GOLF
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Three months after declaring he was “fully committed” to the PGA Tour, Dustin Johnson is among 42 players in the field for next week’s LIV Golf Invitational, which offers a $25 million in prize money that’s backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Phil Mickelson was missing from the list that was released Tuesday night. It was his damaging remarks in February that led to Johnson and other top players to say they would stay on the PGA Tour.
The LIV Golf Invitational is scheduled for June 9-11 at Centurion Club outside of London. The PGA Tour and European tour denied releases for players, meaning they risk punishment — possibly a loss of tour membership — by competing.
That was a turnaround from his comments in February when Johnson issued a statement that he was committed to the PGA Tour and that he was “grateful for the opportunity to play on the best tour in the world and for all it has provided me and my family.”
Johnson, whose last victory was the Saudi International in 2021, is No. 13 in the world, the highest-ranked player in the field. He had held the No. 1 spot in the world longer than any player since Tiger Woods.
Greg Norman, in his second try to create an alternative circuit to the PGA Tour, had made a strong push for Johnson. Still to be determined is how much Johnson is being paid to join the Saudi venture.
Other players in the 48-man field were not a surprise; Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia had indicated they would…
