U.S. Open Begins Amidst Tour Controversy

The Country Club, Brookline, MA — June 16, 2022

Normally the opening day of the U.S. Open Championship would be one to talk about the favorites to win one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Or in the case of this year’s 122nd playing, the fact that Tiger Woods is sitting out the third golf major of the year after competing in the Masters and PGA Championship.

Unfortunately, this year’s event is somewhat clouded by the controversy surrounding professional golf’s new tour “LIV” and its battle to lure big names to leave the PGA Tour. If you are not an avid follower of the game this contest of wills may be off your radar.

What is LIV

Back by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, the LIV Tour is characterized as all about money. Some claim there are political undertones to the new venture and it seems everyone has an opinion on the subject. Putting all the extemporaneous chatter aside, professional athletes compete for pride but also for the monetary rewards their skills bring to them.

Look at the almost unbelievable numbers. In the attempt to draw well-recognized golfers to the new tour it targeted some of the most notable and popular names on the PGA Tour. Phil Mickelson in 32 years on the PGA tour has earned an estimated $94 million, he reportedly signed a contract with LIV that will pay him $200 million.

Dustin Johnson, formerly ranked as the number one golfer in the world, has earned $75 million in his PGA career. Johnson signed a four-year deal with LIV reported to be worth $125 million.

Big money YES!  Charl Schwartzel took home the winner’s purse in LIV’s first tournament last week in London. His bank account swelled by $4 million the biggest prize ever paid to win a professional event.

Other incentives for the new Tour include; a less rigorous schedule, more time off between events, no cuts, all players earn a share of the prize pool, and 54-hole instead of 72-hole contests. In fact, LIV is the Roman numeral equivalent of 54. The score you would record if you birdied every hole on a regulation par 72 course.

Bryson DeChambeau was the latest defector to join LIV. Here is a list of golfers committed to playing the new tour and their current world ranking.

List Courtesy of SportingNews.com

The PGA’s Reaction

In response to the defections, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan issued the following statement.

“Simultaneous to you receiving this memo, the players are being notified that they are suspended or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour tournament play, including the Presidents Cup. This applies to all tours sanctioned by the PGA Tour … As you know, players listed below did not receive the necessary conflicting event and media rights releases — or did not apply for releases at all — and their participation in the Saudi Golf League/LIV Golf events is in violation of our tournament regulations. The same fate holds true for any other players who participate in future Saudi Golf League events in violation of our regulations.” The memo was sent to 17 PGA Tour players, 10 of which had already resigned their PGA membership.

Why Is This a Major Story at the Start of the U.S. Open

Before you tune out the U.S. Open this weekend for fear that some of your favorite golfers will be ineligible to play. The “current status” is that all qualifying golfers are invited to participate in the U.S. Open. The PGA Tour does not control the tournament. The same is true for the other majors, the Master, PGA Championship, The Open(British Open), and for that matter the Ryder Cup.

There is no guarantee that the current status will continue, but for now, the LIV golfers are in. Who’s in contention? First-round results are in.

The Country Club in Brookline plays to a par 70 this week and 25 players placed in red numbers after the first round. Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin sits atop the leaderboard at four-under-par. Five players are tied at three-under, the most notable is last week’s winner of the Canadian Open Rory McIlroy. The other four, Callum Tarren, David Lingmerth, Joel Dahmen, and MJ Dauffue, like the leader Hadwin, joined the tournament out of the U.S. Open qualifier.

Dustin Johnson and last year’s U.S. Amateur Champion James Piot were the only LIV golfers to break par. DeChambeau shot a one-over 71, Garcia 74, Na 75, Oosthuizen 77, and Mickelson carded a disappointing 78. Here is the list of the 15 LIV participants.

Dustin Johnson: 68
James Piot: 69
Shaun Norris: 70
Patrick Reed: 70
Richard Bland: 70
Bryson DeChambeau 71
Sam Horsfield: 73
Sergio Garcia: 74
Talor Gooch: 74
Kevin Na: 75
Jinichiro Kozuma: 76
Branden Grace: 76
Louis Oosthuizen: 77
Phil Mickelson: 78
Jed Morgan: 82

With the excitement ramping up as play progresses during the weekend, talk of the competitive tours will likely fall into the background. Don’t bet it will stay there.

Results of Round One of the U.S. Open from The Country Club in Brookline

(a) Amateur, *Started Round on 10th Hole, LIV Golfers