The PGA Tour, established in 1929, has been the premier golf league in North America and the world since its inception. The nonprofit organization coordinates dozens of tournaments each year and attracts the world’s best golfers. However, the LIV Golf Invitational Series is changing that.
Funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf is a start-up golf tour that is hoping to draw players away from the PGA Tour with the offer of larger prizes and fewer tournaments. LIV Golf hired Greg Norman, a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour, as its CEO in October 2021 and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to create an eight-event schedule that would attract some of the top golfers in the world.
The LIV golf promise of more money has been enough to attract several world-class golfers. Charl Schwartzel received $4 million for winning the inaugural event, which was only three rounds as opposed to the standard four round tournaments on the PGA Tour. Matthew Fitzpatrick, who won the U.S. Open on June 19, won $3.15 million in what is considered a far more prestigious event.
Before and between those two tournaments, several other PGA Tour players have announced their intention to compete for LIV Golf. The PGA Tour, meanwhile, has suspended all players who compete in LIV Golf events from future tournaments.
Below is a look at five of the most prominent former PGA Tour golfers competing for LIV Golf.
Brooks Koepka
The latest player expected to defect to LIV Golf, Brooks Koepka raised questions about the possibility of that happening ahead of the 2022 U.S. Open when he refused to give an endorsement or defense of the PGA Tour. When asked if he intended on playing elsewhere, he stated “there’s been no other option to this point.”
Koepka, a four-time major winner ranked No. 19 in the Official World Golf Rankings, finished 55th at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship and missed the cut at the Masters Tournament. It’s not all that surprising, then, that he accepted a reported seven-figure deal, similar to others, to join the new golf tour. His brother, Chase, participated in LIV Golf’s inaugural tournament.
Dustin Johnson
Dustin Johnson, No. 16 in the Official World Golf Rankings, is the top-ranked player to join LIV Golf as of June 21. Johnson, who had previously declared allegiance to the PGA Tour in February, was a surprise inclusion on the start list for LIV Golf’s first event in London. The 2020 Masters champion was one of several ex-PGA Tour members to participate in the tournament and finished T7 at 1-under-par.
Not only is Johnson the top-ranked golfer to join LIV, he is also one of the biggest golf stars in the world. He’s married to Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, and is known among casual golf fans and many who don’t watch the sport. He has 24 wins on the PGA Tour and was the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2016 and 2020.
Sergio Garcia
A veteran on the PGA Tour, Sergio Garcia let his plans to join LIV Golf slip on May 5 at the Wells Fargo Championship. His agent subsequently confirmed he was requesting a release to participate in LIV’s inaugural event.
An 11-time winner on the PGA Tour with 110 top-10 finishes, Garcia missed the cut at this year’s U.S. Open and PGA Championship. He only had one top-10 finish this season.
Bryson DeChambeau
Like many others, DeChambeau had stated his allegiance to the PGA Tour before joining LIV Golf. While the American didn’t compete in its first event in London, he was scheduled to take part in its second tournament in Oregon. Some reports suggest he was offered $100 million to defect to LIV Golf.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson, whose comments in February somewhat stalled the momentum of LIV Golf, is one of the more surprising defectors since he has such a rich history with the PGA Tour. He has won 45 times on the PGA Tour since turning pro in 1992 and became the oldest-ever major championship winner when he won the PGA Championship in 2021.
Mickelson won $94 million in prize money since joining the PGA Tour, but was reportedly offered $200 million to sign with LIV.