Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson all feature in the second LIV Golf Invitational Series event this week at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon, with the 54-hole event beginning on Thursday
Wednesday 29 June 2022 11:34, UK
Who is playing in the LIV Golf Invitational series? Who are the team captains and what are the punishments for competing? Here's all you need to know ahead of the second event and the first on American soil this week in Portland...
The event is once again not being recognised by the Official Golf World Ranking (OWGR), meaning no world ranking points will be on offer during the tournament, although that has not prevented plenty of high-profile names agreeing to play at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Eight of the world's top 40 are in action this week, meaning the LIV Golf series event offers a stronger field than both the DP World Tour's Horizon Irish Open and the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic.
The Portland line-up showcases nine of the last 21 major winners, including 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, while two-time major winner Dustin Johnson is one of four former world No 1s in action.
Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka makes his debut, while last year's PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson and Ryder Cup legends Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter all return having played in the opening event in England.
The signings of DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez were all announced during the opening event at the Centurion Club, with six more players recruited to feature in this week's tournament.
Koepka said talk of LIV Golf was putting a "black cloud" over the US Open, only to announce his signing the following week, with Japan Golf Tour star Yuka Inamori and former Presidents Cup player Abraham Ancer also in the field released on June 22 for the Portland tournament.
PGA Tour winners Matthew Wolff and Carlos Ortiz were added to the roster on Monday, along with world No 2 amateur Eugenio Chacarra, with nearly half of the 48-man field now ranked inside the top 100.
Oliver Bekker - who finished seventh in the opening event - has been left out, along with Ratchanon Chantananuwat, Oliver Fisher, Pablo Larrazabal, Viraj Madappa, Andy Ogletree, David Puig, JC Ritchie and Kevin Yuan.
"Our impressive roster of LIV golfers continues to grow with incredible young talent and international stars," Norman said. "LIV Golf is providing new opportunities for the best players in the world to compete, and our field in Portland reflects that."
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to all members, shortly after play began on June 9, confirming that every player competing in the Saudi-backed breakaway series was suspended indefinitely from the PGA Tour.
The statement said those who competed without releases are "suspended or otherwise no longer eligible to participate in PGA Tour tournament play, including the Presidents Cup".
The DP World Tour didn't confirm their punishment until June 23, when they announced players who participated at the opening LIV Golf event will each be fined £100,000 and are suspended from the following events: the Genesis Scottish Open and Barbasol Championship (July 7-10) and the Barracuda Championship (July 14-17).
Further punishments will be issued for those competing in future LIV Golf events, with announcement expected on Thursday July 7 about the penalties for those playing in Portland.
Captains in bold, with the 48-strong field divided into 12 teams
STINGER - Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Hennie du Plessis and Branden Grace,
CRUSHERS - Bryson DeChambeau, Peter Uihlein, Shaun Norris, Justin Harding
MAJESTICKS - Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Laurie Canter, Sam Horsfield
TORQUE - Hideto Tanihara, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Jinichiro Kozuma, Yuki Inamori
4 ACES - Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Talor Gooch
CLEEKS - Martin Kaymer, Ian Snyman, Scott Vincent, Turk Pettit
PUNCH - Wade Ormsby, Matt Jones, Blake Windred, Jediah Morgan
NIBLICKS - Graeme McDowell, Travis Smyth, Hudson Swafford, James Piot
SMASH - Brooks Koepka, Chase Koepka, Richard Bland, Adrian Otaegui
HY FLYERS - Phil Mickelson, Matthew Wolff, Bernd Wiesberger, Itthipat Buranatanyarat
FIREBALLS - Sergio Garcia, Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz, Eugenio Chacarra
IRON HEADS - Kevin Na, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Sihwan Kim, Phachara Khongwatmai,
Charl Schwartzel secured the biggest payday of his golfing career by surviving a back-nine wobble to claim a two-stroke victory at the Centurion Club.
Schwartzel carded a two-over 72 to hold off compatriot Henni Du Plessis and earn him the winners' cheque of $4million, with the South African duo also part of Stinger GC quartet that topped the team competition.
The pair were joined by Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen, all earning an additional $750,000 share of the $3million team first prize. Grace claimed third place in the individual competition ahead of American Peter Uihlein, who was part of the Crusher GC side second in the team contest.
Johnson was one of only eight players to end the week under par, while Graeme McDowell finished inside the top-10 after a four-under 66 on the final day.
All 48 players compete against each other in a traditional stroke play format, with the lowest 54-hole total from the no-cut event being the winner, while a draft will help allocate players into the team format.
For the first two rounds, the best two stroke play scores will count for each team. For the third and final round, the best three scores will count, with the lowest overall team score after 54 holes being named the team winner.
The format changes in the Team Championship, which is a seeded four-day, four-round, match play knock-out tournament. The top four seeds automatically receive a bye through the first round, with the remaining eight teams playing against each other to see who reaches the quarter-finals.
The first seven events all have a prize purse of $25million, with $20m being distributed between the 48-man field and the remaining $5m being shared between the top three teams at the end of each week.
An Individual Champion will be crowned at the end of those events, with a $30m fund distributed for the top three players of the season, providing they have played in a minimum of four tournaments.
The prize purse doubles for the season finale in Miami and sees $50m allocated between each of the 12 four-man teams. Each player receives a 25 per cent cut of team earnings, with $16m awarded to the winning team and $1million for the team finishing 12th.
The inaugural event in London and this week's tournament in Portland are followed by six more events over the next few months, with three more scheduled in the United States and three in Asia.
Trump National Golf Club Bedminster hosts the next event from July 29-31 and a further tournament takes place in Boston from September 2-4, the week after the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship.
Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago is the venue for the fifth event, taking place from September 16-18, while Stonehill Golf Club in Bangkok is the venue from October 7-9 and Royal Greens Golf Club - the site of the Saudi International in recent years - hosts the following week.
The season-ending Team Championship will be held at Trump National Doral Miami from October 27-30. LIV Golf then plans to have 10 events in its 2023 calendar before expanding to 14 tournaments from 2024, although dates and locations for those have not yet been confirmed.
"We have a long-term vision and we're here to stay," said Norman, the CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf, via a release. "We're going to grow the game, give more opportunities to players, and create a more entertaining product for fans."
