Saudi-backed golf league has announced its 2022 schedule.
The circuit named LIV Golf Invitational Series is being helmed by Greg Norman. The break-away league is offering prizemoney of at least $250 million among eight 54-hole, no-cut tournaments starting from June.
The LIV Invitational series will launch at the Centurion Club on 9th June the week before the U.S. Open.
Further events will take place in Portland and New Jersey in July, Boston, and Chicago in September, and Bangkok and Jeddah the following month. The New Jersey event will take place at former American president Donald Trump’s private golf course.
The $25 million purses for each event would be the richest in professional golf, with $20 million in individual prizes and $5 million reserved for the top three teams. The top three individuals after the seven regular-season events will also share a $30 million bonus.
The season-ending team match-play championship will provide another $50 million in prizes.
LIV also announced that the tournaments would comprise 48-man fields played over 54 holes with no cut, with both an individual and four-man team format. They will utilize ‘shotgun starts’, in which every group tees off at the same time from different holes.
“I want golf to grow, players to have additional opportunities, and fans to have more fun,” Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf Investments, said in a statement. “My mission is to help the game reach its full potential and we know the role of golf as an entertainment product is critical to overall participation in the sport. In many ways, we are a start-up. We have a long-term vision and aim to grow.”
The Saudi-backed golf league has drawn the ire of PGA with commissioner Jay Monahan threatening to ban players who participate or prohibit them from competing in PGA Tour events if they become part of the new league.
Most of the sport’s best players have put their support behind the PGA Tour and are against Norman’s league. But other players have expressed some interest with Phil Mickelson becoming its most active proponent.
