Furious at LIV Golf Defections, British Open Could Change Entry Rules
Still, he signaled that a wholesale ban of players was “not on our agenda.”
Slumbers denied that the RA was coordinating with the organizers of golf’s other major tournaments to potentially exclude LIV players, whose ranks include Brooks Koepka, Sergio García, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed. But the chief executive of the United States Golf Association, which controls the U.S. Open, said in June that the group would “re-evaluate” the criteria it uses to set that tournament’s field.
A Quick Guide to the LIV Golf Series
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A new series. The launch of new Saudi-financed LIV Golf series has resurfaced longstanding questions about athletes’ moral obligations and their desire to compete and earn money. Here’s what to know:
What is LIV Golf? The series is an upstart professional golf circuit bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Its organizers hope to position it as a player-power-focused alternative to the PGA Tour, which has been the highest level of pro golf for nearly a century.
What is attracting the players? The LIV Golf events are the richest tournaments in golf history. The first tournament’s total purse was $25 million, and the winner’s share was $4 million. The last-place finisher at each event was guaranteed $120,000. That is on top of the appearance fees and nine-figure signing-on payouts some players have accepted.
The P.G.A. of America, which is in charge of the P.G.A. Championship, has also signaled its contempt for the LIV series, which has offered millions of dollars in guaranteed money to players to join 54-hole, no-cut tournaments with shotgun starts. Augusta National Golf Club, which organizes the invitation-only Masters Tournament, has so far remained silent about its intentions.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/sports/golf/liv-british-open-entry.html