LIV golfers to avoid friction at US Open
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BOSTON • The United States Golf Association (USGA) has done its best to avoid pairing some of LIV Golf's biggest catches with its most ardent critics for the first two days of the US Open, which starts tomorrow.
Phil Mickelson, who will make his first non-LIV appearance in more than four months this week at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts will play the first two rounds with South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen - a member of the winning team in LIV's opening tournament in London last weekend - and Ireland's Shane Lowry.
The third Major of the men's golf season will be the first time that players who departed the PGA Tour for the Greg Norman-run, Saudi-backed LIV series will compete in the same event as the players who stayed put.
Seventeen current and former members have been suspended for choosing to play in the rebel competition and there are plans to dole out the same punishment to future defectors.
In the group before Mickelson's, Dustin Johnson, the former world No. 1 and highest-ranked player in the world to link up with LIV, is paired with Webb Simpson and England's Matt Fitzpatrick.
Another group features two LIV players - Sergio Garcia of Spain and American Kevin Na - as well as England's Tyrrell Hatton. Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed did not compete in London but have since officially joined the circuit.
DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion, will play with Gary Woodland and England's Justin Rose, while Reed will go out with South Korea's K.H. Lee and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has been among the loudest critics of LIV and the USGA has spared him the awkwardness of spending 18 holes with any LIV players, at least for tomorrow and Friday.
He will play his first two rounds alongside Xander Schauffele and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama in one of the featured groups, while PGA Championship winner and LIV opponent Justin Thomas will be with Viktor Hovland of Norway and Tony Finau.
Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will go out with four-time Major champion Brooks Koepka and Australia's Cameron Smith.
REUTERS
