Mar 16, 2022
Norman launches rival golf league with eight stops
Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed golf circuit announced its schedule on Wednesday. Now all it needs is players, Bob Weeks writes.
By Bob Weeks
Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed golf circuit announced its schedule on Wednesday. Now all it needs is players.
Norman, the commissioner of what will be known as the LIV Golf Invitational, said it will hold a series of eight tournaments, each with a purse of $25 million.
Each event will be 54 holes, use a shotgun start and offer individual and team prizes. The last stop on the schedule will see the players compete for $30 million.
Norman, who is also CEO of LIV Golf Investments, which operates the circuit, sent a letter out to players around the world on Tuesday evening, inviting them to play one or all the tournaments.
“I fully understand some players may choose not to play with us right away,” Norman wrote in the letter. “But after we get going, I believe many of those who aren’t with us now will be with us later.”
The first tournament on the schedule will be June 9-11 in England. That puts it up against the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour’s calendar.
The LIV Golf Invitational will not hold any events in Canada. The circuit was initially looking at staging a tournament in the Greater Toronto Area.
It will have at least four tournaments in the United States as well as stops in Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
The PGA Tour has taken a strong stance against the rival league, with commissioner Jay Monahan stating that players who join it would not be welcome back on the PGA Tour.
Norman has challenged the PGA Tour’s right to restrict access, saying that as independent contractors, golfers should be free to play anywhere.
It’s not known what the PGA Tour’s stance will be with the LIV Golf Invitational allowing players to one or all the stops on its calendar. Earlier this year, the PGA Tour granted releases to several players to allow them to compete in the Saudi Invitational, a tournament formerly part of the European Tour (now DP World Tour) and now a stop on the Asian Tour.
The LIV Golf Invitational 2022 schedule:
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, 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, TBD