider joining to the proposed proposal. The Super League because it is a “unique opportunity for life to reshape the operation of the PGA Tour.”
Shipnuck quoted Mickelson as saying derogatory things about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and claiming that the kingdom had killed journalist Khashoggi.
In his opening remarks at Wednesday’s press conference, when asked about the country’s human rights record of funding the company, Mickelson appeared to be remorseful.
“I don’t notice human rights violations at all,” he said repeatedly.
Johnson, the top 15-year-old player in the competition in the world, gave up his PGA Tour membership and said on Tuesday: “I don’t want to play the rest of my life, this gives me a chance to do it. “what I want to do”.
During his press conference, European Ryder Cup defender Graeme McDowell was also asked about Khashoggi’s murder.
“We all agree that it was reprehensible. No one will dispute this fact, but we are golfers. We are not politicians.
“If Saudi Arabia wants to use the game of golf as a way for them to get where they want to be, we are proud to help them on this journey, using the game of golf and the skills we have to help them grow the sport. “.
What about non-participants?
The first LIV event takes place at the Centurion Club. This and the Canadian Open of the PGA Tour are held almost simultaneously and is the first face-off between the two tours.
The Centurion’s $ 25 million bag nearly triples the $ 8.7 million of the Canadian Open. Defending his title in Canada will be Rory McIlroy, number 8 in the world.
“Any decision you make in your life that is purely for money, in general, does not end up going the right way,” McIlroy said Wednesday, Reuters reported.
“Obviously, money is a deciding factor in a lot of things in this world, but if it’s just for money, it’s not, it never seems to come out the way you want it to.”
In terms of star power, the Canadian Open will easily surpass the Centurion formation. Headliners in Toronto include world number one Scottie Scheffler and PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas.
“People have the right to choose as they please,” Thomas said. “I don’t like DJing now. I don’t think he’s a bad guy. I won’t treat him any differently.
“You have the right to choose as you wish.
“Now, I’m disappointed and I wish he and the others hadn’t done it, but that’s his decision.”
What does it mean for the future of golf?
It is unclear what this will mean for the future of golf and where players will choose to trade in the future.
Many of the players affected by the ban – Mickelson, Westwood and Poulter – are at the end of their careers, perhaps reducing the severity of the suspension.
A number of players, including Johnson, Garcia and Kevin Na, resigned from their PGA Tour status before the game began on Thursday in London.
But for six-time top winner Mickelson, who has already earned lifetime status on the PGA Tour, he is questioning his long-term commitment to the tour. He said at his press conference Wednesday before the opening event of the LIV Golf series that he did not want to give up his lifelong membership in the PGA Tour, and said: “I have earned this and I do not think only give it up. “
And for the young talent of the game, the suspension offers an enigma.
The PGA Tour is the preeminent golf tour in the world right now and is therefore considered the pinnacle. However, the new tour, with a lot of money, offers a significant revenue opportunity for players from around the world, particularly for emerging talent.
Do younger players decide to commit to the LIV Golf series, thus ruining their chances of playing the PGA Tour, or following the “traditional” route and playing the PGA Tour and potentially reducing their income capabilities?
The DP World Tour, the second most important tour of the sport, has not yet announced any potential sanctions on players. When contacted by CNN, he said he had “no comment” on the LIV Golf series.
As for the four major golfers, the appearances of the players in the LIV Golf series have also caused a stir in their participation.
While next week’s U.S. Open has said players can play freely if they qualify, next month’s Open Championship in St. Louis. Andrew’s has not yet made a public decision.
Shortly after the announcement, LIV Golf launched a strong response, calling the suspension “vindictive.”
“Today’s announcement of the PGA Tour is vindictive and deepens the gap between the Tour and its members,” he said.
“It’s worrying that the Tour, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the entity that prevents golfers from playing. This is certainly not the last word on this subject. “Free agency is starting, we are proud to have a full field of players to join us in London and beyond.”