Dustin Johnson

Rocket Mortgage announced it is severing ties with Bryson DeChambeau amid the golfer's decision to participate in the LIV Golf Tour:

DeChambeau and Patrick Reed became the latest golfers to join the Saudi Arabia-backed tour, joining Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and several other notables. Several players have lost sponsorship deals because of their decision but have been coaxed to LIV thanks to massive guaranteed salaries.

Mickelson lost several sponsorships earlier this year after making comments that were deemed insensitive regarding human rights violations committed by the Saudi government, most notably its involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

RBC cut ties with Johnson after he announced his intention to play in LIV events.

Both Johnson and Mickelson are in the field for this week's inaugural LIV event in London. DeChambeau is expected to make his debut when the tour comes stateside later this month in Portland, Oregon.

The PGA Tour suspended every member golfer who was in the LIV Golf field and has said it plans to continue suspending players as they defect to the new tour.

Players will still be eligible to compete in major championships, provided they qualify or receive an exemption.

Dustin Johnson shot one under par in the first round of LIV Golf's London event at Centurion Club on Thursday.

Johnson is tied for ninth and four shots back of co-leaders Charl Schwartzel and Hennie du Plessis in the individual leaderboard when he entered the clubhouse.

LIV Golf's maiden voyage wasn't the biggest story surrounding Johnson on the day.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced Johnson and 16 others are suspended from tour events indefinitely.

"Their participation in the Saudi Golf League/LIV Golf event is in violation of our Tournament Regulations,” Monahan said. “The same fate holds true for any other players who participate in future Saudi Golf League events in violation of our Regulations."

The announcement undoubtedly overshadowed the action at Centurion Club to some degree.

Johnson made the trip to London with little in the way of momentum on the course. He missed the cut at the RBC Heritage, tied for 59th in the AT&T Byron Nelson and missed the cut in the PGA Championship.

His uneven play continued Thursday.

The two-time major champion did deliver a few highlights.

LIV Golf is backed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund for the Saudi Arabian government. Many have accused the Saudi government of using the tour, along with other sporting ventures, as tools for sportswashing—using sports to distract from or improve a nation's reputation. The Saudi regime has been accused of numerous human rights abuses and was implicated by U.S. intelligence officials in the murder of Washington Post journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The second round will get underway at 9 a.m. ET on Friday. Unlike with PGA Tour tournaments, LIV events only extend to 54 holes. That leaves Johnson with less time to chase down Schwartzel and Du Plessis and claim victory.

After months of drama, LIV Golf officially got underway with its inaugural event Thursday in London.

Charl Schwartzel leads the 48-player field after shooting a five-under 65 in Round 1 at the Centurion Club, one stroke ahead of Hennie Du Plessis in second place.

The big names in the event also had positive moments. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson both finished one stroke under par, putting them in a tie for seventh place and four strokes off the lead.

The controversial tour, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, features only three rounds with no cuts. That could keep a lot of players in the race for the $4 million first-place prize.

Round 1 Leaderboard

1. Charl Schwartzel (-5)

2. Hennie Du Plessis (-4)

T3. Phachara Khongwatmai (-3)

T3. Scott Vincent (-3)

T5. Justin Harding (-2)

T5. Branden Grace (-2)

T7. Dustin Johnson (-1)

T7. Phil Mickelson (-1)

T7. Sam Horsfield (-1)

T7. Laurie Canter (-1)

Leaderboard via LIV Golf broadcast.

The money involved in LIV Golf has drawn plenty of headlines, and the first tournament features a massive prize pool:

It has brought out proven stars even under the threat of suspension from the PGA Tour, which the tour announced Thursday.

This might not matter if they make enough from the competition.

Johnson and Mickelson put themselves in reach of first place with impressive shots throughout the day:

It was far from a perfect day from Mickelson in his first tournament in over four months. A double bogey at No. 4 put him at two over earlier in the day, while Johnson also had one double when a tee shot went out of bounds.

Things could have been worse as the veterans remain within striking distance.

Sergio Garcia finished one stroke over par in his first round, while Kevin Na ended plus-three.

The first round also highlighted lesser-known golfers from around the world who came through with outstanding shots:

Du Plessis and Phachara Khongwatmai, two players outside the top 100 in the world rankings, were among the most impressive and have a chance to earn life-changing money in this event.

Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, was the best in the field to take an early lead. His eagle on No. 18 turned heads, while a birdie on his final hole of the day put the 37-year-old in solo first place.

Schwartzel and Du Plessis also keyed an impressive performance for Stinger GC in the team race. The top two scores for each team count for the competition, and the duo put Stinger GC in the lead even without the two-under score from teammate Branden Grace.

With Louis Oosthuizen also on the all-South African team, it might be a difficult group to beat this weekend.

As expected, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has formally suspended golfers taking part in LIV Golf's debut tournament Thursday in London.

A memo sent by Monahan states the players are no longer eligible for PGA Tour events and will be stripped of their "membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform":

Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia are among the 17 players named in the memo.

LIV Golf released a statement in response to the PGA Tour's announcement:

The rival tour started its first-ever round at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, and Monahan sent the memo less than 30 minutes later.

Last year, Monahan informed PGA Tour membership that any golfer who teed off on a different tour would be suspended and could face a permanent ban.

Greg Norman, a former PGA Tour star who serves as the CEO of LIV Golf, said last month the tour's stance is "anti-golfer, anti-fan and anti-competitive."

A court battle is likely on the horizon to determine whether the PGA Tour can permanently ban golfers, who are independent contractors, from competition.

Two more high-profile players, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, have reached agreements to join LIV for future events, per James Corrigan of the Telegraph. They will likely be suspended as soon as they play their first event for the new organization.

LIV Golf, which is financially backed by Saudi Arabia, is engaged in contract talks with other PGA Tour players, including Rickie Fowler and Jason Kokrak, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

Golf's four major tournaments are separate entities, and Mickelson told Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated on Monday he's been informed LIV golfers will be welcome to play those events, starting at next week's U.S. Open in Massachusetts.

"I've had many conversations with the organizations that run the majors. And I do want to keep those conversations private," Mickelson said. "But I am looking forward to playing the U.S. Open and I'll be there. I'm under the understanding that I'm able to play."

The USGA subsequently released a statement confirming LIV players are eligible to compete:

Monahan wrote in the memo the exodus is because of golfers' "own financial-based reasons."

Mickelson signed a contract worth around $200 million, per Brentley Romine of Golf Channel. By comparison, Lefty has recorded $94 million in on-course earnings across 30 years on the PGA Tour, according to Forbes.

While LIV holds its inaugural event in London, the PGA Tour is hosting the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto this weekend.

LIV Golf makes its debut on Thursday at the Centurion Club in London.

Everything about the startup golf tour is different than the current events on the PGA Tour.

The purses are larger, the format has a team and individual element, and there is plenty of controversy behind it because the league is backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

For months, the list of potential LIV Golf players was speculated about. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson were the biggest catches for the league that has eight tournaments planned between June 9 and October 30.

Mickelson is the biggest name on the 48-name roster for the LIV Golf event in London, but Johnson is the best player in terms of who should win the event.

LIV Golf London Info

Dates: June 9-11

Start Time: 9 a.m. ET on June 9

Live Stream: LIVGolf.com

Tee Times: The shotgun start times can be found on LIVGolf.com.

Predictions

Dustin Johnson Wins Individual Competition

Dustin Johnson is by far the best individual golfer in the field when it comes to present form.

Most of the other notable names in the LIV Golf field are older players who are past the prime of their careers, like Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.

A handful of other participants are second- and third-tier players from the PGA Tour or younger players looking for a part of the $25 million purse.

Let's be honest, though. The money is why all of these players defected from their previous tours and joined LIV Golf. It makes sense for some of the unknown golfers in the field, but Johnson and others could have stayed on the PGA Tour with large career earnings already in the bag.

The 37-year-old produced a tie for 12th at The Masters and then failed to make the cut in two tournaments and finished in a tie for 59th in another event.

The lackluster string of results on the PGA Tour may not be relevant to the first LIV Golf event because Johnson has a clear talent gap over two-thirds of the field.

If the best version of Johnson shows up at the Centurion Club, he can easily win the individual part of the event.

The 48 golfers are also broken into 12 teams. The top three teams in scoring split a $5 million purse. All of the golfers will play at once with a shotgun start beginning Thursday's round.

Johnson's team, the 4 Aces, features Shaun Norris, Oliver Bekker and Kevin Yuan. It is not exactly a star-studded team that captivates viewers, but there is one group that could control that competition.

Team Stinger Wins Team Scoring

Most of the teams put together for the LIV Golf event in London do make sense.

Team Stinger, which is one of the less strange team names compared to Niblicks, Cleeks and Punch, features a distinct connection between South African golfers.

Oosthuizen, Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Henni Du Plessis make up the team, and they could treat this weekend's event like a Presidents' Cup or a team event on any other tour.

The South African golfers have experience playing with each other in some capacity and there is some familiarity with each other's games that could help keep the team's score low over 54 holes.

Other teams could emerge as successful ones when play begins, but this foursome makes the most sense as a team winner on paper.

The other collections of players do not make a ton of sense. One or two familiar faces have been paired up, but some are patched together with players who were on different tours or amateur circuits.

Dustin Johnson confirmed Tuesday he's resigned from the PGA Tour in order to join LIV Golf, which is holding its inaugural event this week in London.

Johnson described the LIV series, which is financially backed by Saudi Arabia, as a "true test," and he'll wait to see how the PGA Tour handles players who compete in the rival competition.

"Obviously at this time it's hard to speak on what the consequences will be, but for right now, I've resigned my membership from the PGA Tour," the two-time major champion told reporters. "I'm going to play here for now, and that's the plan. What the consequences are going to be, I can't comment on how the tour is going to handle it."

An immediate test of the PGA Tour's power over traditional golf will come next week when the next major championship, the 2022 U.S. Open, takes place in Massachusetts.

The U.S. Open is run by the USGA, which doesn't have to enforce any bans put in place by the tour. In turn, Johnson expressed confidence he'll be able to play in the four major events along with the LIV Golf schedule.

"I can't answer for the majors, but hopefully they're going to allow us to play," Johnson said Tuesday. "Obviously, I'm exempt for the majors, so I plan on playing unless I hear otherwise."

If he's eligible for the majors, the biggest loss for Johnson and the other LIV golfers will be removal from consideration for the Ryder Cup.

The 37-year-old South Carolina native said the international event has "definitely meant a lot to me" and he's hopeful the decision is reversed before next year's tournament.

"Obviously, all things are subject to change," Johnson said. "Hopefully at some point it will change and I'll be able to participate. If it doesn't, well, it was another thing I really had to think long and hard about. Ultimately, I decided to come to this and play out here."

He'd also be ineligible for the Presidents Cup, which is next scheduled for September.

A 20-time winner on the PGA Tour, Johnson stated in February he was "fully committed" to the Tour despite interest from LIV Golf.

His decision to reverse course came amid a £100 million offer ($125 million) from LIV, per James Corrigan and Tom Morgan of the Telegraph.

Greg Norman, who won 20 times on the PGA Tour and now serves as the CEO of LIV Golf, told Kent Babb of the Washington Post it also offered Tiger Woods a deal that was "mind-blowingly enormous; we're talking about high nine digits," but he turned it down.

A commitment from Woods could have tipped the scales in favor of LIV, but getting a former top-ranked player in Johnson along with a legend like Phil Mickelson should help generate interest from both golfers and fans alike.

The biggest question for the long-term viability of LIV is likely whether fans take to the format—48 players split into 12 four-man teams. It's a stark variation from the typical solo nature of golf.

Johnson said Tuesday he's confident the new style is going to work.

"Ever since I was first introduced to this idea, I thought it was great for the game of golf," he said. "I was excited about a new format, a new kind of golf that I think is great for the game, is great for the fans, and I think it's going to be very exciting.”

While LIV makes its debut at London's Centurion Club, the PGA Tour is set to host the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto this weekend.

Star golfer Dustin Johnson was reportedly paid "around" $125 million to join the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf league, according to James Corrigan and Tom Morgan of the Telegraph (h/t Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post).

Johnson's defection from the PGA Tour to the controversial LIV Golf series caused one of his sponsors, the Royal Bank of Canada, to cut ties with him.

"As a result of the decisions made by professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener, RBC is terminating its sponsorship agreement with both players," the company said in a statement. "We wish them well in their future endeavors."

A number of other prominent golfers, including McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel and Talor Gooch, will participate in London's LIV Golf Invitational Series, June 9-11.

The new league has reportedly been willing to throw major money around to entice former and current players.

Golf legend Jack Nicklaus said earlier in May that he was offered $100 million to serve in an executive role, though he told reporters Tuesday he had "zero interest in wanting to do something like that. ... My allegiance has been to the PGA Tour."

Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, was one of the first golfers to align himself with the league, though he will not participate in London.

Mickelson's controversial comments in November to his biographer, Alan Shipnuck, about why he supported the Saudi-backed league became public in February:

They're scary motherf--kers to get involved with. We know they killed [Washington Post reporter and U.S. resident Jamal] Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. They've been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won't do what's right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage. I'm not sure I even want [the SGL] to succeed, but just the idea of it is allowing us to get things done with the [PGA] Tour.

Mickelson hasn't played a professional tournament since January.

Saudi Arabia's history of human rights violations and sportswashing has made LIV Golf a controversial endeavor. The PGA Tour, meanwhile, has fought back against the threat of talent defection by not granting a waiver to players for the London event and threatening to strip players of their membership if they join the breakaway league.

Johnson's defection was a major surprise, as he previously had announced he would remain with the PGA Tour.

"I am fully committed to the PGA Tour," he said in a February statement. "I am grateful for the opportunity to play on the best tour in the world and for all it has provided me and my family."

On Tuesday, Johnson's agent, David Winkle, released a statement on behalf of the golfer, saying it was in "his and his family's best interest" to join LIV Golf and that Johnson "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."

The Royal Bank of Canada confirmed it has terminated sponsorship contracts with longtime PGA Tour players Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell after they were listed as expected participants for the debut LIV Golf Invitational Series tournament.

"As a result of the decisions made by professional golfers Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell to play the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener, RBC is terminating its sponsorship agreement with both players. We wish them well in their future endeavors," an RBC spokesperson told ESPN's Mark Schlabach on Wednesday.

The first LIV event is scheduled to begin June 9 at the Centurion Club in London.

Johnson was the biggest surprise among those named on the entry list for next week's event. The two-time major champion said in February he was "fully committed" to the PGA Tour, but clearly changed his mind over the last three months.

His agent, David Winkle, released a statement Tuesday night about the decision.

"Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family's best interest to pursue it," Winkle said. "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."

The LIV Golf Series will offer $255 million in prize money over eight events, per Schlabach.

In May, the PGA Tour announced it would deny waivers for players to compete in the rival tour and previously suggested players could face a permanent ban for playing in LIV events.

Greg Norman, the CEO of LIV Golf and a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour, said he doesn't believe the Tour has legal standing to deny players freedom of tour movement, per Schlabach.

"I can only speak on information given to me by our legal team, and I have an extremely talented legal team in antitrust and anti-competitive laws, and we believe we're in the right position," Norman said. "We believe the players are independent contractors and have a right to go play wherever they want to go play."

The issue is likely heading toward an extended court battle.

In the meantime, it's unclear whether golfers who take part in the first LIV Series tournament will be eligible for the last two major tournaments of the 2021-22 season, the U.S. Open in mid-June and The Open Championship in mid-July.

McDowell has won four PGA Tour titles, including the 2010 U.S. Open, which saw him hold off the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els in the final round.

He's missed the cut in eight of the 15 PGA Tour events he's played this season and has yet to record a top-10 finish.

The field for the LIV Golf Invitational Series opener has been revealed, and it features one of golf's biggest names in two-time major winner Dustin Johnson.

Ryan Lavner of Golf Channel dropped the list of names Tuesday:

Four other major winners—Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Graeme McDowell—are also in the field.

Other players who dot the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking are making their way to LIV Golf's first tournament, including Kevin Na (No. 33) and Talor Gooch (No. 35).

The first-ever LIV Golf event will take place June 9-11 at Centurion Club in London. That will kick-start an eight-event series culminating with a season-ending team championship October 27-30 in Miami.

David Winkle, who represents Johnson, sent a statement to Jason Sobel of the Action Network regarding the decision.

"Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years. Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it...

"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."

Dan Rapoport of Golf Digest gave some more context about Johnson's decision:

As Rapoport noted, it's a 42-person field right now that will rise to 48:

Johnson is the biggest name, but the question remains about Mickelson's status on the Saudi Arabia-financed tour.

Mickelson has come under significant fire for comments related to his interest in playing for LIV Golf in which he acknowledged Saudi Arabia's glaring human-rights abuses but said that he was considering joining the league regardless because of his issues with the PGA Tour. He is currently taking a leave from competitive golf.

For now, it'll be Johnson headlining the field as this group heads to London for the three-day event.