Royal Bank of Canada has terminated sponsor agreements with golfers Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell after the former major champions were named in the field to play in the opening event of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series next week.
The current world number 13 Johnson was the highest-ranked named to the field for the June 9-11 event at Centurion Club outside London after announcing earlier that he had no intention to take part in the breakaway league.
LIV’s inaugural event takes place at the same time as the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto.
“As a result of the decisions made by professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener, RBC is terminating its sponsorship agreement with both players,” RBC said in a statement. “We wish them well in their future endeavors.”
Royal Bank of Canada announced Johnson as a brand ambassador in February 2018 when he was ranked number one in the world.
Two years later the long-hitting American won the RBC Canadian Open.
Royal Bank of Canada also happens to be the title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s Heritage tournament held in mid-April on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, where McDowell triumphed in 2013 a few months after becoming a golf ambassador with the Canadian bank.
The decision by RBC also comes after Northern Irishman McDowell, who counts the 2010 U.S. Open among his four career PGA Tour victories, said the consequences of joining LIV Golf were both “concerning” and “scary”.
