London | Saudi Arabia’s contentious effort to buy its way into professional golf created a new flash point in the sport this week with Europe’s team for next year’s Ryder Cup dropping its captain, Henrik Stenson of Sweden, just before his expected move to the new LIV Golf series.

Stenson, whose affiliation with LIV Golf was announced on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), became the latest player lured by the riches up for grabs in the Saudi-backed series, which has upended the world of professional golf since hosting its first event earlier this year.