PGA Tour rejects golfer’s request to give up to play Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament event in London

In a surprising decision by the PGA Tour this week, golfers who wanted to be allowed to play in the first LIV Golf Invitational Series tournament were denied their waiver requests. It is currently unknown if any PGA Tour players will risk being punished by going before the event at the Centurion Club in London from June 9-11.

“We have informed those who have signed up that their request has been denied in accordance with the PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations. As a result, TOUR members are not allowed to participate in the Arab Golf Federation event. Saudi Arabia by our Rules,” said PGA Tour senior vice president Tyler Dennis in a memo to the players. “As a member organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA TOUR and its players.”

The belief is that the PGA Tour, which must license its members to play in events outside of the PGA Tour, will approve waivers for the first of eight LIV Golf events this year before denying them at a later date when the league moves. to the North American turf. Instead, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan soon introduced the law, denying his membership the ability to participate in big-money events from the leap.

“Sadly, the PGA Tour appears intent on denying professional golfers the right to play, unless it happens exclusively during a PGA Tour,” LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said in An announcement. “This is especially disappointing given the Tour’s nonprofit status, where its mission is to ‘promote the common good of competitive golfers.’ Instead, TOur intends to maintain its illegal monopoly on a free and open market.Tour’s actions are anti-golfers, fans and anti-competitive. Whatever the PGA Tour gets in our way, we won’t be stopped. We will continue to give players options to promote the great game of golf globally.”

This decision by the PGA Tour is somewhat unusual. Many golfers – including Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson – was exempted earlier this year to compete in the Saudi Arabia International, an event during the Asia Tour. However, the PGA Tour sees LIV Golf differently, ostensibly because it is not a one-time event but the start of a rival tournament. The PGA Tour only allows players to request a waiver three times a year.

If a player chooses to defy those denied exemptions and still play the event, Monahan has continuously maintained privacy that players may be permanently suspended and banned from the PGA Tour.

“Our PGA Tour rules and regulations are written by the players, for the players,” Monahan said at the Players Championship earlier this year, implying that the suspension and ban would brought before a court of law. “They’ve been around for over 50 years. I’m confident in our rules and regulations, our ability to govern them, and that’s my position on the matter. … We’re confident in our position. and we’ll continue to move forward as the PGA Tour and focus on the things we control.”

PGA Tour players who have claimed an exemption or are affiliated with the tournament include Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na and Robert Garrigus. Then there’s Mickelson, who is, of course, by far the biggest name involved, who seems to be the crux of the whole thing and is sure to be the poster boy in court because all of this has already happened. be solved.

LIV Golf is a Saudi Arabia-sponsored tournament that is working to create an alternative golf tournament while also attracting some of the world’s top players to its events. It was reported that Phil Mickelson helped write the operating agreement for the league before he disappeared from public view following some controversial comments about the league’s moderators he is believed to be. helped get started. The 48-player, 12-team Golf LIV events — five of which are slated to be held in the United States later this year — will total $20 million, including $5 million paid to the team. top at each event.

Norman was adamant that legally speaking golfers, who were considered independent contractors, could not be barred from participating in the PGA Tour. Obviously Tour sees it differently. While this waiver of exemption is certainly surprising for the first event – the PGA Tour allows exemptions at all times for events not held on North American soil – it will always happen later when the tournament conflicts with conflict events on the same day in the United States.

This whole story is likely to be in court from the day it begins. Now, it looks like that’s likely to happen sooner than first thought.