BOLTON, Mass – On Labor Day weekend, at the International in Bolton, the LIV Golf Series is expected to roll out its best field of the inaugural 2022 season.
On Monday Aug. 29, one day after the PGA Tour Championship is finished, Cameron Smith is expected to be among seven new players who will join LIV Golf League.
Smith is the reigning British Open champion and he is ranked No. 2 in the world. He’s reportedly been offered $100 million to join. Smith’s fellow Australian Marc Leishman, a six-time PGA Tour winner, is expected to move to LIV Golf as well.
No. 16 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 32 Adam Scott have also been mentioned as considering joining LIV Golf.
LIV Golf has already successfully recruited No. 21 Dustin Johnson, No. 25 Brooks Koepka, No. 30 Louis Oosthuizen, No. 35 Bryson DeChambeau, No. 33 Paul Casey, No. 34 Kevin Na, No. 38 Jason Kokrak, No. 45 Taylor Gooch and No. 49 Patrick Reed. Johnson reportedly received $150 million to join and DeChambeau was paid $125 million. Phil Mickelson received $200 million.
Other LIV golfers include Henrik Stenson, who was promptly stripped of his captaincy of Europe’s Ryder Cup team and then won the most recent LIV Golf event at Trump National Bedminster in late July in New Jersey. The PGA Tour has suspended every golfer who has joined LIV Golf.
LIV Golf has rocked the PGA Tour by luring away golfers with money too good to pass up. Each of the eight tournaments this year has a purse of $25 million and features a shotgun start with 48 players, 54 holes and no cut. Last place is guaranteed $120,000.
Last week, Tiger Woods met with PGA Tour executives and many of the top money winners to figure out how to prevent more players from jumping to LIV Golf. The PGA Tour is reportedly considering staging 18 super tournaments next year with 60 players each and purses of $20 million. Events would also be held for players not in the top 60 and all players, in the top 60 or not, would be paid a $500,000 stipend.
The cost of grounds passes for the LIV Golf event Sept. 2-4 at the International’s Oaks Course has been reduced to $49 per day or $115 for all three days. They had previously been advertised as $70 per day or $185 for all three days. For more details about tickets or hospitality packages visit https://www.livgolf.com/events/the-international-boston. Fans parking at the Lancaster Fairgrounds will be shuttled to the course. Attendance will be capped at 6,500 per day.
LIV Golf has been criticized because it’s funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The LIV Golf event June 30-July 2 outside Portland, Oregon, drew protests at a nearby park from about a dozen survivors and family members of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks conducted by Saudi nationals. Nevertheless, the LIV Golf event outside Portland sold out on the final day and created a massive traffic jam.
The LIV Golf Invitational Boston is a 54-hole no cut stroke play tournament offering a total purse of $25 million with $4 million to the winner. There are also four-man team prizes offering hefty cash prizes. The tournament will be broadcast on www.livgolf.com on Facebook and YouTube.
On the web: LIV Golf – Boston
Leave a Reply