Organisers of the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series have announced that rising star Matthew Wolff, Carlos Ortiz and amateur World No. 2 Eugenio Chacarra have officially joined the Saudi-backed tour.
The trio are set set to make their debuts in Portland this week - the second round of the tour after the inaugural event in St Albans earlier this month. The highly-anticipated LIV Golf series made its debut at The Centurion Club with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia headlining a mixed field in terms of big name pull and talent.
Wolff has established himself as one of the top young golfers in the sport, with the 23-year-old excelling off the tee. He became an All-American at Oklahoma State University and won the 2019 NCAA Division I individual championship before turning professional later that year.
Since turning pro, Wolff has excelled by reaching a career-high ranking of World No. 12 in October 2020 while securing seven top 10 finishes. The American finished runner up at the US Open and fourth at the PGA Championship.
Ortiz has won four pro tournaments worldwide and has impressed consistently since turning professional in 2014. The Mexican - who represented his country at the Olympics in Tokyo last summer - has spent 80 weeks ranked in the top 100 and was World No. 44 in February 2021.
Chacarra is set to make his first appearance as a professional with LIV Golf. He is a two-time All-American at Oklahoma State University, where he was a finalist for both the Ben Hogan Award and the Haskins Award as the NCAA’s top collegiate golfer.
Chacarra made 14 collegiate starts in 2021-22, winning three times with six additional top-six finishes. Former World No. 1 and LIV Golf frontman Greg Norman is clearly pleased with the acquisitions.
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“Our impressive roster of LIV golfers continues to grow with incredible young talent and international stars,” Norman said in a statement released to confirm the news of the trio joining. “Matthew Wolff and Eugenio Chacarra have both made a name for themselves as two of golf’s most promising talents, exhibiting impressive success at an early age.
“I’m eager to watch them play alongside Carlos Ortiz, one of Mexico’s most consistent pros who along with many of our other golfers represents LIV Golf’s continued commitment to growing the game on a global scale. LIV Golf is providing new opportunities for the best players in the world to compete, and our field in Portland reflects that.
“We can’t wait to kick off our first U.S. event with these incredible golfers.”
The moves are particularly interesting as unlike high-profile names like Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, and Mickleson, the trio have seemingly made the move to LIV Golf while their best years are still ahead of him.
The Saudi-backed LIV series is the most lucrative golf tournament in history. The lucrative eight-event series, which is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), has a prize pot of just over £200m for 2022, while an extra £1.6 billion has reportedly been secured to expand the event to a 14-event league by 2024.
The 48-man field in Portland will play across 12 teams of four players each. Teams for Portland will be announced on Tuesday, June 28.
