The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund’s investment group, LIV Golf, unveils its vision for a new golf tournament.
News has broken about the LIV Golf Invitational Series behind a roughly $400 million investment. The initial plan will be for twelve teams of four players each to compete in seven preliminary events played throughout the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the United States. The UK, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand will host one event each, while the US will host the remaining four.
A total of $255 million in prize money will be available for the taking when the event kicks off this coming June:
- $25 million per event of which $20 million will go toward individual prizes and $5 million for the top 3 teams.
- After the first 7 events, the individual champion will be named and the top 3 individuals earning a total of $30 million.
- A final 8th event will be a team event earmarked for $50 million in total prize money.
Each event will consist of 3 rounds of 54 holes each (rather than the customary 72). Like the Ryder Cup and other formats, competitors will play head-to-head against one another. Shotgun rules will be implemented for a much faster pace of play than what is typically televised.
Other additions are said to include a weekly player draft and no cuts, however, at no time can more than 48 players be in the field at once. In theory, a much smaller field than most PGA Tour tournaments that can easily run into the 100s improves each team’s and individual’s chances of winning the massive sum ready for the taking!
LIV Golf believes the combination will create an overall more engaging fan experience, especially, when looking to garner attention from the more casual, less devout ones.
It is said no event will compete with any of the existing Major tournaments.
The tentative schedule will consist of the following:
- June 9-11 (UK) in London at Centurion Golf Club
- July 1-3 (US) in Portland, Oregon at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
- July 29-31 (US) in Bedminster, New Jersey at Trump National Golf Club
- September 2-4 (US) in Boston, Massachusetts at The International
- September 16-18 (US) in Chicago, Illinois at Rich Harvest Farms
- October 7-9 (Thailand) in Bangkok at Stonehill
- October 14-16 (Saudi Arabia) at Royal Greens Golf Club
- October 28-30 (TBD) for the Team and Individual Championship
In the spirit of being a good corporate citizen, part of LIV Golf’s promise as part of its investment is to make a yet-to-be-determined but sizable contribution to charity.
LIV Golf Investments is a relatively new company keen to unlock the sports’ potential through improved visibility and marketing to the masses. Greg Norman is the Founder and CEO of LIV Golf Investments. PIF is the Saudi Arabian Investment Fund serving as its majority shareholder.
For the better part of the last year, Saudi Arabia has and likely will continue to be in the press amid its continued push to forge a professional golf league to truly rival the PGA Tour. Rumored golfers interested include Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, John Rahm, Jordan Spieth, and Collin Morikawa. Phil Mickelson too was in the press in recent months only to retract some of his comments that many found disparaging of the PGA Tour and uncalled for.
So far, no professional golfers have officially been announced as participants.