Saudi-backed LIV Golf to host event at Rich Harvest Farms
LIV announces 8-event invitational series with charitable donations to local stakeholders
Rich Harvest Farms (pictured) will play host to one of eight LIV Golf Invitational Series events Sept 16-18. The series is backed and sponsored by LIV Golf Investments, which is majority owned by PIF, a Saudi-backed investment firm.
What to know
- LIV Golf Investments announced an eight-event, multi-million dollar invitational series
- Rich Harvest Farms, home to NIU golf, was selected as one of four U.S.-hosted sites
- Donations are anticipated to come as part of the tournament
- LIV Golf is backed by the PIF, the wealth fund for Saudi Arabia
DeKALB— Rich Harvest Farms, the home course and practice facility of the NIU golf programs, will host one of the inaugural eight events in the LIV Golf Invitational Series, Sept. 16-18. The news comes after months of speculation about the fate of the Saudi Arabian-backed golf firm and the impact it might have on golf’s major tours.
The LIV Golf Invitational Series is scheduled to begin June 9, and will take place across the globe, with more than $250 million in prize purses available, according to a LIV Golf news release.
The series will not be structured like fans are used to seeing when it comes to professional golf events.
There will be no individual events. Instead, the series will consist of 48 players who will be partnered into 12 four-man teams that will rotate based on the draft order, according to the release.
“Our events are truly additive to the world of golf,” Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf Investments said in a news release.
The first seven regular-season events will consist of a $25 million purse, $20 million for individual prizes and an additional $5 million for the team format. The finale will offer up $30 million for the top three finishers and an additional $50 million for teams.
Charitable contributions coming to host venues
LIV plans to also commit to “major charitable contributions” as part of its tournament model.
Some of the charities and organizations that are set to benefit from Rich Harvest Farms hosting a LIV event are the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois, established by Rich Harvest Farms founder Jerry Rich, Ukrainian refugee groups and NIU, according to a Rich Harvest Farms news release.
LIV Golf Investments is operated by Greg Norman and is backed by PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, which is estimated to hold close to $430 billion in domestic and international investments, according to Investopedia.
The unknowns of the events
The 48 members of the upcoming invitational series have not yet been announced, as the PGA Tour has threatened lifetime bans to those players.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said during last week’s Players Championship that the Tour is moving past the matter.
“The PGA Tour is moving on,” Monahan said. “We have too much momentum and too much (to) accomplish to (be) consistently distracted by rumors of other leagues.”
The series has also not announced any TV broadcasting partnerships, but says the events will be “broadcast globally.”
With three months until the first event, the golf community will continue to watch as things unfold.
