The LIV Golf Series’ inaugural event begins on Thursday at the Centurion Club, with the second tournament in Portland, USA starting later this month; DeChambeau previously distanced himself from the Saudi-backed breakaway tour, which has Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson already on board
Last Updated: 08/06/22 1:32pm
LIV Golf has refused to deny a report claiming Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler will become the latest names to join the Saudi-backed series.
Both DeChambeau, Reed and Fowler are set to sign up imminently, according to the Telegraph, ahead of the series’ second tournament in Portland, USA, which starts later this month.
The LIV Golf Series’ inaugural event begins on Thursday at the Centurion Club, with Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia among the 48-strong field.
Back in February, DeChambeau denied he was offered ?100m to join the tour, and wrote on his official Twitter account: “While there has been a lot of speculation surrounding my support for another tour, I want to make it very clear that as long as the best players in the world are playing the PGA Tour, so will I.”
More to follow
Mickelson: LIV Golf can do a lot of good for the game
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Phil Mickelson says he had an ‘awesome time’ during his four months off from competing and feels good about being part of LIV Golf
Mickelson says he feels “so good” about the balance playing in the LIV Golf Series provides and added he will not resign from the PGA Tour during a tense press conference on Wednesday.
The 51-year-old is ending his self-imposed four-month exile from the sport to compete in this week’s inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series tournament at Centurion Club.
Mickelson skipped his PGA Championship defence following a backlash over comments he made about the Saudi-backed breakaway tour, and was facing the media for the first since confirming his LIV Golf participation on Monday.
The six-time major winner repeatedly said “I don’t condone human rights violations” when asked about his reasons for competing in the tour, despite calling the Saudi regime “scary” back in February, and stressed LIV Golf can “do a lot of good for the game”.
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Phil Mickelson has defended and explained his decision to join LIV Golf at a lengthy and sometimes uncomfortable news conference for the six-time major champion
Addressing his break, Mickelson said: “I’ve had an awesome time, I’ve had a four-month break from the game. It’s given me time to continue some of the work and therapy that I’ve been working on, on some areas I’m deficient in, in my life.
“It’s given me time to reflect on what I want to do going forward, what’s best for me, what’s best for the people I care about. This allows me to be more present and engaged with people I care about.
“That is why, when I think about being a part of LIV Golf, I feel so good about it.”
Mickelson also said he will not speak publicly about PGA “issues”, and refused to deny if he had been banned by the Tour.
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Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen had to field difficult questions at the press conference for the opening LIV tour event
As a lifetime member of the PGA Tour, Mickelson acknowledged he does not have to play any of their events, and does not see “any reason” to give up his membership following Dustin Johnson’s resignation on Tuesday.
He did, however, confirm he would take part in the US Open next week – “I’m looking forward to it,” he added.
On Tuesday, the USGA confirmed golfers competing in this week’s LIV series opener will be allowed to play in next week’s US Open, providing they had already qualified.
What is the format?
All 48 players compete against each other in a traditional stroke play format, with the lowest 54-hole total from the no-cut event being the winner, while a draft will help allocate players into the team format.
Each team will have a LIV appointed team captain who will select their three open team positions via a snake draft format, similar to those used on the Ladies European Tour in the Aramco Team Series.
For the first two rounds, the best two stroke play scores will count for each team. For the third and final round, the best three scores will count, with the lowest overall team score after 54 holes being named the team winner.
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Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood refuse to answer questions on whether there is anywhere they wouldn’t play at the LIV golf press conference
The format changes in the Team Championship, which is a seeded four-day, four-round, match play knock-out tournament. The top four seeds automatically receive a bye through the first round, with the remaining eight teams playing against each other to see who reaches the quarter-finals.
Team names and captains
Captains in bold, with the 48-strong field divided into 12 teams for first event at Centurion club:
4 ACES – Dustin Johnson, Shaun Norris, Oliver Bekker, Kevin Yuan
HY FLYERS – Phil Mickelson, Justin Harding, TK Chantananuwat (a), Chase Koepka
PUNCH – Wade Ormsby, Matt Jones, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Blake Windred
CLEEKS – Martin Kaymer, Pablo Larrazabal, JC Ritchie, Ian Snyman
IRON HEADS – Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Hideto Tanihara, Viraj Madappa
SMASH – Sihwan Kim, Scott Vincent, Jinichiro Kozuma, Itthipat Buranatanyarat
CRUSHERS – Peter Uihlein, Richard Bland, Phachara Khongwatmai, Travis Smyth
MAJESTICKS – Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield, Laurie Canter
STINGER – Louis Oosthuizen, Hennie du Plessis, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace
FIREBALLS – Sergio Garcia, David Puig (a), James Piot (a), Jediah Morgan
NIBLICKS – Graeme McDowell, Bernd Wiesberger, Turk Pettit, Oliver Fisher
TORQUE – Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Adrian Otaegui, Andy Ogletree
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