Windred is among four confirmed Australian starters alongside Matt Jones, Wade Ormsby and Jed Morgan in the opening event of the Saudi-funded rebel tour - a $35 million tournament at Centurion Golf Club outside London, starting June 9.

Former World No.1 Dustin Johnson headlines the field which includes fellow major winners Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel and Graeme McDowell.

Last place in the 48-man, 54-hole event receives $167,000.

The LIV series consists of eight tournaments. If Windred plays the full compliment, he will earn a minimum $1.3m in prizemoney.

Norman offered the top two placegetters on the Australasian order of merit a spot in the series.

Windred was second with $125,285 in prizemoney, behind Morgan ($190,408.77). Both players also secured a place on the DP World Tour next year.

Windred has spent the past 18 months playing on the European Challenge Tour, where he has earned $78,503 but is yet to win.

The US PGA Tour and DP World Tours have said they will refuse to grant releases for players to take part in the LIV and are likely to suspend membership.

Windred is a conditional member of the DP World Tour and it is unclear whether he will receive a sanction.

The 2021 Victorian PGA champion has missed the cut in the past two Challenge Tour events in Spain and Scotland. He will tee up in the $2m International Series in London on Thursday, which is an Asian Tour event.

Fellow Novocastrians Andrew Dodt and Jake Higginbottom are also in the field.

Norman has come in for strong criticism as CEO of LIV Golf, with critics slamming the mega-rich series as a means of "sports washing" for Saudi Arabia's human rights record.

"Free agency has finally come to golf," Norman said in a statement. "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."

World No.13 Johnson, a two-time major champion, is the highest-ranked player in a field that currently includes 26 of the top 150 in the world.

Johnson, who in February said he was "fully committed" to the PGA Tour, ultimately decided the opportunity was too good to pass up.

"Dustin's been contemplating this for the past two years and decided it was in his and his family's best interest to pursue it," his agent David Winkle told Golf Channel.

"He's never had any issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it's given him but in the end felt this was too compelling to pass up."

The field for London also includes three amateurs - 15-year-old Ratchanon "TK" Chantananuwat of Thailand, Spain's David Puig and 2021 US Amateur champion James Piot.

- with AAP

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