Dustin Johnson clinches inaugural LIV Golf championship and $18 million prize

Muricas News  — 

Dustin Johnson has sufficient factors to safe the inaugural season-long LIV Golf particular person championship and the collection’ $18 million prize, LIV officers introduced Monday.

The 2-time main winner secured 5 top-10 finishes within the opening six occasions and was the winner final month of the LIV Golf Invitational Boston. For that win he earned $4 million.

On Sunday, Johnson, 38, completed sixteenth on the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok.

Johnson’s consistency provides him a 42-point lead over the following closest participant, Branden Grace, with solely 40 factors accessible to the winner of the ultimate particular person competitors this season.

“Locking up the person competitors is huge. It’s an honor to be LIV’s first particular person season champion,” Johnson mentioned within the assertion.

The 38-year-old expressed his due to “LIV’s rising legion of followers all over the world” and mentioned he was “trying ahead to additional contributing to LIV Golf’s thrilling story and continued development.”

Johnson made the swap from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-backed insurgent collection in June. The controversial LIV Golf collection has induced a rift in skilled golf, as LIV golfers have been banned from the PGA Tour and there are at the moment no world rating factors supplied for LIV occasions.

The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are embroiled in a authorized battle, with dueling lawsuits.

In August, the LIV collection joined an antitrust lawsuit from a few of its gamers that alleges the PGA Tour threatened to put lifetime bans on gamers who take part on the LIV golf collection, including that “unprecedented suspensions” had been positioned upon them. The go well with additionally alleges the PGA Tour has threatened sponsors, distributors and brokers to coerce gamers to desert alternatives to play in LIV Golf occasions and entry to their members.

The PGA Tour filed a countersuit in late September, claiming “tortious interference with the Tour’s contracts with its members.”

The LIV Golf collection is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF) – a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the person who a US intelligence report named as liable for approving the operation that led to the 2018 homicide of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has denied involvement in Khashoggi’s homicide.

Collection organizers have spent eye-popping sums to poach prime PGA tour gamers, reportedly providing 9 figures for people simply to signal with the brand new league and large purses for the winners of its tournaments. In early August, LIV CEO Greg Norman, a World Golf Corridor of Fame member, confirmed on Fox News that golf legend Tiger Woods turned down a suggestion price roughly $700-$800 million to hitch LIV Golf.

The tour consists of eight occasions internationally. The ultimate particular person competitors takes place from October 14-16 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, whereas the season-ending staff championship occasion might be held in Miami between October 28-30.