Sergio García and Dustin Johnson will be in the ‘Saudi Super League’

During the early hours of the morning, the organization of LIV Golf, the new Saudi circuit that threatens the PGA Tour based on checkbooks, made public the list of participants of the first LIV Invitational that will be held from June 9 to 11 at the Centurion Golf Club in London. In her, the main surprise has been the presence of Dustin Johnson, former world number one and winner of two majors. Sergio Garcia will also besomething that the one from Castellón had already dropped, in addition to three other Spanish golfers. The great absence is, at the moment, that of Phil Mickelson, who does not appear among the 42 participants.

The participation of ‘DJ’ in this event is great news, and it is that the PGA declared weeks ago that the players who participate in events of this new circuit they could be sanctioned, even expelled for life from the North American circuit. In February, when Dustin Johnson was first linked to LIV Golf, the winner of an Augusta Masters and a US Open released a statement reaffirming his loyalty to the PGA Tour. Now, however, Johnson has changed his mind, and his agent, David Winkle, issued a message about it: “Dustin has been looking at the opportunity from time to time for the last two years. Finally, he has decided that the best thing for him and his family was to pursue him. Dustin has never had any kind of problem with the PGA Tour, and he is grateful for everything it has given him. But, in the end, he felt that this was too convincing to pass up.” As a fluke, Johnson misses the Canadian Open that week on the PGA Tour, tournament in which the main sponsor is RBC, a brand for which Dustin is an ambassador. In a statement, the firm has stated that it is “extremely disappointed by his decision”, although “it wishes him well” in words that sound like a break.

In addition to Johnson and Garcia, two major winners, there are other celebrity golfers on the entry list. The Spaniards Pablo Larrazábal and Adrián Otaegui, regulars on the DP World Tour, and the amateur David Puig, will be in London. who this week is in the NCAA team finals with his university, Arizona State. German is also inscribed Martin Kaymerwinner of two majors and former world number one, Graeme McDowellwinner of a US Open, Louis Oosthuizenchampion of a British Open, Charl Schawrtzelholder of a green jacket, and other notable players such as Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Sam Horsfield, Branden Grace or Talor Gooch. All of them face possible punishment from the different circuits in which they usually participate. The main absence is that of Phil Mickelson, who had already been willing to participate in the circuit, severing its relationship with the PGA Tour. However, Mickelson does not appear on this list, although he may still be included, as the organization has clarified that six more will be added to the 42 participants: five will be players from an International Series event in London, and one will be a invitation that may well be for Mickelson.

The LIV Golf circuit presents itself with eight events on its calendar, the first of them this June 9 in London, and another five will be on US soil (the remaining two will be in Bangkok and Jeddah). Each tournament will consist of three rounds (instead of the classic four) and no cut. One of the main novelties is that, in addition to individual competition, it will also be for teams, with the 48 golfers divided into 12 teams, each with a captain designated by the organization. And, obviously, the main attraction for players will be money: At the LIV Invitational in London, 25 million dollars will be awarded in prize money, the largest prize in the history of golf for a single tournament. To put in context, in the last PGA Championship 15 million dollars were distributed. War is served in the coming weeks.