Act of defiance: Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, plus Dustin Johnson among those in LIV Golf field

The initial list of players who have committed for next week's inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event at the Centurion Golf Club outside London — and who presumably will face sanctions from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour — includes two past Players Champions, last year's RSM Classic champion, plus a past Gator, Seminole and Bulldog.

Sergio Garcia, who won the 2008 Players and Martin Kaymer, the 2015 winner at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, are on the list released by the Series, which is backed by financing from the Saudi government's Public Investment Fund.

List of players who have committed to LIV Golf Invitational Series

Other players with local or state college ties to defy PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan's threat to suspend Tour members who play in the events are St. Simons Island, Ga., resident and former Georgia player Hudson Swafford, 2021 RSM Classic winner Talor Gooch, former Florida State player Chase Koepka, the brother of four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, and Sam Horsfield, a former University of Florida player.

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The big surprise was 24-time winner Dustin Johnson, who had issued a statement earlier in the year that he would not seek a release to play in the LIV Golf Series. Other past Tour winners to commit are major champions Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Graeme McDowell, and Kevin Na and Matt Jones.

"I feel it is now time to put such speculation to rest. I am fully committed to the PGA Tour," Johnson said. "I am grateful for the opportunity to play on the best tour in the world and for all it has provided me and my family."

But Johnson's about-face was explained by his agent, David Winkle, in a statement:

"Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years," Winkle said in the statement. "Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family's best interest to pursue it. Dustin has never had an issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end, felt this was too compelling to pass up."

The PGA Tour denied releases for its members to compete in the LIV Golf London tournament, which is opposite the Canadian Open.

The Tour released a statement on Wednesday re-affirming its stance.

"As communicated to our entire membership on May 10, PGA Tour members have not been authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League's London event, under PGA Tour Tournament Regulations," the statement said. "Members who violate the Tournament Regulations are subject to disciplinary action."

Monahan said at The Players that members would face suspensions and possible lifetime bans if they competed on the tour, which has been criticized for being financed by the Saudi government, which has a human rights record that has long been criticized.

"We have notified those who have applied that their request has been declined in accordance with the PGA Tour Tournament Regulations," said a Tour member to members. "As such, Tour members are not authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League's London event under our regulations. As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA Tour and its players."

The DP World Tour has followed suit.

Five of the eight LIV events are scheduled to be in the U.S., ending with a team championship match-play tournament at Trump Doral in Miami Oct. 28-20.

The purses will total $255 million, with total purses of $25 million. The top purse in professional golf currently is the $20 million offered at The Players.

Coody matriculates with honors

Pierceson Coody and Cole Hammer of the University of Texas finished among the top-five for the second season of PGA Tour University, with the final rankings compiled after the NCAA Stroke Play Championship at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Coody won the overall competition for college seniors and Hammer was fifth. In between were Jacob Bridgeman of Clemson, Logan McAllister of Oklahoma and R.J. Manke of Washington.

Coody was the 2021 Big 12 player of the year, is a three-time All-American and played on the Walker Cup and Palmer Cup.

The top-five players have earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the rest of the summer and are exempt into the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying tournament.

Players from sixth to 15th have earned membership on PGA Tour Canada and are exempt into second-stage Korn Ferry qualifying. That group includes Pierceson Coody's twin brother Parker, who finished 13th.

The rest of the top-15 are Alex Fitzpatrick of Wake Forest, Chris Gotterup of Oklahoma, Trent Phillips of Georgia, Jackson Suber of Ole Miss, Joe Highsmith of Pepperdine, Ryan Hall of South Carolina, Noah Goodwin of SMU, Cameron Sisk of Arizona State and  Aman Gupta of Oklahoma State.

FAMU among Sifford Cup teams

The Florida A&M men’s golf team will be among the six Historically Black Colleges and Universities to compete in the inaugural Charlie Sifford Centennial Cup Aug. 29 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, a month before the Presidents Cup is contested there Sept. 20-25.

Johnson C. Smith University will serve as the host school for the event, which will showcase top HBCU programs in the Presidents Cup format.

Also participating are Howard, Alabama State, Texas Southern and Livingstone College. The qualifying schools were selected through their Golfstat Ranking as of May 5.

The teams will receive complimentary travel and accommodations for the event. They will be split into two 12-man teams with four-ball matches in the morning and singles in the afternoon.

Past PXG players qualify

Two players who competed in the East Coast Women's Professional Golf Tour's PXG Match Play Championship last fall in St. Augustine qualified for the U.S. Women's Open this week at Pine Needles, Sofia Garcia and Julianne Alvarez. Garcia was the stroke-play runner-up at the King & Bear and Alvarez was the match play runner-up at the Slammer & Squire.

Other players with ECWPGT experience who are playing in the Open at Pine Needles are the tour's first overall champion Alyaa Abdulghany, Isabell Gabsa, Mariel Galdiano, Gabi Ruffels, Bailey Shoemaker and Karen Kim.

PGA TOUR

Event: The Memorial, Thursday-Friday, Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio.

At stake: $12 million purse ($2.16 million and 550 FedEx Cup points to the winner).

Defending champion: Patrick Cantlay.

TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 12-2:30 p.m.); CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-6 p.m.).

Area players entered: Harris English, Lanto Griffin, Brian Harman, Billy Horschel, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox, David Lingmerth, Keith Mitchell, J.T. Poston, Sam Ryder, Cameron smith, Hudson Swafford.

Notable: Cantlay made a 12-foot par putt on the first playoff hole to beat Collin Morikawa. Jon Rahm had a six-shot lead through 54 holes but was to withdraw after third round because of the Tour’s COVID-19 protocols. … Also playing are Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris.

LPGA TOUR

Event: U.S. Open, Thursday-Sunday, Pine Needles Golf Club, Pinehurst, N.C.

At stake: $10 million purse ($1.8 million to the winner).

Defending champion: Yuka Saso.

TV: Peacock (Thursday-Friday, 1-3 p.m.; Saturday, 12-1 p.m.); NBC (Saturday, 3-6 p.m.; Sunday, 3-7 p.m.); USA (Thursday-Friday, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m.).

Area players entered: Auston Kim, Mel Reid.

Notable: Saso became the first player from the Philippines to win an LPGA major when she beat Nasa Hatoaka in a two-hole playoff at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Event: Principal Charity Classic, Friday-Sunday, The Wakonda Club, Des Moines, Iowa.

At stake: $1.85 million purse ($277,500 to the winner).

Defending champion: Stephen Ames.

TV: Golf Channel (Friday, 6-8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-5:30 p.m._.

Area players entered: Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Davis Love III.

Notable: Ames beat Mike Weir by one shot. … Stephen Alker, Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer and Steve Stricker lead the field.

KORN FERRY TOUR

Event: Rex Hospital Open, Country Club of Wakefield, Raleigh, N.C.

At stake: $750,000 purse ($135,000 to the winner).

Defending champion: Mito Pereira.

TV: None.

Area players entered: Chris Baker, Blayne Barber, Chandler Blanchet, Taylor Dickson, Dru Love.

Notable: Pereira birdied the first playoff hole to beat Stephan Jaeger.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Past Players champions Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, plus Dustin Johnson among those in LIV Golf field