In February, Dustin Johnson announced that he was “fully committed” to the PGA Tour.
He has now agreed to play LIV Golf Invitational instead – and is said to have received 1.2 billion SEK for the inconvenience.
“In the end, he decided that it would be best for him and his family that his play would be.”Johnson’s agent David Winkle wrote in a statement.
The new Saudi-backed golf round hasn’t even started, but it has been controversial for a long time.
The PGA Tour and the European Tour have threatened to expel players joining the LIV Golf Invitational, as the Saudi Tour is called.
Dustin Johnson’s controversial decision
The competitions begin in London on June 9, and now it is clear that the former world maker Dustin Johnson – Now 13th in the ranking – He will be the highest rated player in the 48-player starting field.
He completely changed after his statements about staying on the PGA Tour that came in late February.
“Dustin has looked into this possibility from and to recent years. In the end, he decided it would be best for him and his family to have his play”Johnson’s agent David Winkle wrote in a statement.
He receives 1.2 billion Swedish kronor
According to The Telegraph, there were more than a billion reasons Dustin Johnson would agree to the controversial tour.
The newspaper reported that Johnson is receiving 1.2 billion Swedish kronor just to participate. After that, there are also 39 million Swedish kronor to be won in each sub-contest.
LIV competitions have been criticized for Saudi Arabia’s lack of human rights. Among other things, because US intelligence indicated that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the operation that led to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Golf competitions are accused of “sports washing”, using the sport to clean up the reputation of the system.