The LIV Tour began today in London, England. 2011 Masters champion Louis Oosthuizen of Johannesburg, South Africa has the one-stroke lead over fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis after posting a score of five-under-par on Thursday.
However, when the 48 players started teeing off at the Centurion Golf Club, the PGA Tour made the firm decision to suspend 17 players for their participation according to the Associated Press. They include major champions Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen and Schwartzel. The others include former world number one Lee Westwood, Turk Pettit, Talor Gooch, Australia’s Matt Jones, Branden Grace, Kevin Na, Andy Ogletree, Ian Poulter, Hudson Swafford and Peter Uihlein.
The LIV has big money involved. Each tournament has $25 million in prize money, with $4 million being awarded to the winner. In comparison, the event with the largest purse currently in men’s golf is the Players Championship at $20 million, while the Canadian Open this week has a purse of $8.7 million. According to Public News Time, Johnson was awarded $150 million and Mickelson was awarded $200 million for joining the LIV Tour.
The suspensions should not be a surprise to anyone. The PGA Tour had previously announced they would not grant a release to players if they decided to participate in the LIV-based events.
Reports from Wednesday that two more big name players may join the LIV Tour when the tour moves to the United States. According to Sky Sports, they are Americans Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, and Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 United States Open champion.
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