Dustin Johnson is the surprise name heading the LIV Golf Invitational Series field in the first event at the Centurion Club on 9 June.
The American is joined by fellow former World No.1s Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer. However, while the Englishman and German were widely tipped to be signing up for the event, the presence of Johnson in the field for the opener, which takes place at the same time as the PGA Tour's RBC Canadian Open, is a surprise. The current World No.13 had previously pledged his allegiance to the PGA Tour via a statement from the organisation, so this move represents a significant change of heart.
DJ's manager said the offer was "too compelling to pass up," whilst his sponsor RBC said it was "extremely disappointed" to hear the news.
Other eye-catching names in the field include 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland and Louis Oosthuizen. Alongside Johnson, South African Oosthuizen is the only other player in the current top 20 of the World Official Golf Ranking in the field. World No.33 Kevin Na and World No.35 Talor Gooch will play too, bringing the total in the top 50 to four. Elsewhere, 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell will also appear, while 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel is another high-profile name on the list.
Intriguingly, there are still six places up for grabs, with a total of 48 players due to compete in 12 teams of four in the 54-hole event. Phil Mickelson is one player whose name doesn't appear - yet. However, the six-time Major winner has long been rumoured as a target to headline the inaugural series, and there has even been speculation he has signed up for all eight tournaments.
Many of those who have agreed to play in the $25m curtain-raiser next week face the prospect of disciplinary action following the decision of the main tours not to grant official release requests. That means wantaway players risk being fined and banned from golf's two premier circuits, and jeopardise their future in the Ryder Cup.
Below is a list of the 42 players so far confirmed for the first tournament.
- Oliver Bekker
- Richard Bland
- Laurie Canter
- Ratchanon Chantananuwat (amateur)
- Hennie Du Plessis
- Oliver Fisher
- Sergio Garcia
- Talor Gooch
- Branden Grace
- Justin Harding
- Sam Horsfield
- Dustin Johnson
- Matt Jones
- Sadom Kaewkanjana
- Martin Kaymer
- Phachara Khongwatmai
- Sihwan Kim
- Ryosuke Kinoshita
- Chase Koepka
- Jinichiro Kozuma
- Pablo Larrazabal
- Graeme McDowell
- Jediah Morgan
- Kevin Na
- Shaun Norris
- Andy Ogletree
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Wade Ormsby
- Adrian Otaegui
- Turk Pettit
- James Piot (amateur)
- Ian Poulter
- David Puig (amateur)
- JC Ritchie
- Charl Schwartzel
- Hudson Swafford
- Hideto Tanihara
- Peter Uihlein
- Scott Vincent
- Lee Westwood
- Bernd Wiesberger
- Blake Windred
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