LIV Golf unveils plans for eight-event series - reports

A long-discussed Saudi Arabian-backed rival for the PGA Tour unveiled details for a 2022 season on Wednesday, with a June start in London and four US events, according to multiple media reports.

The money-spinning LIV Golf International Series will feature eight tournaments with $255 million in prize money, the last of them a team match-play championship in October, according to Golf Channel, Golfweek, Golf magazine, ESPN and Sports Illustrated.

With purses of $25 million per tournament, every leg of the series will be more lucrative than the richest event on the PGA Tour, with approximately more than double the prize money on offer for golf's four majors.

"I want golf to grow, players to have additional opportunities, and fans to have more fun," LIV Golf Investments chief executive Greg Norman said.

"In many ways, we're a start-up. We have a long-term vision and aim to grow. I believe we have a very bright and exciting future."

Players who have signed up to the 54-hole, no-cut events that feature team and individual competition and fields of up to 48 players across 12 four-man teams were not revealed.

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, who last year at age 50 won the PGA Championship to become the oldest major winner in golf history, is among those often mentioned in connection with the upstart series.

Mickelson created uproar last month after the emergence of comments to golf author Alan Shipnuck in which he said he was willing to support the new Saudi-backed venture despite concerns over the kingdom's human rights record, which he decried as "horrible."

The series calendar is set to commence 9-11 June in London at Centurion Golf Club. That's the same week US PGA players would be at the Canadian Open and a week before the