What is the format and schedule for the LIV Golf Invitational tournament in Boston?
A look at the schedule of the LIV Golf Invitational in Boston, its different format, massive payouts, and controversy
While there is no PGA Tour Golf event this weekend, the new controversial Golf series is marking its fourth tournament of the year.
The International Golf Course and Country Club in Bolton, Massachusetts, will play host to the LIV Golf Invitational Sept. 2-4, with six players making their LIV Golf debuts, including the 2022 British Open champion Cameron Smith who recently switched over to LIV, in addition to world No. 19 Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman, and India’s top-ranked pro Anirban Lahiri who will join the field of 48 competing.
While the event is on the smaller side, its money is massive. Each of the LIV events includes a $25 million purse, with possible bigger payouts at the end of the season. The Saudi-backed series has been successful in luring plenty of big golf names away from the PGA Tour with their tremendous payouts, such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, but has also been just as controversial.
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Let’s take you through the format of the LIV Golf Invitational in Boston:
LIV Golf Invitational Format
The tournament taking place in Boston runs Friday through Sunday, Sept. 2-4, and each day begins at 1:15 p.m. ET with a shotgun start that includes only three rounds, with no cuts. This is different from PGA tournaments, which have four rounds of 18 holes with a cutoff after the second round.
LIV Golf structure for the first seven tournaments
LIV Golf has eight events for its inaugural season. The first seven are considered “regular season” and offer a total purse of $30 million for the top three individuals ($18 million, $8 million, and $4 million).
There are 48 players divided into 12 teams. Each of the teams have a captain who gets to select his squad. The captain and all members of the four-player teams participate in the three-day event.
The individual winner is the player with the lowest 54-hole stroke play total. At the regular season’s end, the player with the most ranking points after seven events will be named the individual champion.
The team winner is the one with the lowest overall team score after 54 holes. The best two stroke-play scores count for each team over the first two rounds, while the best three scores count for the third and final round.
The overall purse is $25 million; $20 million for individuals, ranging from $4 million for the winner and $120,000 for the last-place finisher.
As for the eighth event, it will be a seeded four-day, four-round match play for the team championship, with a total prize fund of $50 million. In addition to all 12 teams receiving a cut ($16 million for first place and $1 million for 12th), each player also receives a 25 percent cut of team earnings.
2022 LIV Golf Invitational Boston field
- Abraham Ancer
- Eugenio Chacarra
- Branden Grace
- Matt Jones
- Sihwan Kim
- Anirban Lahiri
- Jediah Morgan
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Pat Perez
- Patrick Reed
- Hudson Swafford
- Scott Vincent
- Conarmed Players
- Richard Bland
- Laurie Canter
- Bryson Dechambeau
- Sergio Garcia
- Sam Horsfield
- Charles Howell Iii
- Sadom Kaewkanjana
- Brooks Koepka
- Martin Kaymer
- Chase Koepka
- Marc Leishman
- Graeme Mcdowell
- Kevin Na
- Joaquin Niemann
- Wade Ormsby
- Carlos Ortiz
- Turk Pettit
- James Piot
- Char Schwartzel
- Cameron Smith
- Cameron Tringale
- Peter Uihlein
- Lee Westwood
- Bernd Wiesberger
- Paul Casey
- Talor Gooch
- Dustin Johnson
- Phachara Khongwatmai
- Jason Kokrak
- Phil Mickelson
- Shaun Norris
- Adrian Otaegui
- Ian Poulter
- Henrik Stenson
- Harold Varner Ill
- Matthew Wolff
Why is LIV Golf controversial?
Long story short, the money financing LIV Golf is the root of the problem.
The Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund is financing the new series led by Greg Norman, as a way to improve its worldly image. The Saudi regime, however, has often been criticized for its handling of human rights over the years, including its assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. More on this here.