LIV Golf Comes To Boston

By John Torsiello

The LIV Golf Invitational Series is coming to the Boston area September 2-4 when the new circuit rolls into The Oaks golf course at The International Golf Club.

LIV Golf is run by Greg Norman and funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Each tournament offers $25 million in prize money, with $4 million for the individual winner. The event will be comprised of 48 players who compete in a team format as well as individual play.

Organizers of the LIV tour said its entire premise is founded on producing more continuous action for fans and a shorter work week (three rounds) for players. There are 48 pros in all who will take part in eight events. There will be a shotgun start for each tournament, which will guarantee that all players are on the course immediately. Also there will be no cuts, so fans are assured of seeing their favorites when they attend an event.

The LIV Tour will be a seven-event regular season. At the end of the seven events, an individual champion will be crowned based on points accumulated throughout the season. The eighth and final event will be a seasonending Team Championship match play.

The LIV Golf Invitational Series features 12 teams of four players each. Since each event will be made up of a different field,

teams will be decided via a draft the week of each event. Teams have a LIV-appointed team captain who select their players via a draft format. The captain will be one of the four starting players, but also has the responsibility to set the lineup each week, choose the scores that will count, and act as an on- and off-course captain for the team

For an individual event, every stroke counts just like it always has (although with 54 holes, a fast start is even more important). The individual winner will be the player with the lowest 54-hole stroke play total. The player with the most ranking points after seven events will be named the Individual Champion.

The team event is where the scoring sees the first two rounds using a best two-stroke score for each team. For the third and final round, the best three scores will count, with the lowest overall team score after 54 holes being named the Team Winner.

The Team Championship will be the eighth and final event of the season. This

will be a seeded, four-day, fourround, match play knock-out. The tour is not without controversy. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has said that players may choose one tour or the other, but not both. Some golfers that joined the new tour are no longer eligible for PGA Tour events, and several, such as Phil Mickelson, have been suspended by the PGA Tour. Other players who have said they would play on the LIV Tour include Brooks Koepka, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio The International Oaks Course, 1st Hole Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Martin Kymer, Kevin Na, and Louis Oosthuizen.