The American golf organization PGA on Thursday banned 17 dissident players for participating in the first LIV Golf Invitational Series. This Saudi Arabia-funded event (prize pool of 23.3 million euros) is considered a ‘wild tournament’ and is not recognized by the mainstream associations.
The players penalized include the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood.
The tournament kicked off on Thursday at Centurion Club, just north of London. Players and spectators were presented with a new experience. So there was loud music. Also, the players only run 54 instead of 72 holes.
Security was also very strict, not to protect the players, but the delegates from the wealthy and embattled Gulf state. The Saudi government investment fund will invest almost 2 billion euros in golf in the next two years.
Investing in golf is part of ‘sportswashing’, an attempt by Saudi Arabia to improve the country’s image through sport. The country is also trying to become less dependent on oil by diversifying.
Last year it took over the English football club Newcastle United and it is also putting millions into Formula 1. Ari Fleischer has been appointed as media adviser to the LIV, who, as the press spokesperson for former President George W. Bush, has criticized the regime in Riyadh in the past.
Hiring Greg Norman as tournament director has proven to be a golden opportunity. With a hefty purse in hand, the Australian golf legend has persuaded several top players to join. In addition, it even features players who until recently had no interest in the desert state, such as the American Mickelson. His English colleague Ian Poulter has predicted that more golfers will make the switch.
Only golf organizations like the DP World Tour and the PGA have never given players permission to participate.
The sport of golf has reacted with a combination of shock and anger at the willingness of many players to participate in a tournament funded by a brutal regime. The sheikhs are responsible for serious abuses, culminating in the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi four years ago.
The sports world has seen frequent breaks over the years, usually caused by the lure of more prize money. In the late 1970s, Australian millionaire Kerry Packer caused a schism in the cricket world with his World Series.
In the 1990s, chess suffered a coup by Gary Kasparov and Nigel Short, who broke with the Fide and created the PCA. Recently, Europe’s biggest football clubs tried to create a new league.