The Saudi-backed LIV Golf is coming to America. The LIV Golf Invitational-Portland is at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon starting Thursday with a total of $25 million in prize money.
The highest-ranked player in the field is Dustin Johnson at No. 17. But the series now has eight of the top 50 in the world after adding Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed.
The PGA Tour has the John Deere Classic with a field so weak that no one from the top 50 in the world is playing at TPC Deere Run. Part of that is scheduling. It’s two weeks after the U.S. Open and two weeks before the British Open.
Wolff, Ortiz among the latest to join Saudi-backed LIV Golf
LIV Golf series has added three more players to its roster for its second tournament. The group playing in Oregon includes 23-year-old Matthew Wolff and Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Chacarra of Spain.
LIV Golf had been expected to announce additional players from its inaugural event outside London three weeks ago.
The big surprise was Koepka, who only a week before he signed on had been in full support of the PGA Tour.
LIV Golf also added Carlos Ortiz on Monday. He joins fellow Mexican Abraham Ancer.
LIV Golf faces hurdles in applying for world ranking points
The Saudi-backed LIV Golf wants to get Official World Golf Ranking points for its series. There could be a few hurdles when it applies to join the system.
Assuming the application is received in the next two weeks, the OWGR governing board and the technical committee will be meeting at St. Andrews during the British Open.
Among the sticking points are the average size of the field and whether only 54-hole events with no cut get the same treatment as larger tours. Also to be considered is a new formula for rating events that start in August.
