World No.2 Cameron Smith, who won his first Major at last month's British Open, headlines the latest group of players to join LIV Golf, the lucrative Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway series.
The Australian, who won two of the biggest events on the PGA Tour schedule this year at the Players Championship and the British Open, is the highest-ranked player to join LIV Golf to date.
The six-time winner on the PGA Tour has been linked to LIV Golf for weeks and refused to deny the reports, but will debut in the controversial series at the September event at The International Golf Club, outside Boston.
Smith, 29, last competed over the weekend at the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship, where he made US$640,000 (NZ$1.043 million), finishing 20th in a 29-player field a week, after withdrawing from the penultimate playoff event with hip discomfort.
"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 LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman.
"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."
This week's field will feature 12 Major champions, with a combined 22 Majors and four former world No.1 players.
The PGA Tour, which has seen high-profile players like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau make the move to LIV Golf, has said any members who compete on the rival circuit will be suspended indefinitely.
LIV Golf, in which all 48 players in each 54-hole event with no cut are guaranteed a payday, is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which critics say is a vehicle for the country to improve its image in the face of criticism over its human rights record.
In a bid to combat the threat posed by LIV Golf, which launched in June and has so far held three events, the PGA Tour has announced several changes, including enhancements to its schedule and significant purse increases.
LIV Golf was added to an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, according to an amended complaint filed last Friday, that showed four of the original 11 players named as plaintiffs removed their names.
Reuters
