Former world No 1 Dustin Johnson will headline the primary LIV Golf Invitational Sequence occasion at Centurion Membership in Hertfordshire this month.
The 2-time main winner was an sudden inclusion within the subject for the controversial Saudi-backed occasion, which boasts an unlimited prize fund of £20m.
As anticipated, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Richard Bland, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer are among the many notable names who will even be within the 48-man subject.
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour refused to grant releases to gamers searching for to take part within the occasion, which begins on 9 June, however LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman promised to “defend, reimburse and symbolize” gamers if they’re met with any type of punishment.
Johnson was among the many gamers set to affix the Saudi breakaway league that collapsed in February after Phil Mickelson mentioned he was conscious of the nation’s human rights abuses and the execution of Jamal Khashoggi however was completely satisfied to make use of their rival proposition as leverage.
Mickelson, who has been on a self-imposed hiatus since then and didn’t defend the PGA Championship final month, was not included within the subject for the occasion at Centurion, nonetheless, there does nonetheless seem like an area reserved if he chooses to play.
After the sphere was made public, Johnson’s supervisor David Winkle mentioned: “Dustin has been considering the chance off-and-on for the previous couple of years. Finally, he determined it was in his and his household’s finest curiosity to pursue it.
“Dustin has by no means had any challenge with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, however ultimately, felt this was too compelling to move up.”
Johnson had initially been scheduled to play on the RBC Canadian Open subsequent week. The Royal Financial institution of Canada are one in every of his important sponsors and so they mentioned they have been “extraordinarily disenchanted” by his withdrawal.
In an announcement of their very own, Canadian Open organisers added: “Along with our companions at RBC, we’re disenchanted to study at this late stage that Dustin Johnson has made the choice to play the LIV Golf Occasion. As a previous RBC Canadian Open champion, Canadian golf followers have been trying ahead to DJ’s return this yr.”
Norman, who has been the frontman for the Saudi-backed sequence, confronted an enormous backlash after he claimed “all of us make errors” when requested about Khashoggi’s homicide at a media day final month. A senior LIV Golf government resigned quickly afterwards, however the Australian was in a sometimes bullish temper as he hailed the energy of the sphere.
“Free company has lastly come to golf. This is a chance to begin a motion that may change the course of historical past by bringing new and open competitors to the game all of us love,” Norman mentioned.
“The will proven by the gamers to take part in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic perception in our mannequin and confidence in what we’re constructing for the long run.”
Full listing of gamers
- Oliver Bekker
- Richard Bland
- Laurie Canter
- Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat (Newbie)
- Hennie Du Plessis
- Oliver Fisher
- Sergio Garcia
- Talor Gooch
- Branden Grace
- Justin Harding
- Sam Horsfield
- Dustin Johnson
- Matt Jones
- Sadom Kaewkanjana
- Martin Kaymer
- Phachara Khongwatmai
- Sihwan Kim
- Ryosuke Kinoshita
- Chase Koepka
- Jinichiro Kosuma
- Pablo Larrazabal
- Graeme McDowell
- Jediah Morgan
- Kevin Na
- Shaun Norris
- Andy Ogletree
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Wade Ormsby
- Adrian Otaegui
- Turk Pettit
- James Plot (Newbie)
- Ian Poulter
- David Puig
- JC Ritche
- Charl Schwartzel
- Hudson Swafford
- Hideto Tanihara
- Peter Uihlein
- Scott Vincent
- Lee Westwood
- Bernd Wiesberger
- Blake Windred
Kaynak: briturkish.com