The golf world has been divided following the launch of the Saudi-backed Live Golf league and former Australian world champion Greg Norman, in which several stars compete from Thursday on their first round in London.

An earthquake, nothing more, nothing less. A new era, no doubt… For several months, a new league funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and directly linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was buzzing behind the scenes of golf when it finally came to light and threatened to reshape the sport.

Threats to exclude participating players from professional PGA tournaments, especially for American champions Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, did not bear fruit.

The former world number one and holder of two major championships, as well as a left-handed genius who is the second most valuable player in the past twenty years behind Tiger Woods, succumbed to Saudi temptations, breaking a barrier that many considered insurmountable.

They are not the only ones, they were joined by Briton Lee Westwood and Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

– ‘Don’t go’ –

The young and controversial league saw initial success. Despite fierce opposition from the American and European championships and their refusal to allow their players to participate, LIV Golf attracted 16 of the top 100 players.

In total, this league brought together 48 dissident players, inevitably tempted by an excessive prize pool of more than $200 million, scattered across 8 tournaments around the world, one of which is in Jeddah on October 16, in a unique format for three days without interruption.

Scheduled at the Centurion Club in St Albans, north London, and like the rest of the rounds, the first round will have €23m distributed, more than double each of the four Grand Slams. There is no other event in the MLS series that offers this amount of prize money.

“This is the start of an even bigger battle than all these stars,” warns Pascal Grizzo, President of the French Golf Federation.

This league is a source of controversy not only because of the promised mountains of money, but also because of the personality of its founders, given the sensitive issue of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

“Even I would love to play for that much money (…) but there comes a time when you have to be honest and act like a human being,” French player Mike Lorenzo-Vera told an Irish website in early May.

He continued, “I know there are players who don’t like it, but I get the impression that they are keeping quiet in case they get a piece of the pie one day (…) Don’t leave!”

– Chaos –

Phil Mickelson resorted to a long silence that lasted several months before taking a position in the Saudi Arabian League last February.

Lefty cited the American League’s “hateful greed” and said he was willing to join the Leaf League despite Saudi Arabia’s “disregard for human rights, especially gays.” His comments angered many players.

As evidence of the Saudis’ desire to break old golf traditions, 82-year-old American sports legend Jack Nicklaus recently revealed he gave up more than $100 million to become one of the symbols of the new league.

Now the question remains about the fate of the dissident players. The BGA has previously warned that players who wish to participate in the Liv League will be subject to a penalty equal to expulsion. Some of them foresaw this outcome and submitted their resignations from the PGA, such as Dustin Johnson and South Korean American Kevin Na.

“Without a doubt, lawsuits will go on for years. I don’t blame the professionals, they go where it’s most useful,” predicts FFF President Grizzo.

“I think this is inappropriate, this auction will damage the image of golf around the world. It looks like a big mess, because when we associate golf with only money, that’s not what the image of the sport needs.”

Organizers of the US Open, which kicks off June 16 in Massachusetts, announced on Tuesday that Leaf League athletes could compete in the tournament as part of a Grand Slam, deeming the exclusion “unfair and inappropriate.”