US Open: Following a week in which the golfing world provided a narrative twist worthy of a blockbuster film, it seems natural that the sport goes to Hollywood for the US Open.
This week’s major is being held at Los Angeles Country Club, just a few miles from the home of film, and the discourse will be dominated by last Tuesday’s astonishing news, which surprised players and fans alike and signified serious upheaval at the top of the men’s game.
After a year of heated comments, divided opinions, and burned friendships between those involved in golf’s ‘civil war,’ the PGA Tour and DP World Tour agreeing a new commercial partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), who bankroll the previously-considered-rival LIV Golf circuit, was almost unfathomable at times.
However, the script has been altered and attempts to unify the game have been made, with all litigation between the tours ending and measures developed to provide players avenues to reclaim memberships they lost by joining the Saudi-backed team circuit.
The majors have been the sole option for LIV players to compete against their PGA Tour counterparts this year, with any doubts about their ability to compete against the world’s best rapidly dispelled during The Masters and the PGA Championship.
Brooks Koepka came back from a runner-up finish at Augusta National – where Phil Mickelson also finished second – to win the Wanamaker Trophy last month and all but secure LIV’s participation in the Ryder Cup later this year, while Cameron Smith and Patrick Reed are among those who impressed in at least one of those two events.
There is a 15-player LIV contingent in action in Los Angeles, including major mainstay Sergio Garcia and past US Open champions Dustin Johnson and Bryce DeChambeau, with this week’s event serving as the first opportunity to hear from those players at a tournament since the historic announcement.
Rory McIlroy has recently compared golf to being “part of a soap opera” since “every week there’s something new,” yet the world No. 3 has also stated that the commercial entity would eventually be “good for the game.”
It will be intriguing to see how much more we learn about the future of golf during what is already a busy week on the golf calendar.
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