The LIV Golf series is set to begin, but what is it and who’s playing?
The next tournament in the LIV Golf series will be held in New Jersey.
The already-controversial tour, which is funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, drew criticism from the group 9/11 Justice last week during LIV Golf’s first event on American soil. With its next event being held just outside of New York City, in close proximity to the site of the 9/11 attacks, protests are expected to amplify.
Here is everything you need to know prior to the third LIV tournament, including when the competition starts, who is participating, and the controversy surrounding the event.
When is the next LIV golf event?
The third tournament in the LIV Golf Invitational Series will take place on Friday, July 29 and run until Sunday, July 31.
Where is the LIV golf event?
The next LIV golf event will be held at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
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Just outside of New York City, the Old Course hosted the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open. The PGA Championship originally was scheduled to be held at Trump National in May 2022 but was moved to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Where to stream the LIV Bedminster event
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The only way to watch the upcoming LIV event is online.
Free streams will be available on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook.
Which golfers are playing in the next LIV golf event?
There will be 48 golfers dispersed into 12 groupings at the Bedminster event. The teams have not yet been selected.
Here are some of the golfers expected to compete in the 2022 LIV Golf Bedminster event:
- Dustin Johnson - United States
- Brooks Koepka - United States
- Abraham Ancer - Mexico
- Louis Oosthuizen - South Africa
- Bryson DeChambeau - United States
- Kevin Na - United States
- Patrick Reed - United States
- Talor Gooch - United States
- Sergio Garcia - Spain
- Richard Bland - England
- Phil Mickelson - United States
- Paul Casey – England
What are local residents saying about the tournament?
At LIV Golf’s first U.S.-based event, a group of families whose loved ones were killed by the terrorist attack on Sept. 11 protested the event on the tournament’s opening day.
Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who hijacked four planes on that day in 2001 were Saudi citizens. The Associated Press reported that the group 9/11 Justice is planning a more sizable demonstration for the event in Bedminster, which is less than 50 miles from the World Trade Center.
“These golfers that are getting in bed with the Saudis, they should know what they’re doing. Shame on them. And to the golfers that say it’s just a game of golf: Shame on them,” said Brett Eagleson, the head of the group 9/11 Justice, who lost his father at the World Trade Center. “I invite them to live with the pain in our eyes, hear our stories and walk in our shoes, hear what we have to say about the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The group 9/11 Families United – a coalition of families and survivors of the country’s worst terrorist attack – wrote an open letter in June to American golfers competing in LIV Golf, asking them to renounce their membership in the Saudi-backed league.
“Our community wishes to express our outrage at your partnership with LIV Golf and remind you of the responsibility that your new business partner, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, shoulders for providing the financial support and logistical support that enabled the terrorists to attack our nation and kill our loved ones,” wrote Terry Strada, a mother of three whose husband was killed on 9/11.
What happened at the last LIV golf event?
The last LIV golf event occurred at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon from June 30 to July 2, which was the tour’s first event held in the United States.
Branden Grace won the event by shooting 7-under 65 to earn $4 million from the individual competition purse.
In addition to 9/11 Justice members traveling from the tri-state area to speak out about LIV Golf, there was outrage from local residents and leaders who felt the event did not align with community values due to Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses. Local critics cited the 2018 murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as the 2016 hit-and-run death of 15-year-old Fallon Smart in Portland, for which a Saudi national was accused in the case but vanished before trial with what U.S. official believe was help from the Saudi government.
A protestor at the entrance of the tournament held a sign that read “Fallon Smart, 2000-2016.”
With The Associated Press
