LIV Golf

Centurion Club had plenty of pomp for the first event of the startup series, but after the shotgun start players said 'it was just golf.'

LIV Golf spared no expense to put on this golf tournament in a matter of two and a half months. "The people were terrific and it was fun to hit some good shots and get in a competitive frame of mind again. When it was complete – and basically, all finished at the same time due to the shotgun start – the festivities began again. And it continued into the evening. Phil Mickelson was playing for the first time in more than four months, since the final round of the PIF Saudi International tournament, where he finished 17th. The shotgun start.

By promising top players multimillion-dollar paydays, the kingdom moved beyond investing in a sport and made a play to control one. Then the PGA Tour struck ...

In his final pretournament news conference this week, Mickelson felt the need to declare in one more uncomfortable moment in a week full of them that “I don’t condone human rights violations at all.” Most, but notably not all, of the world’s top players have rejected the new series out of hand: McIlroy, for example, derided the project as a money grab in February, and on Wednesday he made clear he would not take part. Most of the players, though, seem to have concluded that the money is just too good to pass up. One of its biggest signings, Mickelson, provoked outrage in February when he praised the series as a “ once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” even as he called Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights “ horrible” and used an expletive to describe the country’s leaders as “scary.” Even the rare chances for LIV Series players to defend their decisions to reporters directly this week have often been tense. He then warned other players tempted by Saudi offers that they would endure the same punishments, and lamented “all this talk of money, money and more money.” In a statement, the PGA Tour’s commissioner declared that the rebel pros — and any other player who joined them — were “no longer eligible to participate” in the events that for decades have been the highest level of pro golf in the world. Not that many of the players taking part this week were eager to talk about those motives. The pros who committed to play in the first LIV Series event tried to frame their decisions as principled ones solely about golf. In a sudden escalation of an increasingly bitter fight for control of elite professional golf, the tour suspended 17 players who are participating in the first event of the new tour, the LIV Golf International Series, not long after they had hit their first tee shots. The feud features star players, Saudi billions and manicured courses — all in the genteel world of elite golf, an unlikely, and perhaps uneasy, forum for a public spat over money. ST. ALBANS, England — First, the Saudis signed up a handful of the best-known names in golf to headline their new global tour, tempting players like Phil Mickelson and a few other past champions with staggering paychecks.

LIV Golf has turned professional golf into a reality show, and the worst is just beginning.

Still, it’s not the job of Augusta National, the USGA, the R&A and PGA of America to clean up this mess, and that the tour is beholden to them to succeed should be a wake-up call. One of the things that holds our attention are the players in the arena, and when you invest as much time and emotion as being a fan requires it’s understandable to develop certain feelings towards them. The money is too tempting and where that money comes from has not been a deterrent to a contingent of golfers. It insists on selling the importance of the playoffs, and the moment you have to explain why you matter is the moment you prove the opposite. In our neck of the woods, that is golf. And a product that now raises a question of morality. LIV Golf? In spite of its trappings—perhaps in spite of itself—LIV Golf has proved over the past nine days it is very real, and its evolution from a concept to something concrete has massive consequences. If tour officials don’t take this moment to take a serious analysis of the product it’s presenting, they are just as much a threat to themselves as LIV Golf is to them. How that is additive to the sport, how that is interesting to golf fans, remains unclear. Which brings us to the problem facing the PGA Tour, and make no mistake, it is bad. LIV Golf is the antithesis of this spirit. There is a fundamental fault with the competition that LIV Golf is creating, and for a second put aside the problematic strings to this venture and focus on that competition.

The PGA Tour's majors will become more important than ever with the arrival of LIV Golf and other leagues.

Golf has always been quite global, and with the introduction of LIV it will likely become increasingly so in the future. The OWGR's top 1000 players will be spread out to all ends of the Earth. That will be tough to follow and wrap your arms around. This begs the question at the forefront of professional golf right now, which is whether the Official World Golf Rankings board (made up of the PGA Tour as well as these major organizations) will extend OWGR points to LIV Golf events. The folks at the Premier Golf League have been trying for years to create a product akin to what the crown prince trotted out at the Centurion Club on Thursday, and in fact it seems to be the very blueprint the Saudis copied when beginning this LIV Golf league. When your only recourse is to point out to players how much money the other guys have, and how much harder it is to exist and thrive on the PGA Tour than the more comfortable LIV Golf league, then you're foisting a trust upon professional athletes that they will choose legacy and morals over wealth. Waugh watched all of this happen as an outsider looking in, and along with the three other major organizations, somewhat ironically, became the beneficiary of the biggest sea change this sport has seen in half a century. It might be these two leagues that duke it out for supremacy, or there might be 10 more that pop up, but LIV's presence is further diluting a professional game that already had 23 OWGR-sanctioned leagues all over the world. LIV is not going to fail, perhaps because it thrives but also perhaps because it was never built to succeed. One of the elements of the presentation that worked best was a countdown at the top left corner of the screen that informed viewers how many holes were left in the day at all times. Contrary to its slogan, you could blink and not miss a lot, but if you closed your eyes for a nap, you might miss most of the show. The PGL was emboldened, not embittered, by what took place at the Centurion Club on Thursday. For the PGA Tour to completely eschew drastic action -- either on its own or by partnering with the PGL because, uh, legacy is what guys play for (?) -- would be an indefensible position to take as golf heads into a new era. College basketball's March Madness is captivating in almost inexplicable ways following four months of trudging through -- at least compared to its professional counterpart -- one of the worst products of any televised sport.

How have players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson performed in the new league's inaugural event?

T24. Kevin Na +3 T24. JC Ritchie +3 T24. Kevin Yuan +3 T24. Jinichiro Kozuma +3 T24. Oliver Fisher +3 T24. Jediah Morgan +3 T24. Ryosuke Kinoshita +3 T24. Ratchanon Chantananuwat +3 Players who take part in future LIV Golf events will face the same punishment. T24. Richard Bland +3 Schwartzel took the lead Thursday after posting a 5-under 65, with Du Plessis 1 shot back at 4 under. Charl Schwartzel and Hennie du Plessis, both from South Africa, lead the field after the first round.

The controversial LIV Golf International Series has arrived, with Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson headlining a 48-player field for the first event, ...

What the consequences are going to be, obviously I can’t comment on how the tour is going to handle (it)." The Tour issued a statement on June 1 reiterating that members have not been authorized to participate in the series and that those who "violate the Tournament Regulations are subject to disciplinary action." Dustin Johnson, at No. 15, is the highest-ranked golfer to join the new series. The schedule runs from June through October and does not conflict with any existing majors. A total of $255 million will be awarded in prize money across the eight LIV tournaments. Norman told The Washington Post that LIV offered Tiger Woods a “mind-blowingly enormous” amount (think high nine digits) to sign on. One-time major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed are reportedly the latest players to join the new tour and will debut at LIV Golf's second event in Oregon on June 30. Understand that they still want to chase trophies and championships that mean something in the history of the game of golf. “I’m sure the money is a big part of it, but I don’t know what the other consequences are going to be, the punishments, whatever the fallout is in terms of them leaving the Tour,” Curry said. (For comparison: the U.S. Open, the biggest purse of the four majors, awards $12.5 million in prize money, with the winner getting $2.25 million.) He will be replaced by Peter Drury, The Athletic confirmed last week. There’s a number of things at play here.

As a splashy new series begins, the PGA Tour says 17 golfers playing in it "are suspended or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in PGA TOUR ...

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Following the start of the inaugural LIV Golf event near London on Thursday, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced that all golfers playing in the ...

The era of free agency is beginning as we are proud to have a full field of players joining us in London, and beyond." You have made a different choice, which is to abide by the Tournament Regulations you agreed to when you accomplished the dream of earning a PGA TOUR card and -- more importantly -- to compete as part of the preeminent organization in the world of professional golf." On Tuesday, captains selected the rest of their teams in a draft format akin to the NFL and NBA drafts. It's troubling that the Tour, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the entity blocking golfers from playing. Can they eventually play PGA TOUR Champions? Trust that we're prepared to deal with those questions, and we'll approach them in the same way we have this entire process: by being transparent and respecting the PGA TOUR regulations that you helped establish. As far as what happens now for the PGA Tour, Monahan added in the statement: "You probably have more questions.

The PGA Tour commissioner said pros taking part in the new LIV Golf Series were now ineligible for his tour's events, and he warned others thinking of ...

On the first hole, security staff and course volunteers were required to usher scores of spectators off the fairway as they trooped behind Mickelson after he had played his first shot. A military band dressed to resemble the red-coated guards stationed outside Buckingham Palace played popular standards, while a fleet of London’s famous black taxi cabs was hired to ferry players to and from the course. The event itself, a curious mix of team and individual competitions, drew a crowd not dissimilar to other golf events, with many spectators dressed in golf attire and largely middle-aged or retirees. “It makes no sense how I’ve played the game of golf for all this time, I’ve had two tour cards and the ability to play all over the world. Norman, accompanied by Majed Al Sorour, chief executive of the Saudi Golf Federation, embraced players after they had struck their first shots. “Anybody that’s shocked clearly hasn’t been listening to the message that Jay and everybody’s been putting out,” Thomas said after his round Thursday at the Canadian Open. “They took that risk going into it, whether they thought it was a risk or not. Graeme McDowell, who resigned from the PGA Tour 30 minutes before striking his first ball in the new tournament, said he had begun consulting lawyers in anticipation of what was to come. Those issues were being volubly discussed by fans around the first tee, where the event’s two star attractions — Johnson and Mickelson — were preparing to find out just what they had gotten themselves into. The era of free agency is beginning as we are proud to have a full field of players joining us in London, and beyond.” Mickelson’s involvement has proved to be the most controversial. “Today’s announcement by the PGA Tour is vindictive, and it deepens the divide between the Tour and its members,” the LIV Golf statement said. “But they can’t demand the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform as you.

Shortly after they teed off in the first LIV Golf event, every PGA Tour member was suspended. Graeme McDowell was dismayed. Ian Poulter vowed to appeal.

“I wanted to keep the moral high ground and kind of remain a member of the Tour because I really didn't feel like I needed to resign nor that I should have to resign. This is no different, I am committed to playing around the world like I have done for so many years so it is a shame if they view this as different. If that’s the way he wants to go, that’s the way he wants to go.’’ I love the PGA Tour. It's been great to me. “But like I say, I didn't want to resign. Excited to finally be here playing and see the reaction of the people and the players and everything. We have a compelling option which is not agreeable by the big tours in the world. Phil Mickelson, who Wednesday said as a lifetime member of the PGA Tour he should be allowed to keep that honor and play when he wants, said he would not comment on PGA Tour business. A guy like Sergio García has been doing that for the last five years of his life. It's going to allow me to see my family more, spend more time with my kids, 4 and 2, spend as much time as I can, and I make a good living doing it. “We figured at some point they might want to circle the wagons and get us all in agreement.’’ “We knew that loophole existed and certainly you can understand tournaments might want to get the best players possible.’’

Golf fans have now had a chance to watch LIV Golf, and they might be confused about the new league's format. The Sporting News looks at how it compares to ...

The golfer who wins the individual portion of the LIV Golf London tournament will pocket $4 million, while the last-place finisher will earn $120,000. Of that, $20 million will be split among the 48 golfers in the individual portion of the tournament. At LIV Golf, golfers are guaranteed a share of the purse just by entering. It is simple stroke play through 54 holes for LIV and 72 on the PGA Tour, with the golfer with the lowest score after the completion of the tournament being named the winner. The shotgun format reduces the amount of time a round will last, but it is more conducive to a smaller field. Perhaps the first thing fans will notice just by looking at the LIV Golf schedule is that there are only three rounds.

The legendary Fox Sports executive sat before me virtually in his beautiful Los Angeles home. He wore a white linen shirt and a wry smile, his voice carrying ...

But the bigger problem, the one that will be hardest to fix, is also the simplest: After six months of promising innovation, LIV Golf’s first broadcast was decidedly normal. In many ways, Thursday served as a tryout for LIV Golf’s broadcast team, which is headed by Steve Beim, former U.S. Open and “The Match” producer. Instead, the first LIV Golf Invitational series round was blasted out to the world on YouTube, Facebook and the LIV Golf website … for free. On Thursday, LIV went live for the first time, presenting its vision for golf’s future in a neon-tinted shade of lime green. He had just accepted a new role as a broadcast consultant for his good friend Greg Norman at LIV Golf, and it was his job to bring golf broadcasting into the 21st century. “The LIV Golf broadcast will be unlike anything fans have seen before,” Will Staeger, LIV’s chief media officer, said in a release announcing the new product.

The new golf tour began on Thursday in London, with fans arriving at the Centurion Club to witness some of the sport's biggest names playing in the inaugural ...

The era of free agency is beginning as we are proud to have a full field of players joining us in London, and beyond." When contacted by CNN, it said it had "no comment to make" on the LIV Golf series. However, the new, big-money tour offers a significant earning opportunity for players around the globe, in particular the up-and-coming talent. "It's troubling that the Tour, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the entity blocking golfers from playing. But for six-time major winner Mickelson, who has already earned lifetime status on the PGA Tour, it throws into question his long-term commitment to the tour. On Tuesday, captains selected the rest of their teams in a draft format akin to the NFL and NBA drafts. Among the headliners in Toronto will be world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas. in the biggest mass execution in decades. Defending his title in Canada will be Rory McIlroy, the world No. 8. The PIF has pledged to award $250 million in total prize money. I don't think he's a bad dude. We're not politicians.

A look at what officials are saying (or not saying) about the status of golfers who are no longer PGA Tour members playing in major tournaments.

To compete in the PGA Championship, golfers must be part of a recognized tour. However, the R&A did decide in December not to grant a spot in the Open to the winner of the Asian Tour's Order of Merit. That move came just a few months after the LIV group announced a multimillion dollar investment in the Asian Tour. “We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world and the players who have earned the right to compete in this year’s championship, both via exemption and qualifying, will have the opportunity to do so. Once the U.S. Open concludes, the focus will turn to the final major of the 2022 calendar year, the 150th British Open at St. Andrews, Scotland. The U.S. Open is set to begin one week after the inaugural LIV Golf event outside London. As several prominent players announced their intentions to compete in the Saudi-backed circuit, the United States Golf Association remained silent. The USGA, for example, has already said Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and others will be allowed to compete in next week's U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Golf fans have now had a chance to watch LIV Golf, and they might be confused about the new league's format. The Sporting News looks at how it compares to ...

The golfer who wins the individual portion of the LIV Golf London tournament will pocket $4 million, while the last-place finisher will earn $120,000. Of that, $20 million will be split among the 48 golfers in the individual portion of the tournament. At LIV Golf, golfers are guaranteed a share of the purse just by entering. It is simple stroke play through 54 holes for LIV and 72 on the PGA Tour, with the golfer with the lowest score after the completion of the tournament being named the winner. The shotgun format reduces the amount of time a round will last, but it is more conducive to a smaller field. Perhaps the first thing fans will notice just by looking at the LIV Golf schedule is that there are only three rounds.

The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from the second day of LIV Golf's London event, including the performance of both Dustin ...

The Sporting News is tracking Round 2 of the LIV Golf London event. Teams for LIV Golf events are drafted each week by tour-selected captains. 8:54 a.m. — LIV Golf is getting ready to begin the second day of its inaugural tournament. LIV is promoting itself through accessibility. At a typical PGA Tour event, the second day of a tournament would be cut day. However, both finished strong on Centurion's easier back nine to drop their scores to 1 under for the tournament.

Human rights groups have described the Saudi-funded LIV Golf as part of a broader campaign of "sportswashing." But what all does that entail?

Chadwick said that while the Saudis' investment in LIV Golf might not result in an immediate financial payoff, it is a play for both long-term profit and political capital. They invite prestige, and prestigious characters," said Dana Ahmed, a researcher at Amnesty International who specializes in Saudi Arabia. "So these kinds of events contribute to creating a new image for Saudi Arabia. They contribute to the country’s efforts in rebranding itself." "Sportswashing is one part of (the PR strategy)," Ahmed said. I do not answer to Saudi Arabia." It’s very important for people who can to speak out." "I don't know what the Saudi government does. But critics say the league is part of a broader political effort by Saudi Arabia to buy legitimacy and polish its global image. "Our knowledge as a global community of this apparent phenomenon is relatively immature," he said. A U.S. intelligence report determined the country's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, signed off on the operation. " ... By associating themselves with sport, leaders are seeking to position their country in line with that magic. Perhaps the clearest examples of this, human rights activists say, are instances in which countries host major international sporting events. Human rights groups say LIV Golf is just the latest example.

Bold new project or crass money grab? Even golf's best players can't agree on the new Saudi-financed golf tour. Here's what you need to know.

And the streaming services that are luring those consumers away know that live sports is one of the best ways to get new customers, and keep old ones. But ESPN, CBS, NBC and Amazon are in the first year of a nine-year agreement that has them collectively paying hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the PGA Tour to show tournaments. With rare exceptions, PGA Tour events generally consist of four-rounds of stroke play, in which players compete against one another to post the lowest score. With consumers continuing to slowly abandon pay television, live sports is just about the only type of programming that delivers large, and lucrative, audiences anymore. (Here’s a full list of non-U.S. options.) That doesn’t mean you can’t watch in the United States, though: This week’s tournament will be available via live streams on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook. The LIV Golf individual competition will feel, in many ways, like a traditional golf event: three rounds, lowest score wins. It said the suspensions also applied to any PGA Tour affiliates — circuits like the lower-tier Korn Ferry Tour, tours in Canada and Latin America and, notably for the older players who joined the LIV series, the PGA Tour Champions series for golfers over 50. Phil Mickelson is being paid a reported $200 million to take part, and Dustin Johnson, the highest-ranked player to sign up-to-date, is said to have been tempted by an offer worth $150 million. The winner’s share this week is $4 million, and the last-place finisher at each event is guaranteed $120,000. Sergio García, the Spanish player who had renounced his tour membership when he joined the LIV Golf Series, essentially said he didn’t care what the PGA Tour did. Ian Poulter insisted that he and the others in the field had not done anything wrong, and said he would appeal. The punishments were not a surprise: The PGA Tour had clearly signaled months ago that it would take action against any of its players who joined.

Bryson DeChambeau has joined the LIV Golf Invitational Series, giving the new circuit another former major winner in its roster of competitors.

DeChambeau lost sponsor Rocket Mortgage on Thursday because of his ties to LIV Golf. The power and energy he brings to the course will deliver added electricity to our competition in Portland [Oregon, site of the series' first U.S. event] and beyond." "Bryson DeChambeau is an exciting addition to LIV Golf's supercharged style of play.

HERTFORDSHIRE, England — Bryson DeChambeau is headed to the LIV Golf Invitational Series. In making official what was reported by SI.com/Morning Read and ...

LIV Golf pivoted to a series of eight tournaments this year with 10 scheduled for 2023 and the launch of the league in 2024. I'm just going to keep playing professional golf and enjoy it wherever it takes me, play with the best players in the world. Patrick Reed is also expected to be announced in the coming days. DeChambeau, who has eight PGA Tour victories, has mostly endured a lost 2022 as he has dealt with injuries, including a broken bone in his left hand that required surgery. The power and energy he brings to the course will deliver added electricity to our competition in Portland and beyond.” In addition to his eight Tour victories, DeChambeau has six runner-up finishes and 40 top-10 finishes since turning pro in 2015.

LIV Golf Investments, which is backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), its majority shareholder, was launched last year with golf legend Greg Norman ...

Likewise, Johnson and fellow LIV Golf player Graeme McDowell both lost sponsorship deals with the Royal Bank of Canada following their decision to join the new golf tour. The issue of being involved with the Saudi Public Investment Fund isn’t new—it’s something that has shadowed some of the biggest names in tech for years. In May, Justin Thomas won $2.7 million as the winner of the PGA Championship, while the winner of the LIV Golf tournament, which kicked off this week, will claim $4 million, the second place winner $2.1 million, and $1.5 will go to the golfer who places third. The total tournament prize purses for LIV Golf add up to $25 million compared to the PGA’s $15 million. “The same fate holds true for any other players who participate in future Saudi Golf League events in violation of our Regulations.” The battle lines in golf have been drawn, pitting the PGA Tour against some of its biggest stars who have decided to join the LIV Golf tour.

The overall purse in the individual competition at The Centurion Club outside of London is $20 million with the winner earning $4 million for his victory.

By comparison, that is just shy of what the golfer finishing 19th at this week's RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour will earn. On Saturday at The Centurion Club outside of London, that will come to fruition for the first time when a winner of the inaugural tournament emerges and is awarded the largest payday in pro golf history—$4 million. Here’s the prize money payout for the field at The Centurion Club.

The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from the second day of LIV Golf's London event, including the performance of both Dustin ...

The Sporting News is tracking Round 2 of the LIV Golf London event. Teams for LIV Golf events are drafted each week by tour-selected captains. LIV is promoting itself through accessibility. The Sporting News will provide updates once the action begins. At a typical PGA Tour event, the second day of a tournament would be cut day. However, both finished strong on Centurion's easier back nine to drop their scores to 1 under for the tournament.

It was business as usual(?) for LIV Golf. That's a monumental achievement.

On the first drive of the rest of his life, Mickelson roasted one down the middle, and he grinded with an intensity that belied the tournament’s lack of gravitas. In a shallow field, the more established players needed to deliver for LIV, and Johnson fought his way to a 69 despite push-slicing a drive O.B. on the seventh hole. The crowd was unmoored, especially early in the round, with many fans simply ducking under the ropes to get closer to the action. His return to public life began with an awkward but occasionally revealing pre-tournament press conference: It was significant and commendable that Mickelson spoke of his ongoing battle with a gambling addiction; the anecdotal evidence had long suggested he had a problem, but publicly taking ownership required courage and humility. One of the most freighted days in the recent history of the sport began with trumpets blaring and was interrupted by a trans-Atlantic saber-rattling, but across the grounds at The Centurion Club, a rather normal golf tournament broke out on Thursday. Poulter preened, Sergio pouted, Dustin strutted, Phil grinned and a surprisingly robust crowd spooned it all up. It was his dalliance with LIV that had sent the Hall of Famer into a four-month exile.

Those carrying the bags are also receiving red-carpet treatment at Centurion Club, saying Ryder Cup week is its only rival.

The bar area at the Jury’s Inn has been closed to all but the caddies. This week has been just like a Ryder Cup. They flew me down from Glasgow and there was a guy waiting for me at Heathrow. Then they are taking care of us from here to the U.S. Open. And if I was going to another LIV event after that, they would fly me there too.” “This is as good an event as I have ever seen, from a caddie’s point of view,” says the Scot universally known as Wee Man. “At the Ryder Cup you are made to feel special. All in all, we are part of the scene rather than on the periphery. We have been made to feel like the players. We are also part of the bonus pool attached to the team event this week. This week has out-junketed Sun City. Having talked to Greg [Norman] and others on the organizing team, it has been ‘what can we do for you’ all week. I’ve even been asked what kind and size of towels I like to carry on the course. There are a few exceptions—Lee Westwood’s wife/caddie, Helen, is presumably one of those—but most of the bagmen are staying at the plush Jury’s Inn Hotel at Watford, just under eight miles from the host venue. The sight of half a dozen caddies squeezed into a small car was far from unusual. But many of the best narratives have involved the endlessly creative ways caddies have gone about cutting down in expenses. Over the years, tales of caddie adventures have added much color to life on tour.

Here's the complete leaderboard from Round 2 at Centurion Club, where Charles Schwartzel leads and will attempt to win wire-to-wire in Saturday's final ...

T26. Martin Kaymer 74-70 +4 T26. James Piot 71-73 +4 T26. Travis Smyth 75-69 +4 T26. Matt Jones 74-70 +4 T26. Phil Mickelson 69-75 +4 T26. Kevin Na 73-71 +4 This is the complete leaderboard from Round 2 at Centurion Club. Charl Schwartzel leads and will attempt to win wire-to-wire in Saturday's final round. T21. Jediah Morgan 73-70 +3 T21. JC Ritchie 73-70 +3 The winner of this event will receive $4 million. T21. Jinichiro Kozuma 73-70 +3 T21. Laurie Canter 69-74 +3

The new league, backed by huge investment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), has lured PGA Tour players to play in its inaugural ...

The bet being made by Saudi Arabia is that if they can build a brand new league and lure players to it, that might be enough to generate fan interest in a competitor league that can become the eventual successor to the PGA Tour. Taking something like a team that fans already love and redirecting that love to your own ends is one kind of challenge. Some golfers will take the money, but others won't. Ratings never get off the ground and instead of Saudi Arabia being regarded as the driving force in international golf, it becomes a laughingstock in the world of golf with increasingly irrelevant golfers and doesn't get thought of much at all. And Saudi Arabia's reasons for embarking on this endeavor means it does not need to worry about quaint notions like "figuring out a stable economic model" or "not losing embarrassing amounts of money" or, god forbid, "turning a profit." Jesse Owens became an icon by saluting on the medal podium at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but part of that story is that the Olympics were held in Germany and used as a fixture of Nazi propaganda on the eve of World War II. Which, to be clear, is not to make a direct comparison, but only to say that countries using sports to further political aims is a long-standing practice. The conclusion made by these owners is that if you take good care of the supporters that care deeply about the wellbeing of their team, then they will side with you regardless of what your reputation might look like outside of this circle. The premise is that countries can use the landscape of sports to legitimize themselves in the eyes of the world. And while the Premier League was happy to certify that the PIF is different than the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that's true in only the strictest of legal interpretations. Newcastle will be looking to mimic that success, albeit while being in direct competition with City. There is, as in any sport, a clear and direct line between investment and success. Saudi Arabia is plunking down hundreds of millions of dollars to lure players to its shiny new tour. The Olympics has a track record of being used by nations -- for good and for ill -- as part of a larger political picture. Manchester City just this offseason lured Erling Haaland, one of the best young strikers in the world, to join their Premier League winning outfit, while PSG convinced another one, Kylian Mbappe -- who they themselves purchased from direct rivals Monaco in 2018 -- not to leave Paris for storied Real Madrid. The LIV Golf Invitational Series has, seemingly overnight, thrown the world of professional golf into disarray and changed the sport forever.

Bryson DeChambeau is the latest big name player to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series, the breakaway competition announced on Friday.

"He's not afraid to think outside the box and supports our mission of doing things differently to grow our game. As has been widely reported, Bryson elected to join the LIV Golf Series. Effectively immediately, Rocket Mortgage has ended its sponsorship agreement with Bryson. We wish him well in his future success." supercharged style of play," Greg Norman, LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner, said in a statement.

The Sporting News has compiled a list of big-name golfers who have lost sponsorship deals since announcing their intention to compete in the LIV Golf ...

We wish him the best," a KPMG spokesperson said in a statement. "Effective immediately, Rocket Mortgage has ended its sponsorship agreement with Bryson," the company said in a statement. "We wish them well in their future endeavours." He won the RBC Canadian Open in 2020. And although LIV promises lucrative paychecks for its participants, the net financial repercussions of the switch remain to be seen. And some golfers who have joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series have started to see some of their corporate sponsors step away.