BEDMINSTER, NJ –
Former US President Donald Trump played another round on his home course on Thursday, this one unlike so many others. He was part of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational pro-am, organized by a breakaway league that he says is creating a “gold rush” for players.
The third LIV Golf event, which begins Friday at Trump National Bedminster, added four new players to the 48-man field, illustrating how the cut goes beyond the PGA Tour.
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson is among the newcomers who led the European Tour to deny him the Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2023 matches in Italy.
Stenson was told during his press conference for a report in The Daily Telegraph, later matched by Golf Digest, that Luke Donald would captain Europe.
“I don’t feel like I’ve given up,” Stenson said. “I’ve done everything I can here to be able to fulfill my duties as captain and I’ve had a lot of help here from LIV to be able to do that. And yet the decision was made that I should be removed. clearly frustrated with the situation. But it is what it is, and yes, we’re moving on from there now.”
With the addition of Stenson – the other three were Paul Casey, Charles Howell III and Jason Kokrak – LIV Golf now has 12 former major champions on its roster, though only five are among the top 50 in the world rankings.
“You’ve got really the best players in the world, a lot of the best players, and soon you’ll probably have them all,” said Trump, who played in the majors with Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, along with his son, Eric.
“Remember this, if there is a merger (between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour), the people who didn’t come will never get anything but thanks from the people who did.”
There is no talk on the PGA Tour of a possible merger. Commissioner Jay Monaghan said last month that while the tour welcomes healthy competition: “The LIV Saudi Golf League is not that. It’s an irrational threat that doesn’t care about ROI or true game growth.”
Trump felt left out when the World Golf Championship left his Trump National Doral course near Miami after 2016 when a replacement title sponsor could not be found.
Backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV Golf has been dishing out huge cash – various reports put total signing fees at around US$1 billion so far. The PGA Tour suspends players who join for violating regulations that require exemptions to play overseas. It does not grant exemptions for tournaments held in North America.
The prize pool of the LIV Golf tournaments totals $25 million, with the winner receiving $4 million. Last place in the 54-hole non-discount events is guaranteed $120,000.
“Now they have an alternative, and nobody would have ever known there would be a gold rush like this,” Trump said.
Trump and his senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, maintained a very close relationship with the Saudi crown prince while Trump was in office.
And the administration’s response to human rights concerns has been criticized by many as not strong enough, especially since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and repeated concerns about civilian deaths during the Saudi-led war in Yemen against the Iran rebels.
LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman said he would support any player who decided to challenge the suspension in court. That has yet to happen on the PGA Tour, although Ian Poulter and Branden Grace were among four players allowed to play in the Scottish Open when a British judge issued a temporary suspension against the European Tour suspension.
Poulter and Lee Westwood said they still had no clarity from the European Tour about future tournaments or their eligibility for the Ryder Cup.
The European points system usually starts in September.
“I’m still eligible to play on the European Tour. I don’t think I’m banned from any events,” Westwood said, adding that the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is still on his schedule. “I have had no correspondence on this matter. It’s an event, a qualifying event, for the European Ryder Cup team.”
The flagship event of the European Tour is September 8-11 south of London, which takes place a week after the LIV golf event outside Boston and a week before the LIV event in the suburbs of Chicago.
Add Comment