LIV Golf kicks off in London
The LIV (54) Golf series has kicked off today with it’s inaugaral tournament at the Centerion Club in London. The event has yet to obtain a tv sponsor so the coverage was limited to Youtube.
The first of 8 events features a team format and a shotguns start featuring groups of three.
The other quirk of this league is 54-hole format as opposed to 72-hole format founds on most of the professional tours.
Whos in the field?
The field was announced on 6/1, with most of the names not garnering much response. However, Dustin Johnson’s name appearing on the list did send a shock through the golfing world. Johnson’s inclusion in the LIV Golf field was a suprise particularly since he pledged his fealty to the PGA just several months ago.
It is rumored that DJ received a nine figure pay day to jump ship to the LIV Golf series.
Phil Mickelson was not included in the initial 42 name announced on 6/1 to the shock of many considering his association with the tournament.
However, with 6 additional spots to be announced prior to the first LIV event most assumed he would be one of the later selections.
Other notables from the PGA Tour include: Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, Graeme Mcdowell, Matt Jones, Kevin Na, Ian Poulter, Hudson Swafford, and Lee Westwood.
Any People of Color make the jump?
So far there are two Spaniards in the field:
However there are none that identify as Black and/or African American in the first field in London. We will use that stipulation for tracking purposes for event going forward.
It has been reported that Tiger Woods was offered high nin figures to join the LIV Golf leagues which he declined. Woods has previously pledged his fealty to the PGA tour.
The players we watch - LIV Golf tracking
Harold Varner III
After picking up his 2nd professional win, and more significantly in Saudi Arabia, it’s not outlandish to susspect that Harold was approached by the LIV Golf brass to incluson in the Saudi backed golf tournament.
Harold has made no official announcement that I’ve found, but it is rumored that he is considering making the jump.
Tony Finau
Tony revealed prior to the Saudi International in February that he was approached by the LIV Golf series.
He was non-committal on the league at that time, but expressed his satisfaction with the current state of golf and his desire to remain on the PGA Tour.
More to come...
As the players chose to leave the PGA Tour this list will continue to be update with the unfolding events.
Sign up for our mailing list for the latest on the showdown between the PGA Tour and the upcoming LIV Golf Tour.