“We’re not going to fight any of the smaller battles,” was the message from the Wentworth-based tour. “Only the eventual war [in court].”

So it is that the other 13 LIV members are also eligible for the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club. How many will take advantage of that fact will only be known when the draw for the first two rounds is revealed. Officials say all players will be added on top of the 156 golfers previously expected to compete in the joint DP World-PGA Tour event.

All of which is taking place within a mood of discontent on the DP World Tour and beyond.

“The general feeling is that, while most of the players can accept that the guys have made a choice to play on the LIV Tour, it has become a ‘them and us’ situation,” says one DP World Tour player who asked not to be identified. “It’s them against the tour they started out on. For me, that’s a hard thing to accept. It just feels like a betrayal. There is an element of ‘Why do you need to go?’ They have let us down. This tour has always been a family, as was shown at every Ryder Cup. We’ve always been together on everything. Now we’ve got Sergio [Garcia] and Rory [McIlroy] on opposite sides of the argument. What a pair they have been in the Ryder Cup over the years. Now it is hard to imagine it all working so well in the same team room.”

Billy Horschel, current holder of the biggest title on the DP World circuit, the BMW PGA Championship, was another to voice his displeasure with the men who are now playing their trades in LIV Series events.

“I believe they made their bed,” said Horschel, who shares membership on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. “They decided to go play a tour and they should go play that tour. They shouldn’t be coming back over here to play the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. To say that they wanted to also support either tour while playing the LIV Tour is completely asinine in my opinion. I’m just tired of these comments. Leave us alone, honestly.”

Speaking from Ireland, where he is competing in the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor, Poulter was equally outspoken in his response. In particular he was quick to shoot down any notion that he has been received badly by his fellow players over the last couple of days.

“My reception here has been unbelievable with the 40,000 fans that we’ve had,” said the 46-year-old Englishman. “In the locker room are people that I play against week in, week out, and if they take objection to it, that’s up to them. I haven’t had a problem with any of the players. I’ve seen Rory this week and had a chat, I’ve seen Thomas [Bjorn], and, yes, we have a difference of opinion. But we’re still friends. When you’ve played golf with these players for a very long time it’s strictly a business decision, it’s not a personal decision that needs to get in the way of friendships. I class pretty much everybody out here on tour as a friend.”

Poulter had less to say about the fact that he is currently banned from the PGA Tour, but was vehement in repeating his view that appealing against the DP World suspension was the right thing to do.

“I’ve always been committed to the European Tour over the last 24 years and 389 tournaments,” he continued. “That has never changed. I’ve always played over 100 per cent more events in Europe than I have ever needed to, even while holding a PGA Tour card. So to have a suspension held over you and sanctions is not a nice position to be in. We can name quite a few players that have given their membership up over the years to concentrate solely on the PGA Tour. I’ve never done that. Not everybody is going to agree with me and my decision, but that’s everybody else’s opinion. I don’t know the next stage as yet. How that unfolds, or whether that’s in weeks, months, years, we’ll have to wait and see.”

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The post More LIV golfers likely to join Poulter in Scottish Open field as DP World Tour braces for long-term legal challenge appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

King Charl ??#LIVGolf | @CA_Schwartzel pic.twitter.com/2K1x3daus0

— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) June 11, 2022

Charl Schwartzel made history on Saturday to win the first ever LIV Golf event at Centurion Club and the relief on his face after holing the final putt was more to do with victory in its own right rather than the whopping pay cheque that came with it.

Yes, the South African took away $4.75 million for his work over 54 holes in Hertfordshire this week, but the 2011 Masters winner honestly just looked more delighted to embrace his son and daughter and prove he could be a champion once again.

Schwartzel’s last win came way back in 2016 before some steely nerves and a hot putter took him home by one stroke at Centurion Club on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/LIVGolfInv/status/1535712056313249793

He was clear by five at one point but hit the wobbles on the back nine, and had to hold it together to hole out for a one-stroke triumph over ‘Stinger’ teammate and fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis with the final shot (third-placed Branden Grace and skipper Louis Oosthuizen made up the winning foursome).

The definition of domination ?#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/CvPFv5jGbr

— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) June 11, 2022

“I really wanted to win again,” Schwartzel told the media here, with both individual and team trophies sitting beside him. “I worked very hard the last few years and there were signs of good golf and just haven’t really been able to be in contention, and I played really god the first 11 holes. I hit a wayward shot on 12 and it sort of derailed me.

“From there on, I was just trying to hang in. Hennie was playing some really good golf, he was hitting good shots and playing pressure.

“It was a little bit like ‘just get in the house’ at the end. But I couldn’t be more pleased and happy with how it turned out today.”

“I’m tired,” he joked after the three-day shotgun tournament, as opposed to the usual 72-holes. “I came here last Saturday. I played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So I’ve played a full week of hard preparation, and I think for the amount that’s at stake, what LIV has put up, I could see myself doing that for almost all the event, really trying to prepare like I did for majors. Majors I used to come early and be real prepared. Because you have got three rounds now, so you don’t have four rounds to maybe catch up if you were behind. You have to play well all three rounds, otherwise you won’t win.

“So, 54 holes was the tournament, but my week has been very long.

The Masters champion also reflected on what this week meant compared to his famous week at Augusta back in 2011.

“I don’t know if there’s anything that will ever come close to a green jacket. Majors are what define our careers. Obviously I was fortunate to win the green jacket and I’m very proud of that.

“Money is one thing but, there, you’re playing for prestige, history. Yeah, winning a major will always top anything you do.”

Du Plessis took $2.875 million for his week’s work and he was quizzed how he felt after it was suggested he had just tripled his career earnings.

“Obviously I’ve worked hard to be in this position and to earn this amount of money,” he said after his near miss for the title. “I’ve got LIV Golf to thank for that, for giving me the opportunity. It’s been an incredible week and I’m very grateful and I’m very happy.

“It’s hard not to think about the money. But you’re still trying to win a tournament and put a decent result in. So I didn’t really think about the money. I just thought about the trophy.”

There was a real camaraderie in the Stinger team, as they are all South African, and captain Oosthuizen admitted that was part of his plan from the start. He is aiming to keep them together for the next LIV event in the US at the end of the month.

“So Charl and Branden are in my team going forward to the next event in Portland,” he said. I sort of looked them up and said I want them on my team. I would love to have a full South African team every week.

“I know Hennie has got a few things struggling with visa appointments and stuff like that with the backlogs, and so, if he can sort that out, there’s a space on my team for him. If it works out, the four of us play the next ones.”

It was quite a closing day in St Albans as — following the announcement of Bryson DeChambeau on Friday — both Patrick Reed and Pat Perez were confirmed as signing up to LIV Golf, despite the confirmation of suspension from the PGA for any player who made such a move.

During the event, Reed joined the commentary team in London online to explain his decision: “I’m super excited. Just the thought of being a part of an evolution and a change in golf for the better for me, it’s unbelievable. I have been watching all weekend and the format and just the way everything is, I’m super excited and can’t wait to be a part of it.

“I have been talking to a few of the guys after the first round and second round and they have told me how well not only the tournament is run but also the turnout with the fans and the excitement and energy — and I think that’s the biggest thing is the energy seems so lively and every player seems so pumped and ready to go. Portland can’t get here fast enough.”

Fellow Pat, Perez, added shortly afterward: “DJ (close friend and former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson) was about 100 per cent the reason that I have this deal. He wanted me to be part of it. A deal like this doesn’t really come across to a guy with my rank and this and that, even though I’ve been on tour 21 years and I’ve got three wins and I’ve made 335 cuts.

“But DJ wanted me on his team and you know, the opportunity to follow a world-class player like that, two majors and FedEx, 24 wins and world No. 1 for a really long time, it’s really an honour to be by his side and to be on his team.”

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The post Priceless: Charl Schwartzel reflects on famous moment at LIV Golf after a long, long wait appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The USGA announced Tuesday that it will allow those who are competing in this week’s LIV Golf Invitational to play in next week’s U.S. Open.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has long promised that any tour member who competes in an event on the rival league would face suspension from the PGA Tour and possibly a lifetime ban, and the tour denied conflicting-event releases to all tour members who requested to compete in LIV Golf’s inaugural event in London. Likewise, the PGA of America has stood in solidarity with the tour, with PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh stating multiple times that those who lose their PGA Tour or DP World Tour memberships would be unable to compete at the PGA Championship or Ryder Cup.

Meanwhile, the USGA had been relatively quiet on the matter, issuing a statement last week to Golf Digest that it reserved the right “to review any competitor’s situation on a case-by-case basis” regarding possible action against LIV Golf associates. However, on Tuesday, the governing body said LIV Golf players can show up to the USGA’s flagship event at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

MORE: Tiger Woods decides not to play in the U.S. Open at Brookline

“We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world and the players who have earned the right to compete in this year’s championship, both via exemption and qualifying, will have the opportunity to do so,” read a statement. “Our field criteria were set prior to entries opening earlier this year and it’s not appropriate, nor fair to competitors, to change criteria once established.

“Regarding players who may choose to play in London this week, we simply asked ourselves this question—should a player who had earned his way into the 2022 U.S. Open, via our published field criteria, be pulled out of the field as a result of his decision to play in another event? And we ultimately decided that they should not.

“Our decision regarding our field for the 2022 U.S. Open should not be construed as the USGA supporting an alternative organizing entity, nor supportive of any individual player actions or comments. Rather, it is simply a response to whether or not the USGA views playing in an alternative event, without the consent of their home tour, an offense that should disqualify them for the U.S. Open.”

A number of LIV Golf players are eligible for next week’s event, including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Talor Gooch. In a statement announcing his return to golf with the LIV Golf series Monday, Mickelson said he still intends to play the majors, while Johnson said on Tuesday that he also plans to compete in the sport’s four biggest events.

The U.S. Open begins June 16. Jon Rahm is the defending champ.

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The post U.S. Open 2022: USGA will allow LIV golfers to play at Brookline appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Phil Mickelson released a wide-ranging statement on social media Monday outlining his return to golf, with his first start coming at this week’s LIV Golf Invitational. Within the statement, the 51-year-old also seemed to telegraph his intentions to play in a second event: next week’s U.S. Open.

Mickelson noted that he was ready for “a fresh start” after taking a nearly three-month hiatus from golf that including skipping this year’s Masters and PGA Championship. Though the statement was mostly about the opportunity to compete on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series—including an apology for his February comments that ultimately led to his sabbatical from the game—Mickelson also said he still “intends to play the majors.” This is notable as next week the golf world visits The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., for the USGA’s flagship event.

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In April, Mickelson’s agent, Steve Loy, announced he had filed an application for Mickelson to compete at The Country Club, but that it did not mean Mickelson was certain he would play. As of this writing, Mickelson, a six-time major winner, is listed in next week’s U.S. Open field, earning an exemption through his win at the 2021 PGA Championship. However, the PGA Tour has promised disciplinary actions toward members who jumped to LIV Golf, and there has been speculation that the governing bodies of the four major championships may follow suit in some capacity, potentially impacting the 13 players competing in London who have also qualified for the field at Brookline.

Last week, the USGA released the following statement to Golf Digest regarding the eligibility of players in the field for the U.S. Open who are affiliated with LIV Golf. “We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world, with roughly half our field securing their position via local/regional qualifiers,” a USGA spokesperson said, “however we reserve the right, as we always have, to review any competitor’s situation on a case-by-case basis.”

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Mickelson has remained out of the public eye since late February when the Fire Pit Collective published an interview in which Mickelson claimed he was using the Saudi-backed golf circuit as leverage against the PGA Tour and claimed he had paid lawyers to draw up the league’s operating charter. The story caused backlash, with Mickelson issuing an apology for his “reckless” comments and stating he would be taking time away from the sport. Mickelson skipped the Masters—a tournament he’s won three times—for the first time since 1994, and three weeks ago dropped out of the PGA Championship, a tournament where he was the defending champ. Mickelson’s last appearance was at the Saudi International in February, and has not played in the United States since the Farmers Insurance Open in his hometown of San Diego in January.

Mickelson has made 30 career starts at the U.S. Open, the one major he still needs to win to complete the career Grand Slam. He has finished runner-up a record six times at the national championship, and has had a number of dust-ups with the USGA over that span, including hitting a moving ball at the 2018 event at Shinnecock.

The 2022 U.S. Open begins June 16. Jon Rahm is the defending champ.

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The post Phil Mickelson says he plans on playing majors, signalling possible start at the U.S. Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.