Golf: Smith, Johnson top stars as expanded LIV Golf season opens

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith and two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson are among the big names as the controversial LIV Golf League

opens its 2023 campaign

on Friday.

The series of 54-hole events offering record purses of US$25 million (S$33.5 million) expands to 14 stops in seven nations, starting at Mexico’s Mayakoba resort.

Several stars were lured to the Saudi-backed circuit from the PGA Tour, prompting a ban that set up a court fight scheduled to begin in January 2024. Top-ranked Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler were among those who stayed with the PGA Tour as a split in the sport brought chaos but, so far, LIV golfers remain able to play in Majors if they qualify.

LIV Golf continues to fight to earn world ranking points but, with new players making the jump, the 2023 season could see top talent from LIV Golf and older tours meeting only at the four Majors, adding to the tension around April’s Masters showdown at Augusta National.

Johnson won the 2022 individual LIV Golf crown after taking a title in Boston with an eagle on the first play-off hole and led an all-American 4Aces squad to the team title.

Australia’s Smith won his first Major title at St Andrews but made the jump to LIV Golf after the Tour Championship.

He captured the Chicago title in September and in November claimed his third Australian PGA Championship triumph as LIV Golf players remain eligible for DP World Tour events amid an ongoing court battle.

Critics brand LIV Golf as a bid by Saudi Arabia to “sportswash” its human rights record.

But LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman sees the league carrying the sport to a younger audience with fast-paced shotgun starts, on-site concerts and increased interaction between stars and fans.

“In less than a year, LIV Golf has reinvigorated the professional game and laid the foundation for the sport’s future,” he said.

“Our league format has already begun to build connections with new audiences around the globe. Major champions, current and future Hall of Famers, and up-and-coming stars are all committed to creating this new platform for world-class competition as the sport evolves for the next generation.”

LIV Golf boasts 13 Major winners – Johnson, Smith, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel.

The series includes stops in April in Adelaide and Singapore, events on back-to-back weekends at the start of July at Spain’s Valderrama and England’s Centurion courses and a November season-ender in Saudi Arabia.

Separately, Ireland’s Shane Lowry said he does not know if LIV Golf players should be allowed on the European Ryder Cup team but, if they are, he hopes it does not make for tension in the squad.

“The way it is now, they’re eligible to make the team and, if they play well enough, they’ll make the team,” Lowry said, as he prepared for Thursday’s start to the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic.

“I don’t know whether they should or they shouldn’t. But even if I had an opinion, I can’t really say because, if I’m a part of the team and then there’s bad blood there, it doesn’t bode well for the team.” AFP