The controversial Saudi Arabia-funded golf tour on Tuesday night released the player list for its upcoming inaugural event, and Dustin Johnson was the biggest surprise.
Shortly after the list was released by LIV Golf Invitational Series CEO Greg Norman, the two-time major champion lost a sponsor over his decision to play in the first event. Royal Bank of Canada on Wednesday ended its relationships with both Johnson and Graeme McDowell, who is also set to play in the first event.
“As a result of the decisions made by professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener, RBC is terminating its sponsorship agreement with both players,” RBC said in a statement, per Forbes. “We wish them well in their future endeavours.”
The LIV Golf event at London’s Centurion Club is scheduled to begin June 9 — the same date that the Canadian Open, sponsored by RBC, is set to start. Johnson, the biggest name among the 42 players on the list, has been an RBC sponsor since 2018.
“RBC is a proud partner of the PGA Tour. Our partnership is anchored with two world-class golf tournaments—the RBC Heritage and the RBC Canadian Open,” RBC said in a statement Tuesday. “We were recently made aware that Dustin Johnson made the decision to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener. [Johnson] has been a valued RBC team member since 2018. While we are extremely disappointed in his decision, we wish him well.”
Johnson’s decision to compete in the LIV opener shocked many because in February he said he was “fully committed” to the PGA Tour.
“I feel it is now time to put such speculation to rest. I am fully committed to the PGA Tour,” said Johnson, who has 24 PGA Tour wins under his belt.
But on Tuesday, Johnson’s agent told The Action Network that the decision to compete in the LIV opener was in the 2020 Masters champion’s best interest.
“Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years,” Johnson’s agent said. “Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it. Dustin has never had any issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end, felt this was too compelling to pass up.”
While Johnson is the most prominent name on the list, he isn’t the only golfer spurning the PGA Tour. Other well-known golfers set to compete at Centurion include Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Talor Gooch, Louis Oosthuizen, Kevin Na and Martin Kaymer.
One of the players not on the list is Phil Mickelson, whose comments earlier this year about the tour caused controversy. Lefty had an interest in playing in the new tour, but that backfired when an author writing a book about the six-time major champion published comments he made about Saudi Arabia and the tour.
“They’re scary motherf——— to get involved with,” Mickelson said about Saudi Arabia. “We know they killed [Washington Post reporter Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.
“They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I’m not sure I even want [the Saudi golf league] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour.”
Many in golf condemned Mickelson for his comments, especially the one where he said he was willing to overlook Saudi Arabia’s human rights concerns to gain “leverage” over the PGA Tour. Mickelson was dropped by sponsors Workday, Amstel Light and KPMG, lost his spot as host of The American Express event and has voluntarily not competed in a golf event since.
The Saudi-backed league has a chance to shake up the sport, splitting the player base into two. The easiest way to do this is by offering large prize pools, which is Norman’s plan. The opener at Centurion has an eye-popping $25 million purse. The overall purse for the eight-event tour is $255 million.
“Free agency has finally come to golf,” Norman said in a statement. “This is an opportunity to start a movement that will change the course of history by bringing new and open competition to the sport we all love. The desire shown by the players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic belief in our model and confidence in what we’re building for the future. We couldn’t be happier at the diversity of our field, featuring players from around the world including major champions and those making their debut.”
According to ESPN, Monahan met with several golf agents Wednesday, telling them that their players will not be able to play on both tours. In the past, Monahan has threatened lifetime bans for players who jettison for the LIV Golf tour.
“As communicated to our entire membership on May 10, PGA Tour members have not been authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League’s London event, under PGA Tour Tournament Regulations,” the PGA Tour said in a statement Wednesday. “Members who violate the Tournament Regulations are subject to disciplinary action.”
Other events on the LIV Golf tour will take place in New Jersey (at former President Donald Trump’s Bedminster club), Oregon, Boston, Chicago, Bangkok and Saudi Arabia.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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