The Saudi-backed rebel golf league will announce Aston Martin as a major sponsor when Dustin Johnson and Co tee off at its first event next week.
A partnership with a marquee brand had been identified as a major priority for LIV Golf organizers after months of controversy over its funding from the Gulf state.
Aston Martin’s backing for the breakaway competition is seen by insiders as “returning the favour” after Saudi Arabian company Aramco became a leading sponsor for the Formula One team.
The state-owned oil and gas company has been on Aston Martin F1 livery since the start of the season, and it emerged this week it has an option to obtain a 10 percent stake in the team.
As part of apparently close relations between Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire who also owns and runs their F1 team, and the Saudis, the former British brand will now have close ties with the LIV series.
With Saudi-backed Newcastle United also securing Premier League survival, plans drawn up in Riyadh to improve international relations via sport are fast taking shape.
Repeated warnings of sports washing raised by Amnesty and other human rights campaigners have failed to stop football, F1 and now golf entering into long-term lucrative commitments.
As Telegraph Sport revealed on Wednesday, Johnson, the former world No 1, was paid $150 million by Greg Norman to secure his shock sign up for the rebel golf league, which will get under way at the Hertfordshire-based Centurion Club next week. Three months after declaring he was “fully committed” to the PGA, the 37-year-old was named among a 42-man field for next week’s LIV Golf Invitational, which offers $25million in prize money.
The Telegraph understands that the top five who haven’t already qualified in the Asian Tour International Series event at the Slaley Hall Hotel, Spa and Golf resort in Northumberland over the weekend will also be included on the entry list. There will also be a sixth name added, prompting speculation that Phil Mickelson will be handed a late entry.
