The LIV Golf series is preparing for its fourth event this week after Open champion Cameron Smith became the latest big-name player to join Saudi-backed series.
Smith has switched from the PGA Tour alongside Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III, Cameron Tringale, Marc Leishman and Anirban Lahiri, with all six players set to make their debuts at the LIV Golf Invitational Boston this week.
The 29-year-old Australian’s move had been expected since he refused to distance himself from reports of joining up after winning the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews last month.
It has been suggested that Smith, the world number two who also won The Players Championship in March, could receive 100million US dollars (£82.8million) for making the switch.
He joins the likes of Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, as well as European Ryder Cup players Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia in signing up.
Here’s everything you need to know about golf’s newest tour including the full field for Boston:
What is LIV Golf?
Reports of a new breakaway league first emerged in 2019 but gathered pace last year as two-time Open champion Greg Norman became the face of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series as its chief executive.
With Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund financing the series, there is a clear link to the Saudi Arabia government, whose record on human rights has been criticised by groups such as Amnesty International.
But what for a long time was considered to be a bargaining threat to the traditional PGA and DP World Tours and nothing more, took shape as the LIV Golf Series, which also features new competition rules and what tournament organisers say is an “exciting” new format.
What are the rules?
LIV Golf Series events will be played over three days and 54 holes, rather than the traditional four-day events with 72 holes. There won’t be a cut, either, so the 48 players who start the week will play all three rounds.
There will also be individual and team competitions within the same event. The individual competition will be won by the player who shoots the lowest score over 54 holes, as normal.
The team competition, however, will be made up of 12 teams of four players, with team captains selecting the teams using a ‘snake draft’ ahead of each event. Teams will also have their own unique names and logos.
In terms of scoring, the best two individual scores will count towards the team’s overall total across the opening two rounds, with the best three scores combining on the third and final round. The team with the lowest overall score at the end of the third round will be the winner.
How will the season work and where is the next event?
Boston will be the fourth of seven ‘regular’ events this year with the team championship forming the final event of the season at Doral in Miami in October.
The team championship will see all 12 teams seeded and a four-day knockout tournament will be played using match play scoring to determine the winner, with a championship match taking place on the final day.
An individual champion will also be crowned using points accumulated over the seven ‘regular season’ events.
- LIV Golf London, Centurion Club - June 9-11
- LIV Golf Portland, Pumpkin Ridge - June 30 - July 2
- LIV Golf Bedminster, Trump National - July 29-31
- LIV Golf Boston, Greater Boston - September 2-4
- LIV Golf Chicago, Rich Harvest Farms - September 16-18
- LIV Golf Bangkok, Stonehill - October 7-9
- LIV Golf Jeddah, Royal Greens - October 14-16
- LIV Golf Miami, Trump National Doral - October 27-30
Who is playing?
The biggest names initially included Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel and Kevin Na. However, after its first event, LIV Golf added major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed to its ranks, before tempting 2016 Open champion Henrik Stenson across ahead of Bedminster - at which point the Swede was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy.
Full player list for Boston event
Who is in the field?
- Abraham Ancer
- Adrian Otaegui
- Anirban Lahiri
- Bernd Wiesberger
- Branden Grace
- Brooks Koepka
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Cameron Smith
- Cameron Tringale
- Carlos Ortiz
- Charl Schwartzel
- Charles Howell III
- Chase Koepka
- Dustin Johnson
- Eugenio Chacarra
- Graeme McDowell
- Harold Varner III
- Henrik Stenson
- Hudson Swafford
- Ian Poulter
- James Piot
- Jason Kokrak
- Jediah Morgan
- Joaquin Niemann
- Kevin Na
- Laurie Canter
- Lee Westwood
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Marc Leishman
- Martin Kaymer
- Matt Jones
- Matthew Wolff
- Pat Perez
- Patrick Reed
- Paul Casey
- Peter Uihlein
- Phachara Khongwatmai
- Phil Mickelson
- Richard Bland
- Sadom Kaewkanjana
- Sam Horsfield
- Scott Vincent
- Sergio Garcia
- Shaun Norris
- Sihwan Kim
- Talor Gooch
- Turk Pettit
- Wade Ormsby
Is it on TV?
LIV Golf has yet to be picked up by a major broadcaster in the UK.
However, the action is live streamed for free on the LIV Golf YouTube channel and Facebook page.
How much is the prize money?
Each regular season event will have a prize fund of $25m - every player in the field receives a cut, with a guaranteed $4m for first and $120,000 for last place. Of the $25m, $5m will be split between the top three teams.
The top three players in the overall individual championship will receive a split of $30m, with the overall champion taking $18m, the runner-up receiving $8m and third place getting $4m.
The season-ending team championship has a prize fund of $50m, with the winning team splitting $16m and the team who finishes last receiving $1m. Each player receives a 25 per cent cut.
By comparison, the winner of the PGA Championship, one of golf’s four majors, receives $3m out of a total prize fund of $15m.
