Johnson makes U-turn to headline Saudi-backed event; Mickelson not listed

Dustin Johnson, the former world No 1 who committed himself to the PGA Tour in February, has been named in the field for the opening Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series event in Hertfordshire starting next week.

Johnson, 37, is the biggest previously-unreported name in the field, which does not include Phil Mickelson. The circuit, seen as a potential rival to the PGA Tour, became controversial for accepting financing from Saudi backers, with the Centurion Club event boasting a total prize fund of ?20m and ?3m to the winner.

Other notable names in the field include Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Richard Bland, Sergio Garcia, Kevin Na, Talor Gooch, Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace.

The PGA Tour did not grant its members a release to play in the event, which will be contested June 9-11, opposite the Canadian Open. Johnson – who won the Canadian Open in 2018 – and other members could face punishment for choosing the LIV Golf event without the Tour’s permission.

LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman said: “Free agency has finally come to golf.

“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.”

Johnson, who has dropped from third to No 13 in the world this year, is the highest-ranked player listed in the field.

The former world No 1 previously said in a statement that he was “fully committed to the PGA Tour”.

However, following the announcement of his place in the field, Johnson’s manager David Winkle said: “Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years. 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.”

Johnson was scheduled to play the RBC Canadian Open but instead opted to join the LIV event. On Twitter, the RBC Canadian Open said: “Together with our partners at RBC, we are disappointed to learn at this late stage that Dustin Johnson has made the decision to play the LIV Golf Event. As a past RBC Canadian Open champion, Canadian golf fans were looking forward to DJ’s return this year.”

Mickelson had been linked to LIV Golf for months but has been on a self-imposed hiatus from the sport since February – even skipping his title defence at the PGA Championship – amid backlash over comments he made about the breakaway tour.

The 51-year-old Mickelson’s public image took a hit when the author of an unauthorised biography said the American golfer told him he was willing to look past Saudi Arabia’s human rights record to gain economic leverage over the PGA Tour.

Full list of players

Oliver Bekker
Richard Bland
Laurie Canter
Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat (Amateur)
Hennie Du Plessis
Oliver Fisher
Sergio Garcia
Talor Gooch
Branden Grace
Justin Harding
Sam Horsfield
Dustin Johnson
Matt Jones
Sadom Kaewkanjana
Martin Kaymer
Phachara Khongwatmai
Sihwan Kim
Ryosuke Kinoshita
Chase Koepka
Jinichiro Kosuma
Pablo Larrazabal
Graeme McDowell
Jediah Morgan
Kevin Na
Shaun Norris
Andy Ogletree
Louis Oosthuizen
Wade Ormsby
Adrian Otaegui
Turk Pettit
James Plot (Amateur)
Ian Poulter
David Puig
JC Ritche
Charl Schwartzel
Hudson Swafford
Hideto Tanihara
Peter Uihlein
Scott Vincent
Lee Westwood
Bernd Wiesberger
Blake Windred