All three rounds at the Riyadh Golf Club will be held under lights, with the 54-player field teeing off in LIV’s shotgun starts just after 6pm, local time.
Journeyman Paul Waring of England birdied the final two holes to fend off late challenges from Tyrrell Hatton and Rory McIlroy and win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
In an 11-minute chat with a gathering of journalists, the world No.36 was at pains to avoid the politics of his presence, preferring to focus on the incentives he has to play well in his first DP World Tour regular season event since the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
As things stand, the regulations for Ryder Cup eligibility provide a possible pathway into the team that competes on the road at Bethpage Black for Rahm and any other European player currently plying his trade on the LIV Golf League.
Scott’s withdrawal is not a surprise. The Queenslander has previously stated his apathy towards golf’s inclusion in the Olympics, referring to it as an “exhibition” and that a better idea would be to allow amateurs in the field. He passed on both the 2016 and 2020 games.
Hatton reportedly received a $US60 million signing bonus. He had been in negotiations for more than a month, and it is believed the hold-up was due to Ryder Cup eligibility concerns going forward. However, it was his Europe teammate, Rory McIlroy, who put his mind at ease.
The Englishman joins Jon Rahm among notable signings by the Saudi-backed tour heading into its third year of existence with this week’s LIV Golf Mayakoba tournament in Mexico.
Australian Golf Digest
