Dodt shooting for spot on rich LIV tour

Dodt is among 11 Australians and 73 players overall competing for three places on the 2024 LIV Tour, which pays players a minimum $180,000 for each of the 15 tournaments.

That's $2.7 million a year for simply teeing up. Prize money adds to the base wage.

If successful in the LIV Promotions event, which has a $1.5 million purse, Dodt is also likely to be drafted straight into the all-Australian Ripper GC team, which is headed by Cameron Smith.

"From an Australian point of view, 11 guys are going," said Dodt, who currently plays on the Asian Tour.

"There is obviously a spot on Cameron Smith's team. You would think any one of the 11 Aussies would be straight into that team. That is a fair incentive.

"As well as Cameron, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones are in the team. They are class players and three good guys too. It would be a whole lot of fun that's for sure."

Jed Morgan, who won the 2023 Australia Order of Merit, was was the fourth member of Ripper GC this year but was relegated and is among the players Dodt is out to beat in the qualifier, which starts Friday.

The qualifier has a unique format.

Twenty players from the 59 competing in the first round progress.

They are joined by 14 players in round two, where scores are reset.

The top 20 then advance to round three.

Scores are again reset for a 36 hole shoot-out, with the top three earning a place on the Saudi-backed tour.

"It will be like playing a pro-am every day," Dodt said. "I don't think it changes the way you play. You just have to be switched and ready to go for hole one, shot one."

Jason Dufner, who won the US PGA in 2013, and fellow US PGA Tour player Kevin Campbell enter in the second round.

Dodt earned a shot at the qualifier after finishing in the top 40 in the order of merit for the international series on the Asian Tour.

"The opportunity only came about in the past couple of months," Dodt said. "My play on the Asian tour was fair this year without being great. It was good enough to earn a go at this."

In his most recent event, the 37-year-old was tied for 51^st at one under in the Australian Open.

"In golf, sometimes the way it goes is you either get the good breaks or the bad breaks," Dodt said. "At the moment, I seem to be on the end of the bad breaks. I had a couple of bad bounces last week. When it is all going your way, it lands in the rough and kicks back on to the fairway. I feel like I am one good bounce, one good putt, one good shot from turning it around."

Dodt has played the course in Abu Dhabi "seven or eight times" during almost a decade playing on the European Tour.

"The course is quite long, and it's usually windy," he said. "The rough is normally up and greens are quick. It is definitely an advantage having played there."

Meanwhile, Nick Flanagan is five strokes behind leader Adam Scott after the opening round of the $300,000 36-hole Cathedral Invitational in northeaster Victoria.

Scott fired a eight-under 64 to lead by a stroke from Cameron Smith.

Flanagan, the defending champion, is tied for 15th at three-under after miixing six bidies with three bogeys.

Fellow Hunter professional Blake Windred is a stroke back at two under.