LIV Golf International Series Represents ‘Evolution Not Revolution’

After months of waiting and promises of major announcements on the horizon, we finally have some movement regarding the new Super Golf Movement. Greg Norman, aka the Great White Shark, announced a new series of tournaments to begin in England, backed by Saudi Arabia’s gold operation.

The start-up league will launch in June and dish out $225 million in total purses. The eight-event series has four U.S. sites, plus single events in the United Kingdom, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. A venue has not yet been announced for the season-ending Team Championship. The first tournament kicks off on June 9 at Centurion Golf Club in London, England.

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The series will include eight 54-hole events across Europe, America and Asia. They will comprise a team element with the series worth a total of $255m from an overall investment of $400m. No players have been announced for the LIV Golf International Series; but it is being regarded as the first incarnation of the proposed breakaway Super League,  although it is understood that invitations are being sent out to at least 250 across-the globe tours.

More information on the tournament 

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Here’s the complete schedule for 2022:

• June 9-11: Centurion Golf Club, London, England
• July 1-3: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, Portland, Ore.
• July 29-31: Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, Bedminster, N.J.
• Sept. 2-4: The International, Boston, Mass.
• Sept. 16-18: Rich Harvest Farms, Chicago, Ill.
• Oct. 7-9: Stonehill Golf Club, Bangkok, Thailand
• Oct. 14-16: Royal Greens Golf Club, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Oct. 28-30: Team Championship, TBA

The first event will be played June 9-11 at Centurion Golf Club in London; the first seven events will have $20 million purses with an additional $5 million split among the top three teams each week. After the first seven events are played, the top three in the individual format will split $30 million. The final event, Oct. 28-30 at a site yet to be determined, will be a team championship with $50 million in prize money.

Centre for Ageing Better/ Pexels | There are around 2 million beginner golfers each year in the US

LIV Golf Investments, which has already invested $300 million over 10 years on the Asian Tour, is providing more than $400 million to launch the series. The events will feature 48 players and 12 four-man teams. They will be 54 holes with no cut and shotgun starts. Critics say the new league is the oil-rich country’s latest attempt at “sports washing,” by which it attempts to improve its reputation by spending millions of dollars on athletic pursuits. In a release, Norman described that his aim is to help the game reach its full potential filled with the best opportunities to help golfers achieve their potential. 

The release says the schedule does not compete with golf’s four majors or other international events, which would allow players to “to make their own choices about where to play.” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, however, has previously said any Tour players who join the breakaway league will be banned from the PGA Tour. Norman has pushed back, saying that’s not possible.