LIV Golf is set to announce at least five new big name signings as soon as the FedEx Cup Playoffs are over, Golf Monthly understands.
The latest recruits have agreed to join upon completion of the PGA Tour season, and will complete the LIV roster for the 2022 Saudi-backed series. They will make their debuts at the LIV Golf Invitational Boston at the start of next month and play the last five events of this season ahead of the full 14-tournament LIV Golf League announced for 2023.
While no names have been confirmed, a well-placed source confirmed “a good handful” of new player announcements are imminent.
Open champion and World No.2 Cameron Smith has been rumored to be the next big name to join the Greg Norman-fronted operation, and with next year’s League set to include events in Australia, Brisbane-born Smith, who has bemoaned the lack of opportunity to play at home, looks set to be one of those announced next.
LIV currently has an all-Australian team, Punch GC, which would be the natural home for Smith, one of the best golfers to hail from Down Under since Norman himself. Other Aussies have also been linked to LIV, with Adam Scott and Marc Leishman said to be on the radar.
Torque GC, the all-Japanese team, would be a natural home for another potential LIV target, Hideki Matsuyama, although the 2021 Masters champion is thought to still be considering his options and could yet opt to stay on the PGA Tour.
Since the first event in London in June, LIV has shaken up the world of golf. Major winners like Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed have since joined the headline launch stars, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Now it looks like more star names will be joining them after next week’s Tour Championship.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs continue this week with the BMW Championship, where the top 70 players in the eligibility list battle it out to make next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Only the top 30 players make it to the Tour Championship, which is a no-cut event with those higher up the list starting with better scores, with the points leader starting at 10-under.
Smith is sitting out the BMW Championship with a hip injury, although his position of third in the eligibility list means he is likely to return for the Tour Championship. The 29-year-old was involved in plenty of drama at the FedEx St Jude Championship last week, suffering a two-shot penalty for playing his ball from the wrong place and damaging fan Blake Krassenstein’s phone and thumb with a wayward shot. The Aussie put that right by sending Krassenstein a brand new upgraded iPhone.