Charl Schwartzel wins record $4.75 million in Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf series

ST. ALBANS, England (AP) — Former Masters winner Charl Schwartzel banked $4.75 million on Saturday by profitable the richest match in golf historical past, when the event’s Saudi backers faced renewed backlash soon after a 9/11 victims’ group known as for American gamers to withdraw from the rebel series.

Schwartzel held on for a one-shot victory at the inaugural LIV Golf event exterior London to secure the $4 million prize for the particular person victory — along with a further $750,000 from his share of the $3 million purse earned by his 4-person Stinger workforce for topping the team rankings.

Schwartzel collected additional prize money from winning the 3-working day, 54-gap occasion than he experienced from the last 4 many years mixed. Not that it could match the feeling of sporting achievement that he felt after his gain at Augusta Nationwide in 2011.

“Money is just one matter but there you are participating in for prestige, record,” he said. “Winning a main will always prime anything at all you do.”

Go through A lot more: Tiger Woods to make return from vehicle crash at PNC Championship

This hefty shell out verify has come at a price tag to Schwartzel’s profession position, possessing resigned his membership of the PGA Tour to perform on the unsanctioned collection without a waiver.

“Never in my wildest goals did I believe we could perform for that substantially cash in golf,” Schwartzel, who experienced not gained a PGA or European tour celebration considering the fact that 2016, told the group.

Pressed in the information meeting, he dismissed criticism of the windfall coming from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

“Where the money will come from is not anything … that I’ve ever seemed at playing in my 20 many years occupation,” the South African mentioned. “I feel if I start out digging all over the place where by we performed, you could obtain fault in just about anything.”

Fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis, who was picked for Stinger by crew captain Louis Oosthuizen in the draft, acquired $2.875 million by finishing second at Centurion Club, located concerning Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans.

Schwartzel entered the remaining day with a 3-shot guide and did just plenty of to maintain off Du Plessis inspite of finishing with a 2-about 72 for a 7-under total of 203.

It is the initial of eight occasions in the initially calendar year of LIV Golfing, which began towards the backdrop of the PGA Tour banning players who signed up. The European tour has nevertheless to remark on any sanctions for players who jumped to the collection without its acceptance.

20 players have now defected from the PGA Tour, with Patrick Reed the most up-to-date former Masters champion verified on Saturday as signing up to LIV Golfing as the closing round was getting completed.

View: Massive Saudi financial investment raises questions about Jared Kushner’s organization dealings

Having said that, the beneficial benefits for joining the Public Expenditure Fund-backed collection have not been adequate to entice any gamers rated in the world’s leading 10.

Reed, who has gained nearly $37 million in a ten years on the PGA Tour, is ranked 36th. The 31-yr-previous American’s only big earn was the 2018 Masters.

Acquiring appeared at a few Ryder Cups, the place he has been one particular of the brashest people on the American crew, Reed’s conclusion could see him ineligible for range in the future.

Reed said he would make his debut on the next prevent of the LIV Golf sequence in Portland, Oregon, on June 30-July 2.

Pat Perez, the 46-calendar year-previous American who is ranked 168th in the environment, also joined the breakaway on Saturday, expressing he needs to travel significantly less soon after 21 decades on the PGA Tour.

Saudi Arabia’s observe report of human legal rights violations has sparked criticism from groups, like Amnesty Global, that the country is “sportswashing” its image by investing in signing up sporting activities stars.

LIV Golfing CEO Greg Norman, who would not speak to the media at the event, termed the sequence a “force for good” in a speech at the victory ceremony, without having addressing criticism of the Saudi undertaking.

LIV Golfing performs up the money largesse. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, claimed on phase that there would be a prize of $54 million for any participant who could strike an implausible 54 at a LIV function.

For quite a few in the United States, Saudi Arabia will eternally be connected with the collapse of the Entire world Trade Towers and the deaths of virtually 3,000 individuals on Sept. 11, 2001. All but four of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 had been Saudi citizens, and the Saudi kingdom was the birthplace of Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida and mastermind of the assault.

Terry Strada, the national chairperson of 9/11 Family members United, has sent a letter to associates of LIV Golf stars calling on them to rethink their participation in the series. Her partner, Tom, died when a hijacked plane flew into the World Trade Middle.

“Given Saudi Arabia’s job in the demise of our beloved types and people injured on 9/11 — your fellow Americans — we are angered that you are so prepared to assist the Saudis deal with up this background in their request for ‘respectability,’” Strada wrote, accusing the players of betraying U.S. passions.

Strada’s letter was sent to brokers for Reed as well as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Kevin Na.

“When you husband or wife with the Saudis, you come to be complicit with their whitewash, and enable give them the reputational include they so desperately crave — and are eager to pay handsomely to manufacture,” Strada wrote.

“The Saudis do not treatment about the deep-rooted sportsmanship of golf or its origins as a gentleman’s sport developed upon core values of mutual regard and personalized integrity. They treatment about applying skilled golfing to whitewash their popularity, and they are having to pay you to assistance them do it.”

Victims’ families are hoping to hold Saudi Arabia accountable in New York, regardless of its government’s insistence that any allegation of complicity in the terrorist attacks is “categorically bogus.”