(St Albans) From a distance, it looked like a military parade accompanied by the sound of trumpets giving a royal style to this occasion. It was not, however, an extension of Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee celebrations, but the launch of the new Saudi-funded golf circuit, which attempted to bring a false sense of royalty to the rebellion that is dividing the sport. .
Posted at 7:10 p.m.
On the course outside London, a group of musicians were there to announce the arrival of Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, two stars of the PGA who are trying to pocket potentially hundreds of millions of dollars on the LIV Tour .
There was no sign of Saudi fund support on the course at Centurion Golf Club, nor any image of a sponsor.
Mickelson turned in a 69 (minus-1) to tie Johnson for seventh. Charl Schwartzel took the lead at the end of the first round after completing the course in 65 strokes.
Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, holds a one-stroke lead over fellow South African Hennie du Plessis (66). Scott Vincent and Phachara Khongwatmai both shot 67 to tie for third place.
The LIV circuit organizes reduced tournaments of 54 holes spread over three days and the players start their day on different holes. Golfers are divided into 12 teams with highly visible logos and fiery names.
The top three teams share $5 million in addition to the $20 million per event purse, which is shared individually among the golfers.