© Getty Images Sport – Warren Little / Staff
The presence of LIV Golf players on the DP World Tour has been rare since a court determined, at the beginning of the year, that the European Tour was entitled to impose fines and sanctions on its members who left to play on the dissenting circuit.
However, four members of the league financed by the PIF (the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia) will compete from Thursday in the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an alliance event on three legendary Scottish courses: the Old Course of St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
Talor Gooch, Louis Oosthuizen, Peter Uihlein and Laurie Canter benefit from a sponsor invitation, sent by Johann Rupert, president of Compagnie Financière Richemont, a luxury goods company based in Switzerland, which has supported the event since 2001.
He will play the event with his compatriot Louis Oosthuizen. While Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the boss of the PIF, will be associated with Peter Uihlein. Gooch, Uihlein and Oosthuizen are not members of the DP World Tour and therefore do not incur sanctions for giving in to the sirens of LIV Golf’s petrodollars.
“The players are not members and are therefore not subject to sanctions. They play at the invitation of a sponsor,” explained a spokesperson for the European circuit. For Laurie Canter, the situation is different.
The Englishman is still eligible for DP World Tour events as he has paid the fines and served the suspensions imposed for his LIV appearances. 142nd in the Race To Dubai, he has only played five tournaments this season including the Cazoo Open de France (47th).
The four members of LIV are therefore in the field of 168 players which also includes recent Ryder Cup winners Tommy Fleetwood, Matthew Fitzpatrick (and his brother Alex with whom he will share the first three rounds), as well as Robert MacIntyre, arrived in economy class.
An American duo from the PGA Tour, Billy Horschel and Matt Kuchar, will also be there. In addition to Victor Perez, victorious in 2019, thirteen other tricolors will try to follow in the footsteps of the Tarbais of Edinburgh: Romain Langasque, Joël Stalter, Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Julien Brun, Antoine Rozner, Alexander Levy, Adrien Saddier, Mike Lorenzo-Vera , Jeong weon Ko, Julien Guerrier, Clément Sordet, Matthieu Pavon and David Ravetto.
Many have inherited particular partners.
Romain Langasque was delighted on his social networks to play with the former Welsh football star, Gareth Bale. Victor Perez will team up with actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. Finally note that the president of the FFGolf, Pascal Grizot, will be associated with Alexander Levy.
