Saudi-backed LIV golf series: ‘a controversial threat’ to the sport

The controversial, Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series will finally tee off today at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire.

Before the lucrative event even began it has been accused of “disrupting the dynamics in professional men’s golf”, said USA Today, and threatens to continue doing so as the season goes on.

“Hanging above the shifting balance of power in the business of golf are the questions of ethics and morals facing players and executives who have joined the league,” explained the newspaper.

The new series presents a very real and “controversial threat” to the historic US PGA Tour, according to Martin Rogers on Fox Sports, while the pros joining the new set-up were labelled by Jamie Weir on Sky Sports as a “rag-tag bunch of struggling players” who were purely motivated by the “cold hard cash on offer”.

Tuesday’s announcement that former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson would quit the PGA Tour to play in the new eight-match tournament came as the latest significant blow. The American will join five other players in relinquishing their membership of the US tour to join LIV.

Others, like Phil Mickelson and Graeme McDowell, have resisted quitting the official tour but face potential sanctions for their involvement with the new event. The Times reported they could face punishments ranging from “temporary suspensions or fines” to complete bans “depending on the level of involvement”.

High-profile players such as Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have openly opposed the tournament but the likes of European Ryder Cup stars Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio García are playing in the inaugural Centurion Club event, and The Telegraph reported that American major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed have signed up and will