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June 1 (UPI) -- Former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson will lead a field of highly-ranked players in the first LVI Golf Invitational Series event, despite threats of discipline from the PGA Tour, the Saudi-backed league announced. The breakaway league announced 42 members of the field Tuesday on its website. The LIV Golf Invitational London will run from June 9 to 11 at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead, England.
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Twenty-six of the Top 150 golfers in the world plan to compete, despite earlier warnings of discipline PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan issued to players who compete in the rival league.
No. 71 Phil Mickelson, who was among the players who previously requested a release from the PGA Tour to compete in the initial LIV Golf event, is not in the field.
The six-time major champion, who received criticism for negative comments he made about Saudi Arabia in February, hasn't played on the PGA Tour since late January.
"Free agency has finally come to golf," LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said in a news release. "This is an opportunity to start a movement that will change the course of history by bringing new and open competition to the sport we all love.
"The desire shown by the players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic belief in our model and confidence in what we're building for the future."
The Royal Bank of Canada, which sponsors Johnson and several PGA Tour events, said Tuesday that it is "extremely disappointed" with Johnson's decision to compete. The RBC Canadian Open, a PGA Tour event, is scheduled at the same time as the LVI Golf Invitational London.
Johnson, the No. 13 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, No. 20 Louis Oosthuizen, No. 33 Kevin Na, No. 54 Sergio Garcia, No. 74 Lee Westwood, No. 89 Ian Poulter and No. 120 Charl Schwartzel are among the top players among those confirmed for the three-day competition.
LIV Golf events will include a total of 48 players, with the final six spots filled by qualifiers and players invited by CEO Greg Norman. Events will feature a dozen teams, which consists of four players each.
A league-appointed captain will select three players for his team through a draft before each event.
Events will feature 54 holes and will not have cuts. Each of the seven regular-season competitions will offer a prize purse of $25 million, with $4 million for the winner.
An individual champion will receive a payout of $18 million at the end of the regular season. The second- and third-place golfers in the regular season will receive $8 million and $4 million, respectively.
The winning team at the season-ending championship will receive $16 million. Each player on the top team will receive 25% of that total. The league is financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
Johnson was among players who previously committed to the PGA Tour to confront rumors that he would play in the rival league. His agent, David Winkle, issued a statement Tuesday to explain why Johnson changed his mind.
"Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years," Winkle said. "Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family's best interest to pursue it.
"Dustin has never had an issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end, felt this was too compelling to pass up."
The LIV Invitational Portland will take place from June 30 to July 2 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Ore. Future events are planned this year in Bedminster, N.J., Boston, Chicago, Bangkok, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Miami.
The Miami event, which will run from Oct. 27 to 30 at Trump National Doral, will serve as the championship.
The draft for the LIV Golf Invitational London will take place Tuesday. The event also will feature a June 8 pro-am and a June 9 opening ceremony.
