For years, in fact for all the years, the PGA Tour has been the only game in town for golf pros. Sure there’s the DP World Tour in Europe, the developmental Korn Ferry Tour and of course the Champions Tour for aging veterans. But for those who have game in the prime of their careers, the PGA stop is the only way to go.
That’s all about to change, though, thanks to the deep pockets of a Saudi Arabian-based investment firm ponying up a boatload of money for a breakaway golf league. The new league recently said it plans to stage eight tournaments in 2022. The LIV Golf Invitational Series will start in London in June and feature four events played in the United States with seven regular season tournaments and a team match-play finale championship in late October.
LIV Golf Invitational Series 2022 Schedule
June 9-11 – London, England
July 1-3 – Portland, Oregon
July 29-31 – Bedminster, New Jersey
Sept. 2-4 – Boston, Massachusetts
Sept. 16-18 – Chicago, Illinois
Oct. 7-9 – Bangkok, Thailand
Oct. 14-16 – Saudi Arabia
Oct. 28-30 - TBD
If money can attract the biggest names in golf the league will have some of the top players. The Series will reportedly offer a combined $255 million in prize money with each of the seven regular season events having a $25 million purse. By contrast the richest tournament on the PGA Tour is THE PLAYERS Championship that offers a $20 million prize pool.
Given Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights many players have already distanced themselves from the upstart venture. Top-ranked players like Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa have already done so while a few others like Bryson DeChambeau came around later.
Still, there were players who have shown an interest in the new concept, most notably Phil Mickelson. Lefty was harshly criticized for comments he made saying he was willing to overlook the country’s crimes in order to change how the PGA Tour operates. Lee Westwood is another player apparently on board with the new venture.
Former professional golfer Greg Norman is the face of the new league. A golf Hall of Famer, 20-time winner on the PGA Tour and former world No. 1 player, he gives it some credibility. And he’s involved for the right reasons. “I want golf to grow, players to have additional opportunities, and fans to have more fun. 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,” he said in a release.
As of this writing there are no players in the Series. But there is a format for each tournament that differs from the PGA Tour. According to the Series, the first year would cap each event at 48 players with 12 four-man teams determined by a draft the week of the event. “We’ve done our best to create a schedule that allows players to play elsewhere while still participating in our events. I believe players will increasingly make progress in achieving their right to play where they want,” Norman continued.
There are details that need to be ironed out, most notably getting players on board. And we’ve seen a number of top golfers play tournaments in the Middle East with the hope of getting a chunk of the large prize money. Of course, playing one tournament in Saudi Arabia is much different than playing an entire eight-match season and players certainly don’t want to get hammered the way Mickelson did.
But in the long run money talks. And I’m sure we’ll see some PGA Tour defectors despite the potential fallout. While the PGA Tour doesn’t seem overly concerned at this point, it has said a tour card will be revoked for good for any player that participates in the new league. That doesn’t sound like the PGA Tour is all in on growing the sport.
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