Johnson resigns from PGA Tour to play in LIV Invitational Series

ST. ALBANS (Reuters): American two-time major champion Dustin Johnson said on Tuesday he had resigned from the PGA Tour to compete in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational that kicks off this week.

By doing so, Johnson has likely made himself ineligible for the American Ryder Cup team and could potentially jeopardise his chances of playing in golf's majors.

“It's hard to speak on what the consequences might be but I've resigned my membership of the Tour and that's the plan for now,” Johnson told a news conference at the Centurion Club, north of London, host of the first of eight events.

Johnson is the second golfer to resign from the PGA Tour to join the contentious new event which is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and offers a total prize pot of $ 255 million.

Fellow American Kevin Na said he had also chosen that option last week.

On Monday, six-time major champion Phil Mickelson became the highest-profile player to commit, ending a self-imposed hiatus from the sport that began in February, amid a backlash over comments he made about the breakaway series.

The eye-watering prize money has attracted other major winners such as Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen.

Both the PGA Tour and the Europe-based DP World Tour have declined requests from members who had asked for releases to compete at Centurion where $ 25 million is up for grabs, including $ 4 million for the winner and a guaranteed $ 120,000 for the player coming last in the 48-strong field.

The 37-year-old Johnson, reportedly being paid $ 150 million to commit to the series, said he still planned to play in this month's U.S. Open, which he won in 2016.

The LIV Invitational Series, which has five rounds in the U.S, one in Thailand and one in Saudi Arabia, features a novel format with 48 players competing both as individuals and as part of teams that are picked by 12 captains in a draft system.

Each event will be played over 54 holes, no cuts and with shotgun starts to facilitate quicker play.