TULSA, Okla. – The field for the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event has not been announced and already the fallout for players associated with the Saudi-backed breakaway tour has begun.
According to a report on SI.com, UPS has cut ties with long-time spokesperson Lee Westwood, who confirmed earlier this month that he’d applied for a conflicting-event release to play the first LIV Golf event.
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Westwood confirmed to SI.com that he’d split with UPS but declined to comment on whether it was because of his association with LIV Golf. The global courier and logistics company also cut ties “as of now” with Louis Oosthuizen, a member of the South African’s management team told GolfChannel.com.
Oosthuizen has also been linked to the LIV Golf series although the field for the first event, which is set to be played June 9-11 at the Centurion Golf Club in London, has not been announced.
UPS has business partnerships with the Ryder Cup, which is jointly owned by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, as well as the DP World Tour and the Masters.
Earlier this week, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh reiterated his support of the Tour in the growing divide between the two entities: “We are big supporters of the ecosystem as it stands. We think the structure, I don’t know if it’s a league, it’s not a league at this point, but the league structure is somewhat flawed,” he said.