In a membership note earlier Thursday, the PGA Tour announced that all current and future players in the LIV Golf Invitational Series have been suspended indefinitely.
The announcement came less than half an hour after the rival league kicked off on Thursday at the Centurion Club near London, with a 48-member field that includes a handful of PGA Tour supporters, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia.
Commissioner Jay Monahan said the 17 members competing in the first LIV event violated the rules of the Tour’s tournament, as the Tour announced on May 10 that it would not provide conflicting events for those interested in the first-class event. league. Monahan has repeatedly told players that they will be penalized for participating in LIV events without dropping out.
All Tour players competing in future LIV Series events – Bryson DeChambeau is among those committed to the second event, June 30 – July 2 in Oregon – will also be eliminated. They will not be eligible to compete in the Presidents Cup this September.
Johnson and Garcia were among those who withdrew from the tour. As a result, their names will be removed from the FedExCup ranking and they will not be allowed to receive exceptions for sponsors as non-members.
Mickelson, who has the status of a lifelong tour after winning more than 20 events in 15 or more seasons, said Wednesday that he has no plans to resign. Mickelson’s agent, Steve Loy of Sportfive, has no further comment on stopping the Tour.
Of the 17 players who were eliminated, only six were currently ranked in the top 125 by FedExCup points, and only one, Talor Guch (№ 13), was ranked in the top 40. These players will also not qualify for Presidents Cup this September; the only member currently in the qualifying position was Luis Osthuisen, who was ranked fifth in the international rankings.
“These players made their choice for their own financial reasons,” Monahan wrote. “But they may not require the same benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform for PGA Tour membership as you. These expectations do not respect you, our fans and partners. You made a different choice, which is to follow the rules of the tournament that you agreed to when you fulfilled your dream of winning a PGA Tour card and – more importantly – to compete as part of the leading organization in the world of professional golf. “
The full list of players who have been suspended: Mickelson, Johnson, Garcia, Guch, Osthuisen, Brandon Grace, Matt Jones, Martin Cimmer, Graham McDowell, Kevin Na, Andy Ogultry, Turk Petit, Ian Poulter, Charles Schwarzell, Charles Schwarzell Uihlein and Lee Westwood.
Shortly after the tour note was published, LIV Golf – led by former world number one Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – responded in a statement, calling the Tour’s actions “vindictive” and pledging that “this is certainly not the last word on this subject.”
“Today’s announcement from the PGA Tour is vindictive and deepens the division between the Tour and its members,” the statement said. “It is worrying that the Tour, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the object that blocks golfers from playing. This is certainly not the last word on this topic. The era of free agencies is beginning, as we are proud to have a full field of players joining us in London and beyond. ”
The London event is the first of seven regular season tournaments in the LIV schedule, each promising a 54-hole event, no cuts, a rifle start and a record bag of $ 25 million, with $ 4 million for the individual winner. The team championship will offer a $ 50 million prize pool later this fall.
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