Who is playing in the LIV Golf Invitational Series in Portland?
The controversial Saudi-bankrolled series got underway in London and now moves to he Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon.
It’s back! And don’t be surprised to know that the controversial element of this new golf tournament lingers like a large sack of wet dollar notes left in the wine cellar too long. Not sure why I went for that analogy.
Anyway, whatever your moral stance on the Saudi-backed LIV Series it is here and swinging away. Following the series opener in London - the individual competition won by Charl Schwartzel’s bank manager - we now jump across the Atlantic to play the first American event in Portland, Oregon. The tournament plays from 30 June to 2 July at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, which sees it go head-to-head with the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic.
How many players are in LIV Series Portland?
The first US LIV tournament involves 48 golfers and they will play in the same format as we saw in London, an individual competition and a team one. The 12 teams are yet to be decided but the captains for each has been agreed.
- Louis Oosthuizen leads Stinger GC, who won the first event
- Bryson DeChambeau - Crushers GC.
- Lee Westwood - Majesticks GC
- Dustin Johnson - 4 Aces GC
- Martin Kaymer - Cleeks GC
- Wade Ormsby - Punch GC
- Graeme McDowell - Niblicks GC
- Brooks Koepka - Smash GC
- Phil Mickelson - Hy Flyers GC
- Sergio Garcia - Fireballs GC
- Kevin Na - Iron Heads GC
Here are the players that we know about, with a few still to be confirmed.
- Abraham Ancer – Mexico
- Richard Bland – England
- Itthipat Buranatanyarat – Thailand
- Laurie Canter – England
- Bryson DeChambeau – USA
- Hennie Du Plessis – South Africa
- Sergio Garcia – SpainTalor Gooch – USA
- Branden Grace – South Africa
- Justin Harding – South Africa
- Sam Horsfield – England
- Yuki Inamori – Japan
- Dustin Johnson – USA
- Matt Jones – Australia
- Sadom Kaewkanjana – Thailand
- Martin Kaymer – Germany
- Phacara Khongwatmai – Japan
- Sihwan Kim – USA
- Ryosyke Kinoshita – Japan
- Brooks Koepka – USA
- Chase Koepka – USA
- Jinichiro Kozuma – Japan
- Graeme McDowell – Northern Ireland
- Phil Mickelson – USA
- Jediah Morgan – Australia
- Kevin Na – USA
- Shaun Norris – South Africa
- Louis Ooosthuizen – South Africa
- Wade Ormsby – Australia
- Adrian Otaegui – Spain
- Pat Perez – USA
- Turk Pettit – USA
- James Piot – USA
- Ian Poulter – England
- Patrick Reed – USA
- Charl Scwartzel – South Africa
- Travis Smyth – Australia
- Ian Snyman – South Africa
- Hudson Swafford – USA
- Hideto Tanihara – Japan
- Peter Uihlein – USA
- Scott Vincent – Zimbabwe
- Lee Westwood – England
- Bernd Wiesberger – Austria
- Blade Windred – Australia
*The final three players are to be announced in the days leading up to the start of the tournament.
Of the players who played in London, Oliver Bekker, Ratchanon Chantananuwa, Oliver Fisher, Pablo Larrazabal, Andy Ogletree, David Puig, JC Ritchie, and Kevin Yuan, miss out on the Portland event.
As you’ll likely have noticed, among the list of players turning up for the cash boost are new recruits Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau. They will have eyes on the $4 million first prize, the largest in golf history, or one of the lucrative others as part of a $25 million pot.
The Koepka effect
It’s worth noting that when Koepka was asked about LIV Golf at the US Open last week, the 32-year-old criticised the media for constant questions on the issue, saying they only served to throw a “black cloud” over the year’s third major. Koepka’s younger brother Chase played in the inaugural event where the last-placed golfer still pocketed $120,000.
“There’s no understating the impact that Brooks Koepka has had on the game of golf in the last five years. He carries a championship pedigree and record of success as one of the most elite players in the world,” said LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman. “The addition of Brooks is yet another example of the incredible fields LIV Golf is assembling as we build momentum in our first season and look towards the future.”
The PGA Tour - on which American Koepka has won eight titles - has suspended members who signed up to play with LIV Golf and said others who follow suit will face the same fate. The upcoming Scottish Open, a handy warm-up ahead of this year’s British Open at St Andrews, has already stated that those LIV golfers are nae welcome.