LIV golfers may play on Asian Tour

LONDON • Henrik Stenson is set to be stripped of his Ryder Cup captaincy for the European team, with the Swedish great poised to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series.

Despite the fines and bans imposed by both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, that has not stemmed the number of defections to the breakaway circuit and the 2016 British Open champion is the next to switch camps, according to multiple media reports.

Stenson was coy about his future when asked last week after he missed the cut at the 150th edition of the Major, which was held at St Andrews.

While LIV Golf offers vast riches - its events have the biggest purses in history - the lack of world rankings points means golfers who have jumped ship risk falling down the standings and jeopardising their eligibility of playing in future Majors, unless they already hold an exemption as a past winner.

Those recruited by the Greg Norman-fronted tour are now considering their next steps.

After finishing joint 53rd at the British Open on Sunday, England's Paul Casey, another Ryder Cup stalwart for Europe, told Sky Sports some of his peers were considering playing on the Asian Tour for the first time in an attempt to maintain their world ranking and qualify for future Majors.

"There's talk about guys sort of playing a couple (of Asian Tour events)," he said. "I don't even know the schedule. I'm sorry, whether they go play something before Bangkok to get ready, or the break in August.

"There's a lot of discussion, a lot of WhatsApp chat group feeds going around. I think the discussion was if guys turn up en masse, then it lifts the world ranking points. So if they're going to go play an Asian Tour event, they all go together."

However, former Masters champion and fellow Ryder Cup fixture Sergio Garcia is nonplussed about featuring at future Majors as the move to LIV Golf has worked in his favour and he will quit the DP World Tour for good.

Said the Spaniard after finishing joint-68th at the British Open. "It is what it is - things come to an end. It's the way it is... Sometimes, you don't get what you want or what you wish."

Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey will host the next LIV Golf event from July 29 to 31 but relatives of the victims who died in the Sept 11, 2001 tragedy have urged former United States President Donald Trump to cancel the tournament.

Activists have accused Saudi Arabia of complicity in the worst terrorist attack perpetrated on US soil as 15 of the 19 hijackers were from the Gulf kingdom, which has never apologised for its alleged role.

A letter from the 9/11 Justice group on Sunday read: "It is incomprehensible to us a former president of the United States would cast our loved ones aside for personal financial gain."

There was no immediate comment from either Mr Trump's golf club or from the business tycoon himself.

NYTIMES