BOSTON: LIV Golf on Tuesday announced the field for its fourth event of the year, the LIV Golf Invitational Boston, teeing off Sept. 2-4 at The International.
The field includes six players making their LIV Golf debut: 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Harold Varner III, Cameron Tringale, Marc Leishman, and India’s top-ranked pro, Anirban Lahiri.
They join the field of 48 players competing in Massachusetts. Also making his first LIV Golf appearance is two-time Masters champion and former world No.2 Bubba Watson, who will debut as a non-playing captain and make on-air contributions to live event coverage.
As the world No.2, Smith becomes the highest-ranked player to compete in a LIV Golf event.
He has eight professional wins, including the Players Championship earlier this year. The 29-year-old Australian joins the list of LIV golfers who have met the minimum playing eligibility requirements for the World Golf Hall of Fame, though he must wait another 16 years until the minimum age requirement of 45 before official consideration.
Smith has amassed 48 additional top-10 finishes and is a consistent contender in the majors. A two-time Australian PGA Championship winner, he has also represented his country in international team competitions, including the 2018 World Cup, the 2019 Presidents Cup, and the Tokyo Olympics.
Niemann jumped onto the global golf scene as a teenager. As the World Amateur Golf Rankings’ No.1 player for 44 weeks between 2017-2018, he earned victories against top international players on the Chilean Tour before turning pro in April 2018. The current world No.19 has two professional wins, 26 top-10 finishes, and represented Chile as part of the International Team in the 2019 Presidents Cup and the Tokyo Olympics.
Varner, currently 46th in the world, is a two-time winner as a pro, including the 2015 Australian PGA Championship and the 2022 PIF Saudi International presented by Softbank Investment Partners.
The memorable Asian Tour event featured a thrilling finish, where he sunk a 92-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to defeat Watson by one stroke. Consistently a fan favorite, Varner has 24 top-10 finishes over his professional career, which began in 2012 following a successful career at East Carolina University where he earned honors as Conference USA Player of the Year.
Leishman has 13 professional victories and an additional 64 top-10 finishes, including three notable showings at the Masters and the Open Championship. A former Rookie of the Year who has been ranked as high as No.12 in the world, the Australian is a consistent competitor on the international stage, including the Tokyo Olympics, two World Cups, and four Presidents Cups.
For more than 80 consecutive weeks, Tringale has ranked among the world’s top 100 players. The California native has 30 top-10 finishes in his career and was a three-time NCAA All-American at Georgia Tech. Lahiri, a two-time Olympian for India, has amassed 18 wins and an additional 55 top-10 finishes throughout his professional career.
Runner-up at the 2022 Players Championship to Smith, he has twice represented the International Team at the Presidents Cup, is a three-time representative for Asia in the EurAsia Cup, and is a two-time competitor in the World Cup.
The Boston field showcases seven No.1-ranked players in their respective countries, 12 major champions with a combined 22 majors, and four former world No. 1 players. The global field has 13 Olympians, represents 14 different countries, features 20 players with 10 or more professional wins, and includes current and future stars.
Players will compete in golf’s most exciting new format for $25 million and the chance to become LIV Golf’s fourth individual and team champions and earn points toward LIV Golf’s season-long individual competition.
“LIV Golf is showing the world that our truly global league is attracting the world’s best players and will grow the game into the future for the next generation,” said Greg Norman, CEO and commissioner of LIV Golf. “The best and the brightest continue to embrace the excitement and energy of LIV Golf and what we’re building: A tangible league for team golf that will connect with new audiences all over the globe. We can’t wait to tee off at The International and deliver another memorable event experience for fans.”
The 48-man field will play across 12 teams of four players each. Teams will be announced in the coming days.
