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London’s Centurion Membership will play host to the inaugural match of the LIV Golf Invitational Sequence, a brand new startup circuit led by none aside from the Nice White Shark himself, Greg Norman. The eight-event collection—providing a $255 million whole prize purse—will maintain 5 tournaments in the USA and three internationally, together with the curtain raiser in London beginning June ninth. The LIV occasions are a dramatic departure from typical PGA Tour and DP World Tour occasions that followers are used to in that they function crew and particular person competitions, 54-hole no-cut occasions, and shotgun begins.
Organizers consider the up to date format is precisely what trendy golf followers have been asking for. “Fan analysis signifies a major variety of new followers can be enticed by a sooner paced and shorter variation and non-traditional format of play. With smaller fields, fewer rounds, fewer occasions, shorter enjoying home windows and modified shotgun begins, these occasions have been designed with followers as the highest precedence,” LIV Golf’s launch announcement learn.
In distinction to conventional PGA Tour occasions, LIV’s Invitational Sequence will encompass a three-round, 54-hole competitors with a shotgun begin and 48 golfers divided amongst 12 groups. The occasions don’t have a reduce, which means each participant will compete in your entire match.
Lots of the U.S. tournaments are being contested in cities which have been not noted of the PGA Tour schedule in 2022, together with main markets like Portland and the NYC metro space in July and Boston and Chicago in September. The opposite worldwide websites are Bangkok, Thailand and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in October. Moreover, the world crew championship grand finale, additionally in October, will mark the return {of professional} golf to the famed Blue Monster course at Trump Doral in Miami, which for a few years served as host of a prestigious World Golf Championship occasion.
Participant invitations have been despatched out in late March for the LIV Golf Invitational in London, which contains a $20 million particular person prize pool and a $4 million winner’s payout, the best skilled golf purse ever contested in Europe. Whereas no participant names have been formally confirmed as of this writing, there are stories that the collection has recruited 15 of the highest 100 gamers on this planet. Names together with main winners like Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson, and Adam Scott have been talked about, as have these of Ryder Cup legends Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter.
The PGA Tour has responded by threatening to ban gamers who compete on what they deem to be a rival circuit like LIV Golf. Just lately, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan reiterated that Tour golfers wouldn’t be allowed to play each the Tour and LIV Golf occasions, stating that, “I’m assured in our guidelines and laws, my means to manage them, and that’s my place on the matter. We’re assured in our place.”
The controversy has reopened the talk over whether or not PGA Tour gamers are unbiased contractors or workers of the group. Rory McIlroy, who’s Head of the Participant Advisory Council on the PGA Tour, views gamers as the previous, asserting that, “… I imply, we’re unbiased contractors and I really feel like we should always have the ability to try this if that’s what our private selection is.”
Regardless of that assertion, the PGA Tour has maintained its stance that Tour laws prohibit gamers from collaborating in a competing match if eligible for a PGA Tour occasion the identical week. On this case, the Tour’s RBC Canadian Open might be performed reverse the LIV Golf Invitational in London. Gamers are, nevertheless, eligible for 3 conflicting occasion releases. The Tour granted 30 such releases earlier this yr—after initially balking—for gamers to take part within the Saudi Worldwide match. Each the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have till Might 10th to grant or deny participant requests to play within the London occasion.
Latest stories have instructed that the DP World Tour will deny their members permission to play within the occasion – and will punish these gamers who determine to compete anyway – organising a possible authorized showdown between the previous European Tour and a few of its greatest stars. Hypothesis is that the PGA Tour could find yourself granting releases for the London match, however that it might take a extra hardline stance when the LIV Sequence shifts to the U.S.
In an announcement, World Golf Corridor of Famer Norman acknowledged the independence of golfers whereas remaining cognizant of the PGA Tour’s laws: “Our occasions are actually additive to the world of golf. We now have executed our greatest to create a schedule that enables gamers to play elsewhere, whereas nonetheless collaborating in our occasions. I consider gamers will more and more make progress in attaining their proper to play the place they need. We are going to assist in any method attainable and can present golfers with alternatives to realize their full potential.”
Norman has promised future enjoying alternatives, expressing a want for the sport of golf to develop. The seeds have been planted and are available June we’ll see in the event that they’ve begun to sprout.
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