Dustin Johnson

Paul McGinley said Dustin Johnson's decision to play in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series event highlights its potential to turn golf ...

"Tiger [Woods] made a great point at the PGA the other day in his press conference. "You want to have records. With due respect to the other guys, they're in the twilight of their careers. McGinley told Sky Sports News: "This will go down as a historic moment in the game. Paul McGinley: "This will go down as a historic moment in the game. Every week they're playing for a $10-12m prize fund with a first prize of over $2m. They're flying around in private jets every week and going home to their families every Sunday night.

The former world number one will headline the new competition's inaugural event at the Centurion Club from June 9th-11th.

The LIV Golf Series will adopt a new format in a bid to make the sport more exciting for fans, with 12 teams of four players contesting in each three-round event to determine team and individual winners. But Norman said: “Free agency has finally come to golf. “The desire shown by the players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic belief in our model and confidence in what we’re building for the future.”

Phil Mickelson, whose comments on the Saudi backing of the new venture caused a firestorm, was not among the 42 players initially listed for the tour's ...

As of Tuesday evening, the PGA Tour had yet to comment on the announcement of the London field. “This is an opportunity to start a movement that will change the course of history by bringing new and open competition to the sport we all love,” he continued. In May, though, the PGA Tour denied releases to all of its players who were seeking an opportunity to compete in the first LIV Golf event. At that time, Johnson issued a statement in which he declared he was “fully committed to the PGA Tour.” “Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off and on for the past couple of years. “I mean, I think golf is in a good spot,” Johnson replied.

We are witnessing a battle for the future of men's elite professional golf with the news that several PGA Tour players will play in next week's LIV Golf ...

It is fair to say that disappointment will be shared in the Florida corridors of power at the PGA Tour. They point to the PGA Tour's non-profit status and their strategic alliance with the DP World Tour. Mickelson was quoted saying the Saudis were "scary" to work with and heavily criticising their regime. Either way, the ball is now in Monahan's court. But these most established governing bodies have a historic duty to protect the "open" nature of their championships. It has £1.6bn worth of backing and a decent chunk of that is heading to their bank accounts. However, we're not expecting any big moves until the LIV Golf event gets under way on Thursday, 9 June. "We will have the players' backs," he has said. But how safe is Norman in all of this? We are now witnessing a battle for the future of men's elite professional golf. What action is taken against them remains to be seen. Are they rebels or trailblazers?

Good morning and welcome to those of you who are new to this newsletter, I'm Dan Gartland. The Saudi golf drama is just getting started. In today's SI:AM:.

Regardless of what he was or wasn’t on, 1992 was the year McGwire’s transformation from wiry to hulking began in earnest. McGwire, who shocked the world with 49 homers as a rookie in 1987, followed that up with seasons of 32, 33 and 39 dingers, making him the first player to hit at least 30 homers in each of his first four seasons. “I remember trying steroids very briefly in the ’89–90 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993 I used steroids again,” he said. He ran up a 6.48 ERA in 58⅓ innings with the Dodgers and A’s. In the second game of a doubleheader, Lasorda set a league record with his 25 K’s while allowing five runs. Wulf’s story details how McGwire worked to get over the frustration of his down year and attempt to turn things around. He tried to clear his head by going to Australia to caddy in a golf tournament for his friend Billy Andrade, a PGA Tour pro. … The Phillies have lost 10 of their last 13 after falling to the Giants in extra innings last night. “To obsess over Curry’s three-point artistry is to miss all the other skills that make him one of the greatest players of his generation—and arguably of all time. In Santana’s game, it was by left fielder Mike Baxter, who crashed into the wall after catching a sharp liner off the bat of which Cardinals hitter? “As such, TOUR members are not authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League’s London event under our Regulations. “I am fully committed to the PGA Tour.”

Dustin Johnson will headline inaugural Saudi-backed event just four months after committing himself to the PGA Tour.

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.’ But Norman said: “Free agency has finally come to golf. The LIV Golf Series will adopt a new format in a bid to make the sport more exciting for fans, with 12 teams of four players contesting in each three-round event to determine team and individual winners.

The former world's top-ranked golfer risks sanctions from the PGA, which has not granted members permission to play.

RBC has ended its relationships with Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell after the PGA Tour players were included in the field for the first LIV Golf ...

"Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family's best interest to pursue it. RBC signed Johnson to a multiyear sponsorship deal in February 2018, when he was the No. 1-ranked player in the world. Johnson, a two-time major champion, was one of the biggest surprises among the 42 players released for the LIV opener, which is scheduled June 9-11 at Centurion Club outside London. It coincides with the RBC Canadian Open in Ontario, which will be played June 9-12.

Golf Twitter didn't know what to do with it's hands after LIV Golf's Dustin Johnson announcement on Tuesday.

We're of course talking about Twitter, and if we’re talking Twitter, it only makes sense to start with Max Homa. After months of speculation, justification, bad blood, empty promises, pearl-clutching, and cash-grabbing, LIV Golf—the Saudi-backed, Greg Norman-led rival to the PGA Tour—finally has golfers. Just over three months after Johnson pledged his commitment to the PGA Tour, the 2020 Masters champion committed to its biggest rival instead.

Dustin Johnson lines up a putt at the 2022 Masters Tournament. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan warned players against LIV Golf participation, threatening ...

If Johnson loves the LIV life (because he can play golf and make a bunch of money), he will surely still want to play the Masters, which is not run by the PGA Tour. Is Augusta National, with its relentless emphasis on tradition, really going to ban four former champions? If the Saudis decide this isn’t worth it for them, there goes Norman’s attempt to save golfers from PGA Tour oppression, or whatever he is claiming to do. The Saudi guarantees are surely enormous, especially for Johnson. But he is also risking an enormous amount of money. Commissioner Jay Monahan has done everything possible to cripple LIV Golf. He has warned players not to play in any LIV events, implied they will forfeit their PGA Tour membership if they do, and ultimately denied releases to players who requested them. The Saudi government is using golfers to launder its image as an oppressive regime, as Mickelson has acknowledged. He is friends with Donald Trump, but that seems to be because Trump is a golf guy.

Hours after the LIV Golf Invitational Series announced the field for its inaugural event next week, the PGA Tour threatened "disciplinary action" for PGA ...

"It's not something that I would do personally. "Free agency has finally come to golf," Greg Norman, LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner, said in a statement. Six places still remain open in the 48-man field. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy said that PGA Tour should not "drop the hammer" on any golfers that have decided to participate in the upcoming event. In a statement posted on Twitter, the Canadian Open, a tournament Johnson won in 2018, said it was "disappointed" with the two-time major winner's decision to opt to play in the Saudi-backed event. , the PGA Tour said on Wednesday: "As communicated to our entire membership on May 10, PGA TOUR members have not been authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League's London event, under PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations.

On the PGA Tour, Johnson essentially could play a schedule of his own choosing or even not play at all. He has made $74 million from tournament winnings — more ...

One of 42 players who committed to the first LIV Golf event, he is probably the lone American player in the group whose name resonates beyond hardcore golf circles. “The Saudis will expect a degree of blowback and public consternation to begin with, but they’ll then expect that to die down. So with his career closer to the end than the beginning, he was offered an unprecedented chance to cash in, and he took it. In LIV Golf, Johnson will show up to promotional appearances when told and wear whatever uniform league officials demand. A reporter asked Johnson whether he could keep up with his younger teammates during their victory party. Monahan has expressed confidence that his side will prevail in any legal battle. PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, whose organization runs the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup, has indicated players who join up with LIV Golf might not be welcome. One of them is a government trying to use golf — and golfers such as him — to cleanse its global reputation. They’ll then hope that the quality of the golf will help them generate more ‘soft power.’ That’s how sportswashing works.” On the PGA Tour, Johnson essentially could play a schedule of his own choosing or even not play at all. Johnson surely knows he has made himself a golf pariah — at least temporarily because no one knows for sure how this mess will untangle. It is less clear that he understands all he is getting himself into.

Dustin Johnson hinted through his agent Tuesday why the staggering payouts offered by LIV Golf are so "compelling" to him.

Johnson will not be in the field at next week’s Canadian Open. That’s notable because a company that has for years paid Johnson to wear its logo on his shirt sleeve — the Royal Bank of Canada — also happens to be the title sponsor of the Canadian Open. Same goes for another RBC-sponsored player, Graeme McDowell. On Tuesday, RBC released a statement that read, in part, “We were recently made aware that Dustin Johnson made the decision to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener. UPS recently ended its 14-year partnership with Lee Westwood, who also has been supportive of the new league and is in the field for the London event. “He’s never had any issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it’s given him, but in the end felt this was too compelling to pass up.” The PGA Tour has said it will suspend any players who cross party lines and enter a LIV event, but for how long, and when will those suspensions be enacted? After all, he has made more than $74 million in on-course earnings during his Tour career, and a few friends along the way, too. Take, for example, this quote from Johnson’s winning week at the 2020 Masters, when he was asked about his desire to chase more major titles.