Justin Thomas has declared that any players planning to leave the PGA Tour in favour of the lucrative Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series can ‘just go’.
Greg Norman, the CEO of the of the LIV Golf Invitational Series, told the BBC on Tuesday that he had five of the world’s top 50 signed up to play the upcoming London tournament but the PGA Tour statement threatened anyone looking to play in the LIV Golf series with bans. His announcement comes amid several players requesting releases from both the Tour and the DP World Tour to play.
The inaugural 54-hole $25m (£20m) tournament is taking place at Centurion Club, 30 miles north of London, from June 9-11. Norman expects to announce some of the field next week during the build-up to the US PGA Championship while the final field set to be confirmed on May 27.
Big names like Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood are among the players who have sought permission from the PGA Tour to play. Thomas, who confirmed he will remain on the PGA Tour, wants the transition to hurry up in order to avoid as much publicity as possible.
“You know, it's like, look, if you want to go, go,” Thomas told Sky Sports. “I mean there’s been plenty of guys that have been advocates of it and have just talked it up all the time and they have been guys behind the scenes that are saying, ‘I’m going, I’m doing this.’ And like my whole thing is, like just go then.
“Everybody’s entitled to do what they want, you know what I mean? Like if I wanted to go play that tour I could go play that tour. But I’m loyal to the PGA Tour.”
Total prize money for the eight LIV Golf events - five of which are scheduled to be held in the United States - will be over £200million and the seven regular-season tournaments will have total purses of £20m, which would be the richest in professional golf, with £16m in individual prizes and £4m for the top three teams. The top three individuals after the seven regular-season events will also share a £24m bonus.
The season-ending team match-play championship is scheduled for October 27-30 at Trump National Doral in Miami. It will provide another £40m in prize money.
Players have been almost universally condemned for deciding to play in the events due to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record. However, Lee Westwood defended his decision to request a release to play in the invitational series.
“We’ve played European Tour in Saudi Arabia and I’ve had releases from the PGA Tour to say I can play in Saudi Arabia, so it has been no problem to them in previous years,” Westwood said. “Formula One raced there. Newcastle United are owned partly by people from Saudi Arabia. There has been boxing there and I think there has been snooker and darts there as well.
“Golf’s not the first sport to have links with Saudi Arabia, but it seems to be coming under more scrutiny than anyone else. Whether you think that’s right or not is the individual’s opinion.
“I think Saudi Arabia obviously know they’ve got issues. I think lots of countries around the world have got issues and I think they’re trying to improve. They’re trying to do it through sport, which a lot of places, a lot of countries do.
“I think they’re doing it a lot quicker than some countries have tried to do it and that maybe worries or scares people. People don’t like change do they, they like continuity and things to stay the same.”
Do you think the LIV Golf Invitational Series will become a true rival to the PGA Tour? Let us know in the comments section.
Norman received criticism after he attended an event to promote his new series, as most questions surrounded accusations of ‘sports washing’ and the murder of journalist Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Australian simply said: “Everybody has owned up to it, right?
“It has been spoken about, from what I've read, going on what you guys reported. Take ownership, no matter what it is. Look, we've all made mistakes and you just want to learn from those mistakes and how you can correct them going forward.”
Back in February 2021, a US intelligence report revealed crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in Khashoggi’s killing - an allegation which has been denied. Bin Salman is chairman of the Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) which bankrolls many sporting events, including boxing, Formula 1, football and now golf.
