Shock wave in the world of golf: Former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson has joined the Saudi Golf Tour as his name appears on the list of 42 players who will start the LIV Invitational, June 9-11 .
• Read also: Brooke Henderson will be in the United States Open
• Read also: Scottie Scheffler takes control
This means that Johnson will miss the RBC Canadian Open, which will take place from June 6 to 12, in Toronto. Johnson was even an ambassador for the Royal Bank of Canada.
“Along with our RBC partners, we are disappointed to learn at such a late stage that Dustin Johnson has chosen to play the LIV Golf event,” the tournament organization on Canadian soil said in a statement. As a former tournament champion, fans were anticipating the return of “DJ” this year. We will continue to dedicate our efforts to celebrate the return of the event and welcome the best players in the world to Canada.”
The decision of the son-in-law of Wayne Gretzky is rather surprising, he who had stipulated that he was totally committed to the PGA, when Phil Mickelson had made controversial comments about the arrival of the new circuit, forcing several other golfers to decide on their future .
This decision could also be worth some consequences to Johnson, as well as all the other athletes who opt for this option, such as the loss of their PGA membership card. Moreover, four members of the world top 50, as well as 16 of the top 100 have joined LIV Golf.
Since this new circuit is financed by a Saudi fund, the purses are much higher than in the PGA. For this event, in London, $25 million will be available for the various purses, including $4 million for the winner and $125,000 for the last-place finisher.
