Miami, Adrian Otaegui returns to play the final
This is a decision that will clearly not alleviate the discomfort reigning within the DP World Tour concerning some of its affiliated players having chosen to play on the LIV Golf, the dissident Tour supported with millions of dollars by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.
Adrian Otaegui, LIV Golf
Brilliant winner less than a fortnight ago of the Andalucia Masters on the terrible course of Valderrama with a record score of -19 over four laps, Adrian Oategui has indeed responded favorably to the invitation to participate in the season finale.
2022 of LIV Golf scheduled in Miami (Florida) from October 28 to 30 at the Trump National Doral. A tournament which will be played exceptionally in teams (12 groups of 4 players) with a record prize pool of 50 million dollars.
The winning team will share the modest sum of 16 million while the last four will pocket a million dollars. Which means that Adrian Otaegui is guaranteed, whatever happens, to leave the United States with at least $250,000.
The Spaniard will team up with Chilean Joaquin Niemann, Zimbabwean Scott Vincent and Australian Jediah Morgan. Currently 10th in the European ranking, Adrian Otaegui, 30 years old on November 21, has already played three LIV Golf events since the launch of the Dissident League at the beginning of June in London (England).
He was thus present at this inaugural tournament (June 9-11) then in Portland (June 30-July 2) and finally in Boston (September 2-4). It remains to be seen how the DP World Tour will take the hit of such a decision. Remember that the Basque, who trains regularly with Olivier Léglise near Arcangues (64), had, at the beginning of July, dragged the European Tour before the judges of the International Dispute Resolution Center (with the Englishman Ian Poulter and the South African Justin Harding) so that he can take part in the Scottish Open, a richly endowed tournament (8 million dollars) and co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour.
He had won his case, provisionally! The position of the “dissident” players of the DP World Tour will be decided next February by a British court. In the meantime, Adrian Otaegui, but also some of his “rebellious comrades” such as the English Richard Bland and Sam Horsfield (23rd and 38th in the ranking) or the South African Oliver Bekker (32nd in the ranking), will be able to set off in fifteen days at the Nedbank Golf Challenge ($6 million in prize money) before playing the final in Dubai the following week ($10 million in prize money).
Two small field tournaments (60 then 50 players) which complete the 2021-22 season of the European Tour…