LIV Golf adds events in Mexico, Australia, Singapore, Spain in 2023
LIV Golf made headlines in 2022 for convincing a handful of the PGA Tour's top players to defect to the controversial league.
Now, the league financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has signed up its first golf club to defect from the PGA Tour.
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The El Camaleon Golf Club in Mexico, will go from hosting a PGA Tour event to the home of LIV Golf Mayakoba, the league's first event of the 2023 season. The course has been home to the tour's World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba since 2007.
LIV Golf Mayakoba will be Feb. 24-26, kicking off the league's first full season, and is one of four confirmed global events joining those in Australia (April 21-23), Singapore (April 28-30) and Spain (June 30-July 2).
The Mayakoba event will be up against the Honda Classic, which is scheduled for Feb. 23-26 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.
LIV will expand to 14 events in 2023, up from eight in its inaugural year. Prize money will increase from $255 million to $405 million.
The season will run through late October. Trump National Doral is expected to once again host the season finale that determines the league's season-long team champion.
The U.S. schedule will increase by at least three events and possible four new venues. LIV also is expected to return to Trump National Bedminster and possibly Boston and Chicago.
Within in the United States, LIV is expected to expand into West Virginia; Washington, D.C., and at least two other venues in 2023. LIV CEO Greg Norman visited The Greenbrier Resort in Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in August and former president Donald Trump revealed his course outside of Washington, D.C., will host an event.
Trump properties likely will host three LIV events in 2023.
"LIV Golf is truly a global league dedicated to expanding the sport throughout the world and these destinations for the league's 2023 launch showcase our commitment to tournament play at the highest level," Norman said in a statement. "These venues have played host to signature moments in golf and we're excited to build new traditions for the sport."
LIV strategically selected sites to appeal to players from those areas. The top male golfers from Mexico, Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz, play on the LIV tour and are part of the four-man team Fireballs, along with Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Eugenio Chacarra.
The league's stop in Australia will draw crowds interested in watching the all-Aussie team Punch that includes Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Wade Ormsby.
The 2022 team title was won by 4 Aces, which is captained by Jupiter's Dustin Johnson.
"I think this season went incredible," Johnson said following the victory. "And I think next season is going to be even better."
The league will continue to play 54-hole, no-cut events comprised of 12 teams of four players each. LIV expects to franchise those teams for the 2024 season.
The schedule does not conflict with any of golf's majors or events like the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: LIV Golf opens 2023 in Mexico, clashes with Honda Classic
