The golf world was shocked on Tuesday night when Dustin Johnson’s name popped up as the headliner of the field for next week’s inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event.
Back in February, Johnson said he was “fully committed” to the PGA Tour and would not participate in the Saudi-backed series.
Clearly he had a change of heart.
Soon after this news broke, Johnson released a statement via his agent, David Winkle.
“Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it,” Winkle said, per golf insider Jason Sobel. “Dustin has never had any issue with the PGA TOUR and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end, felt this was too compelling to pass up.”
Johnson will be one of two top-20 golfers participating in the 54-hole tournament at the Centurion Golf Club outside of London, joining South African Louis Oosthuizen.
Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Taylor Gooch, Charl Schwartzel and Graeme McDowell are also among the 42 players listed on the field so far.
The purse for next week’s tournament in $25 million and the outright winner will pocket $4 million. Big-name players like Johnson are believe to be receiving extra compensation for their appearance in series events.
The inaugural tournament will be played June 9-11.
It will certainly be interesting to see what action the PGA Tour takes against Johnson for his decision to join the LIV Series. Earlier this year, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan threatened to ban any player who participated in the Saudi-backed project.
Clearly this was a difficult choice for Johnson. Do you think he made the right call?