Trump: Saudi-funded LIV tour a ‘gold rush’ for players
Former President Donald Trump played another round at his home course Thursday, this one different from so many others. He was part of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational pro-am, put on by a breakaway league he says is creating a “gold rush” for players.
The third LIV Golf event, which starts Friday at Trump National Bedminster, added four new players to the 48-man field that illustrated how the disruption goes beyond the PGA Tour.
Henrik Stenson of Sweden is among the newcomers, which led the European tour to strip him of the Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2023 matches in Italy.
Stenson was made aware during his news conference of a report in The Daily Telegraph, later matched by Golf Digest, that Luke Donald would be Europe’s captain.
“I don’t feel like I’ve given it up,” Stenson said. “I made every arrangement possible here to be able to fulfill my captain’s duties, and I’ve had great help here from LIV to be able to do that. And still, the decision was made that I was to be removed. I’m obviously disappointed over the situation. But it is what it is, and yeah, we move on from there now.”
By adding 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 among the top 50 in the world ranking.
“You have really the best players in the world, many of the best players, and soon you’ll probably have all of them,” said Trump, who played in the pro-am with Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, along with his son, Eric. “Remember this, if there’s a merger [between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour], the people who didn’t come will never
get anything except a thank-you from the people who took advantage of them.”
Backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV Golf has been awarding massive money — various reports put total signing fees at around $1 billion so far.
The prize money at LIV Golf events totals $25 million, with the winner
getting $4 million.
ETC.
Tennis: Yannick Hanfmann stunned former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the semifinals at the Generali Open at Kitzbuhel, Austria. Thiem was trailing 5-4 in the third set when play was suspended because of rain, and the 2020 U.S. Open champion failed to hold his serve when play resumed . ... Top-ranked Iga Swiatek extended her clay-court winning streak to 18 matches by beating
Gabriela Lee 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals at the Poland Open. She will play fifth-seeded Caroline Garcia, who defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto. 6-3, 7-5.
Gymnastics: The FBI has reached out to attorneys representing Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and
McKayla Maroney and dozens of other women who were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar to begin settlement talks in the $1 billion claim they brought against the federal government, according to three people familiar with the matter. The victims had brought claims against the FBI for failing to stop the sports doctor when the agency first received allegations against him. FBI agents in 2015 knew that Nassar was accused of assaulting gymnasts, but they failed to act. He pleaded guilty in 2017 and is serving decades in prison.
Swimming: Katie Ledecky, the seven-time Olympic gold medalist, shook off some sluggishness to rally past rising 17-year-old Erin Gemmell in the final of the women’s 200-meter freestyle Wednesday for her second U.S. title in as many nights at Irvine, California.
Soccer: Former U.S. national team forward Jozy Altidore will be loaned to Mexico’s Puebla for the rest of the year by Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. Altidore, 32, was acquired from Toronto in February and has one goal in four starts and 13 substitute appearances. He scored 62 goals in 139 regular-season matches with Toronto . ... Xavi Hernandez can scratch the last item off his wish list after Barcelona struck a deal for France defender Jules Kounde. Barcelona said Sevilla agreed to transfer the highly touted center back for an undisclosed sum. The deal will be complete after Kounde, 23, undergoes a medical exam.