150th Open Championship: tournament gets under way amid ongoing fallout from LIV series
- 2014 Open champion Rory McIlroy says it would be better if likes of Phil Mikelson and Sergio Garcia weren’t at St Andrews
- R&A boss says he will welcome whoever wins onto 18th green, but also attacks ‘entirely money-driven’ Saudi-backed series
The 150th Open Championship tees off on the Old Course at St Andrews on Thursday with organisers keen for the focus to remain on the historic tournament despite the ongoing fallout caused by the breakaway LIV Golf series.
A clutch of players who joined the Saudi-backed tour are taking part in this week’s Open after the R&A opted not to ban the rebels, in contrast to moves made by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
Former Open champion Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia are among the LIV series members who are in St Andrews, and a victory for one of them this weekend might not do much to ease tensions in the sport.
“Whoever wins on Sunday is going to have their name carved in history, and I’ll welcome them onto the 18th green,” Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, said.
“This is a golf tournament. The Open is about having the best players in the world playing, and I want to see who shoots the lowest score come Sunday night.”
But Slumbers also attacked the Saudi-backed series, which offers prize money of US$25 million for each 54-hole event, compared to a US$14 million prize pot for this week’s Open.
The LIV model, he said, was “not in the best long-term interests of the sport as a whole and is entirely driven by money”.
“It undermines the merit-based culture and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special,” he added.
