Golf: Wiesberger breaks into a controversial series

“I am delighted to be part of the first event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series at the London Centurion Club. Rarely there is an opportunity to play new formats on the Tour, and the event in London offers a whole new experience for players, fans and TV viewers,” explained Wiesberger in a press release.

The LIV Series will include eight tournaments in Europe, America, Thailand and Saudi Arabia this year and will also take place on several locations of former US President Donald Trump. The game is played for only three days and above all, it is played with very high money prizes. The tournament in London alone was awarded US$20 million – the winner gets US$4 million.

In addition to Wiesberger, international stars such as Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer also accepted the invitation. However, the series is very controversial. The background is that Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized for human rights violations, is trying to improve its image through lucrative sporting events.

“Personally, I don’t see any conflict.”

It is clear that the current top series in North America (PGA Tour) and Europe (DP World Tour) have taken a stand against the new competition. The PGA had already threatened to disqualify the inaugural tournament participants from their tournaments. How the DP World Tour will react is still open. PGA Tour in Toronto Parallel to London, the World Tour in Halmstad.

“I am a player on the DP World Tour and I intend to stay that way,” Wiesberger explained. “Personally, I do not see any conflict with participating in the LIV Golf Event in London. I have not participated in the event in Sweden in the same week for the past few years, and it was not planned for this season either,” explained the 36-year-old, who participated On eight world tours this year. , one PGA tournament and played a major tournament with the PGA Championship.

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In any case, Wiesberger hopes to get his top level again soon. “I’ve been playing really well at long stretches in the past few weeks, sometimes really strong. However, not all the builds fit together and we are working on improving it. I am convinced that soon I will be able to achieve a continuous performance over four days and therefore top positions.” Wiesberger was previously ranked number 22 in the world and is currently ranked number 90. Now he is aiming to return to the top 50 and play in the major leagues.