Report: Prestigious Australian Club Turns Down LIV Golf
Royal Sydney Golf Club has reportedly rejected the chance to host one of the 2023 tournaments
LIV Golf has ambitious plans to expand its reach next year. As well as turning the Series in a 14-tournament League featuring promotion and relegation, it is also expected to hold events in more areas of the world, including Australia. However, one venue it reportedly won’t be taking place at is Royal Sydney Golf Club.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, representatives of LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman were in the country last month to identify potential venues for a tournament next April following The Masters. However, despite Royal Sydney being high on their list of potentials, they were apparently advised by representatives of the course that they weren't interested in hosting a tournament.
Video: What Is LIV Golf?
Despite attracting some of the world’s best players, there has been no shortage of controversy surrounding LIV Golf, with the Saudi-funded venture facing accusations of sportswashing. Meanwhile, there was also a protest held by families and loved ones of those lost in the September 11 attacks at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland before the second LIV Golf tournament earlier this year. While the reason for Royal Sydney’s rejection of LIV Golf hasn’t been confirmed, the issue of LIV Golf and its backers remains divisive.
Royal Sydney’s decision will come as a blow to LIV Golf, although other courses are reportedly being considered, with another Sydney option, Stonecutters Ridge – which was designed by Norman - also visited by representatives.
One of LIV Golf’s highest profile signings to date is Australian Cameron Smith. Before making his debut in the fourth edition of the Series in Boston, the World No.3 expressed his delight that his homeland was earmarked for one of next year’s tournaments. He said: “We are working on it. I think it would be awesome for Australian golf. I think Australian needs another event. A few years back, we lost the Aussie Masters, and to bring this new, exciting format to Australia I think will be embraced, and yeah, I can't wait to get back down there for another few weeks.”
Smith led an all-Australian team, Punch GC, in Boston and does so again in the upcoming tournament in Chicago as LIV Golf continues trying to appeal to golf fans in the country.
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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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