Saudi-funded series tees off
At a distance it looked like a military flypast and Grenadier Guards trumpeting in a royal-style occasion. Only it wasn’t an extension of Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee celebrations but the launch of the Saudi-funded golf breakaway at St. Albans, England, attempting to bring a sense of faux regal pageantry to the rebellion splitting the sport.
On a course just outside north London, the band dressed as imitation infantrymen were there to proclaim the arrival of Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, two of the stars enticed from the PGA Tour to potentially earn hundreds of millions of dollars on the LIV Golf series.
The nine ageing planes rumbling overhead helped to mask the lack of significant crowd noise beyond the occasional shout of “Let’s go Phil!” as he prepared to tee off.
At the same time, the message Thursday from the PGA Tour was being delivered — go off. To all the players who defected to the renegade series, they now face banishment from future tour events. Johnson had already given up his PGA membership, but Mickelson is not ready to.
The fury of LIV Golf — a product of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund — was clear, calling the PGA Tour “vindictive” with a decision that will only deepen the divides.
There were no signs of the Saudi backing across the Centurion Club, nor any sponsor branding.
Mickelson was sporting a black cap adorned by his personal logo featuring a silhouette of himself playing golf, replacing the KPMG-branded one that was worn before the corporate sponsors dropped the deal in February after he disparaged the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia. He matched Johnson with a 1-under 69, with Charl Schwartzel leading at 65.
Across the course, the only branding was from LIV Golf and a sparse number of spectators in attendance. There was intrigue from those who did turn up, accompanied by a desire to see so many of the world’s leading players, although none from the top 10.
Schwartzel, the 2011
Masters champion, had a one-stroke lead over fellow South African Hennie du Plessis. Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe and Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand shot 67.
The top three teams share $5 million on top of the $20 million prize fund per event shared between the golfers individually. PGA TOUR » Wyndham Clark started the week with a late charge to play his way into the U.S. Open in a qualifier, and then he stayed hot Thursday in the RBC Canadian Open for a 7-under 63 to take the lead at Toronto.
Clark opened with five birdies in nine holes and kept bogeys off his card at St. George’s Golf and Country Club for the third round of his PGA Tour career at 63 or lower.
Matt Fitzpatrick was a stroke back, and Doug Ghim and Harold Varner III followed at 65.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy had six birdies in his round of 66 that left him tied with Tony Finau and Mackenzie Hughes, who would love nothing than to become the first Canadian to win his national open since 1954.