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Lee Westwood joined LIV Golf last year and will soon be back in action as the Saudi-backed series tournament starts soon.
The year has changed, however, and the controversy remains the same. The PGA Tour suspended golfers and got into legal trouble with LIV Golf, and towards the end of the year, the newly formed series sued the DP Tour.
Reportedly, the tour is now trying to ignore the history of LIV Golf players. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the DP Tour promoted the event on social media. In their post, the tour mentioned all the past winners except Lee Westwood, who won the championship in 2020.
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The post didn't go unnoticed by eagle-eyed fans, and a Twitter account, @flushingitgolf, shared a post stating:
"The European Tour is following the lead of the PGA Tour and trying to ignore the history. Lee Westwood is playing, and he won in 2020 and has been an integral part of Europe's Ryder Cup dominance. Ignoring it is a playground, "you're not my friend anymore" behavior."
Lee Westwood commented on the post, saying:
"I'll not lose any sleep. I do, however, wonder what long-term sponsors like HSBC & Rolex think of this behavior. They're the ones putting the money up and I wonder if their best interests are being served."
It's just the start of 2023, and the fiasco will only get worse with time. The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship will start in a few days.
Lee Westwood defeated Matt Fitzpatrick to win the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship
Since its inception in 2006, the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship has successfully organized 17 successful editions. The 18th edition will take place from January 19-22 at Yas Links Abu Dhabi Golf Course in Abu Dhabi.
The championship will feature top-ranked golfers, including Seamus Power, former winner Tyrrell Hatton, 2018 Open Champion Francesco Molinari, three-time DP Tour winner Ryan Fox, and many others.
Last year's champion, Thomas Pieters, will return to defend his title. In 2022, Pieters registered a one-stroke victory over Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma and Spanish star Rafa Cabrera-Bello.
Hatton won the championship in 2021, while Lee Westwood defeated British golfers Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, and French star Victor Perez to clinch the trophy in 2020.
Martin Kaymer holds the record for winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship the most times. He clinched the trophy three times and finished runner-up in 2009. English golfers Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey have won the trophy twice.
Rory McIlroy, the current World No. 1, has competed in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship several times but has yet to win. However, he finished second in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015.
Here are the winners of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship over the years.
- 2006: Chris DiMarco
- 2007: Paul Casey
- 2008: Martin Kaymer
- 2009: Paul Casey
- 2010: Martin Kaymer
- 2011: Martin Kaymer
- 2012: Robert Rock
- 2013: Jamie Donaldson
- 2014: Pablo Larrazabal
- 2015: Gary Stal
- 2016: Rickie Fowler
- 2017: Tommy Fleetwood
- 2018: Tommy Fleetwood
- 2019: Shane Lowry
- 2020: Lee Westwood
- 2021: Tyrrell Hatton
- 2022: Thomas Pieters
