Facts: US Open
Game date: June 16-19.
Location: The Country Club in Brookline outside of Boston.
Left: Viaplay and V Sport Golf, Thursday and Friday starting at 17.00, Saturday 18.00, Sunday 17.00.
Last year’s winner: Jon Rahm, Spain.
Swedes’ start times:
13.18: David Lingmerth (hole 10).
13.51: Alex Norén (hole 1).
20.31: Jonas Blixt (hole 1).
20.31: Sebastian Söderberg (hole 10).
The new money-rich tour, funded by Saudi Arabia, has divided the golf stars for and against. Last week, the premiere competition was played outside London – with stars such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia.
After his victory in Canada last week, Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy could not help but give a boot to golf legend Greg Norman, who is leading the new tour.
– I had extra motivation thanks to what is going on on the other side of the pool. The guy leading the tour had 20 wins on the PGA Tour, we were tied and I wanted to go for him, McIlroy said.
“Guess I did wrong”
Världstrean was one of those who did not even think that the LIV tour would have such a big impact. But before the US Open, he can state that several players have changed.
– I took what the players said seriously (that they would not play on the Saudi tour). I guess I made a mistake there, he says and continues:
– My father told me a long time ago that as you make a bed, you have to lie down, now they have made a bed. It’s their decision and they have to live with it.
Spanish runner-up Jon Rahm, the reigning US Open champion, is also critical of the breakaway tour.
– I see the different, how should I say this nicely, the arguments they have why they prefer it (LIV-tour). The layout does not attract me. Three days without a cut is not a golf competition for me, says the Spaniard before the US Open.
Rahm says he wants to play against the best in the world in a format that has been around for a long time.
– Money is great. When this first started, we (the family) talked through it, but it would not change anything if I got 400 million (dollars). I could retire now with what I have earned so far and could live very well.
Dimmed Mickelson
The US Golf Association (USGA), which hosts the US Open, allows LIV players to participate in the major competition. In the starting field, there are 15 players who participated in last week’s premiere.
The Saudi tour’s biggest poster name, Phil Mickelson, took a several-month break from golf after a controversial statement about Saudi Arabia and the PGA Tour earlier this year. He made a comeback in the LIV tour premiere and finished in 34th place, out of 48 players.
Mickelson hopes to return to the PGA Tour. The otherwise outspoken Mickelson otherwise answers evasively and neutrally to questions about the criticism of the tour – precisely because it is funded by Saudi Arabia, which does not comply with human rights. Mickelson says he understands the criticism of supporters and colleagues.
– I respect and understand their opinions. And I understand their strong feelings for my choice. I respect if they think differently. But right now this is the right decision, he says.