LIV Golf’s Absurd Prize Money Is Making the Rich Get Richer

After a thrilling playoff, Dustin Johnson came out triumphant at the LIV Golf Boston Invitational. The golfer defeated Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri in the first playoff of the lucrative series.

Following his win, DJ bagged home a stunning $4 million to his already nine-figure contract. Famous for its flashy contract offerings, we take a look at how LIV Golf’s absurd prize money is helping in making the rich get richer.

A tie at 15 under 195 for 54 holes led to the trio heading to the playoff, to determine the winner. However, an eagle 3 on the first extra hole, made the difference to give Dustin Johnson his first LIV Golf win.

The two-time Major winner took home the first-place prize money payout of $4 million from the $20 million purse. Niemann and Lahiri shared second, each earning $1,812,500. Along with his winning payout of $4 million, Dustin Johnson’s team 4 Aces GC also claimed the $3 million prize for winning the team competition.

Everybody who competed was guaranteed to take home at least $120,000 since the event only had 48 players on the field and was played with no cut. With such enormous spending at a Tournament, who has been enjoying the Saudi funding the most?

How LIV Golf has been helping the prosperous get richer?

During the initial phase of the Saudi-backed Tour, a lot of PGA Tour stars hesitated in considering their move to the LIV Invitational. However, as weeks followed, more and more PGA Tour golfers made the jump to the newly found Tour.

LIV Golf is reportedly set to spend nearly $2.4 billion in the next two years, thanks to the investment from Saudi Public Investment Fund. The Tour has offered nine-figure contracts to top names such as Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Cam Smith. After signing a $200 million contract with LIV Golf, Mickelson racked up the ranks of the highest-earning golfer of 2022.

Read More: ‘DJ Top 3 in the World’: Golf World Reacts to Dustin Johnson’s Win Clinching Eagle

The Tour also had reportedly offered Tiger Woods nearly $800 million to join them. However, the 15-time Major winner decided to stay loyal to the PGA Tour. Moreover, in the list released by Forbes of the highest-paid golfers of 2022, 7 out of the 10 golfers were part of the LIV Golf. The list itself indicates how richer the lucrative series stars are getting.

The lucrative series has managed to attract more of the PGA stars, with the most recent being the 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith.

No stop to LIV Golf’s spending spree

Cam Smith played his maiden LIV Golf event and finished tied in the fourth position along with Lee Westwood. The Australian took home a whopping amount of $1,012,750. The 29-year-old had only earned nearly $3.6 million for all four majors combined this year. However, he could have earned $4 million on a single win, which would have mounted more than his annual Major earnings for 2022.

With such money offerings, it is hard for golfers to say no. Moreover, most of the recent defectors have publicly mentioned the main intent of their move to LIV Golf was the monetary advantage. Though at the moment such expenditure may seem absurd, the Tour considers it as a long time investment. The Saudi-backed Tour has already announced several new initiations from next year onwards.

Undoubtedly, the lucrative series has the advantage of financial support over the PGA Tour. Though still there is a long way ahead in the battle of Tours, it is unclear who will eventually come out on top. But considering their spending tone, this can only be the beginning of the influence LIV Golf has over the future of golf.

Whose side are you on? LIV Golf or PGA Tour? Let us know in the comments section below!

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