The event, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, is reportedly the latest event to bar the participation of athletes committed to the breakaway LIV Golf Invitational Series.
The onward march of LIV Golf, the breakaway competition backed by the head-spinning largesse of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund, is only gaining speed now that its inaugural event is in the books and some enormous prize money payouts have been issued.
Right on cue, the traditional golf world’s spirited responses are picking up their pace as well. This week, the Scottish Open is expected to ban LIV Golf participants from the event, reports James Corrigan on The Telegraph.
The event, scheduled for July 7 through 10 at the Renaissance Club, is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour — formerly known as the European Tour — and the PGA Tour, the latter of which has already barred from its events those who have publicly committed to LIV Golf, including global stars like Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, and Dustin Johnson.
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Unlike the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour has not issued indefinite bans of LIV Golf players beyond simply the Scottish Open as of this writing, though tour CEO Keith Pelley did deny requests by several participating athletes for waivers to participate in LIV Golf events.
Interestingly enough, The Open Championship tees off a short two-hour drive from the Scottish Open at St. Andrews just days after it concludes.
As with the US Open that wrapped earlier this month and the rest of golf’s majors, neither the PGA Tour nor the DP World Tour has the authority to bar any player from participating.
LIV Golf’s second event is scheduled for June 30 through July 2 at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, Oregon. There will be five more preliminary events to follow, plus a Team Championship to round out the season at the end of October in Doral, Florida.
Charl Schwartzel, winner of the 2011 Masters, became LIV Golf’s first individual champion this month at the Centurion Club in England. He pocketed $4 million for finishing atop the leaderboard, plus another $475,000 for being part of the top-performing four-man team.
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