Battle lines drawn in new golf league

The first Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational has Dustin Johnson and 12 other PGA Tour members as part of its 48man field next week outside London. The next move falls to the PGA Tour, which must decide whether to allow them to come back.

The first fallout after the rival league released the names of players who will compete at its inaugural event came June 1 when the Royal Bank of Canada said it was dropping Johnson and Graeme McDowell as corporate sponsors. Both are playing the LIV event, the same week as the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour’s only comment was to mention a May 10 memo to players in which it denied releases for them to play the first LIV event. “Members who violate the tournament regulations are subject to disciplinary action,” the statement said.

Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford were among the 42 players named on the field list (six other spots are being held for a special invitation and from an Asian Tour series). Neither ever had more attention from media as they practiced Wednesday before and after the pro-am at the Memorial.

Jones confirmed he received a signing bonus and is obligated to play multiple times among the eight LIV events, each with $25 million in prize money and $4 million to the individual winner. Five of the tournaments are in the United States.

Tennis CILIC IN FRENCH SEMIS »

Marin Cilic is 33, nearly eight seasons past his one Grand Slam title at the 2014 U.S. Open — and, until Wednesday, more than four full years removed from his most recent trip to the semifinals of a major tournament.

If he keeps serving like this, there’s no reason to think about quitting tennis anytime soon.

Cilic delivered 33 aces to get to the final four at the French Open for the first time, edging No. 7 seed Andrey Rublev, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (10-2), on Wednesday in a 4-hour, 10-minute test of strength and will.

Soccer UKRAINE GETS BIG WIN »

Ukraine’s emotion-filled quest to qualify for the World Cup amid an ongoing war moved past the first hurdle with a 3-1 win over Scotland on Wednesday in a pulsating playoff semifinal.

Now the team needs just one more win to reach Qatar.

Veteran captain Andriy Yarmolenko lifted his nation by scoring a deft lobbed goal in the 33rd minute and then helped set up Roman Yaremchuk’s header in the 49th to make it 2-0.

Ukraine dominated for much of a deserved win but had to resist a Scotland revival as riskfilled attacks brought a goal in the 79th by Callum McGregor.