Difference between revisions of "LIV Tour"
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==Notable LIV Tour Players== | ==Notable LIV Tour Players== | ||
| + | These players have either formally resigned from the PGA (subject to likely not being allowed to return) or have been removed as a result of their decision to join the LIV Tour. | ||
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*[[Greg Norman]] | *[[Greg Norman]] | ||
*[[Phil Mickelson]] | *[[Phil Mickelson]] | ||
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*[[Cameron Young]] (unconfirmed) | *[[Cameron Young]] (unconfirmed) | ||
*[[Henrik Stinson]] (was stripped of his captaincy in the upcoming Ryder Cup as a result) | *[[Henrik Stinson]] (was stripped of his captaincy in the upcoming Ryder Cup as a result) | ||
| + | *[[Kevin Na]] | ||
| + | *[[Louis Oosthuizen]] | ||
| + | *[[Charl Schwartzel]] | ||
| + | *[[Branden Grace]] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 16:49, August 12, 2022
The LIV Tour[1] is a series of professional golf tournaments started in 2022.
It is headed by Australian golfer Greg Norman and funded in large part by the Private Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. It's purpose is to compete with the more established PGA Tour, which is considered by some to be "Woke", "anti-Trump" or simply out of touch with modern trends, given the decline in golf as both a spectator sport and a leisure activity.
Format
Each individual tournament consists of 48 players, organized into 12 teams of four golfers each. As of 2022 a total of eight tournaments are played both in the United States and abroad, with plans to expand in the following years.
Golfers are paid for both joining the tour and for their success in both individual and team play. The golfers play only 54 holes in a tournament, 18 holes over three days (Thursday through Saturday), with no "cuts" after 36 holes. Thus, outside of a golfer withdrawing or being disqualified, a golfer is guaranteed no less than the 48th place prize money in a tournament.
Controversy
The largest source of controversy is the funding source, given Saudi Arabia's notorious human rights record.[2]
PGA Tour Reaction
In response, the PGA Tour has informed players who join the LIV Tour that they will be barred from PGA Tournaments (including the PGA Championship, one of the four "major" golf tournaments)[3] and will not be allowed to compete in the season-ending FedEx Cup for additional prize money. Although the PGA Tour allows its players (who are technically independent contractors, and not employees of the Tour) to be occasionally released to play in other tournaments whenever they would conflict with a scheduled PGA Tour event, it has chosen not to do so to allow a player to participate in a LIV Tour event (even if the player is ineligible, based on past performance, for the upcoming tournament and has not been given a "sponsor's exemption" to participate).
The DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), which works closely with the PGA Tour, has followed suit in barring LIV Tour players from its tournaments.
The actions of the PGA Tour have led to litigation by several players (headed by Phil Mickelson, a multiple-time major champion) arguing that the PGA is engaging in an illegal monopoly. A preliminary injunction allowing LIV Tour players to compete in the FedEx Cup was denied; the judge ruling that the players could not show "irreparable harm" since LIV Tour was paying more than the maximum prize money for winning the FedEx Cup (not considering other factors, such as potential sponsorships for winning the FedEx Cup).
Notable LIV Tour Players
These players have either formally resigned from the PGA (subject to likely not being allowed to return) or have been removed as a result of their decision to join the LIV Tour.
- Greg Norman
- Phil Mickelson
- Dustin Johnson
- Sergio Garcia
- Bubba Watson
- Brooks Koepka
- Bryson DeChambeau (lost a major sponsorship with Bridgestone, a golf ball manufacturer, as a result)
- Patrick Reed
- Cameron Smith (unconfirmed)
- Cameron Young (unconfirmed)
- Henrik Stinson (was stripped of his captaincy in the upcoming Ryder Cup as a result)
- Kevin Na
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Charl Schwartzel
- Branden Grace
References
- ↑ Pronounced "live" as in "living". However, LIV is also the Roman numeral for "54", a nod to its format.
- ↑ For example, Saudi Arabia forbids Bibles to be allowed into its borders, even by Christian expatriates for their own personal use.
- ↑ In professional golf, the four major professional championships are (in calendar order) the Masters, the United States Open, the PGA Championship, and the Open (often called the British Open to differentiate it from other countries' Open championships); a player who wins all four in a lifetime is considered to have accomplished a "career grand slam" (the only "active" PGA Tour player to have accomplished this feat is Tiger Woods). The PGA has control only over the PGA Championship in terms of participation; the United States Open and the Open have both allowed LIV Tour players to compete in their 2022 tournaments (the Masters will not be played again until April 2023 and has yet to decide if LIV Tour players will be allowed to compete).