The PGA Tour is doing the expulsion of official ‘dissident’ players

The consequences of the withdrawal of some top players from the PGA Tour and the European Tour (DP World Tour) are already here. The American circuit on Thursday suspended 17 golfers participating in the so -called Super League sponsored by Saudi petrodollars (specifically the London Ivitional, inaugural tournament) and announced that players in subsequent events, such as Bryson DeChambeau, have won US Open in 2020, and Patrick Reed, winner of the Masters in 2018, as from Portland, will tread the same path. They will not be able to participate in any PGA Tour tournament, either tours in Canada, Latin America or anything related to the PGA Tour, and it is expected that the European circuit, the DP World Tour, will follow the same line.

Some, like Sergio García and Dustin Johnson, have already given up their exemption on the American circuit, so this Sunday, at the end of the Canadian Open, they will be removed from the official rankings (FedEx Cup). “The players made their decision, based solely on a financial issue,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said.

It remains to be seen what the role of the ‘majors’ will be in all of this. The only leader so far is the US Open, which starts next Thursday, June 16, and has given the green light for Super League participants to play in the third ‘big’ of the season. Whether these players will be able to return to the PGA Tour again remains to be determined.

In a memo sent to tour members, Monahan said that even if players opt out of the tour before the first LIV Golf Invitational outside London, they will not be allowed to play PGA Tour events as non- member by obtaining a waiver from the sponsor. . Ten players quit the PGA Tour. Mickelson, who is a lifelong member with his 45 PGA Tour titles, is yet to come. “These players can’t claim the same PGA Tour membership rights, considerations, opportunities and platforms as you. They don’t respect you, our fans and our partners.”

LIV Golf (Super League), run by Greg Norman and funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, responded to the tour’s decision by calling it vindictive and divisive. “It’s about that the tour, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the sport, is the entity that blocks golfers from competing,” LIV Golf said. “Of course, this is not the last word on the subject. The era of independent freedom is just beginning.”

The problem is that players compete without exception in the event of conflict from the PGA Tour. Players typically receive three such waivers a year for overseas tournaments, but Monahan declined the ‘exit’ for the LIV Golf Invitational in London because it is a series of eight tournaments with five events in the United States. . And the PGA Tour does not allow exemptions for events in North America.

“We followed the tournament rules from start to finish to respond to players who chose to withdraw from the PGA Tour for intentionally violating the rules,” Monahan wrote, who said players who withdraw will have their names removed from the PGA. ranking. Tour after this week.

Norman said he was excited to see the 30-year effort fulfilled. The ‘white shark’ was unaware that until the very end he no longer had the support from the players as he thought. That circuit — embryo of what would have been a world tour — never left the earth. It is yes, with the support of an economic bag never seen in golf.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Johnson was paid $ 150 million – more than what Tiger Woods’ career on the PGA Tour earned – just for signing up. Mickelson did not deny reports that he received $ 200 million. Each contest offers $ 25 million in prize money, with $ 4 million going to the individual winner. The richest event on the PGA Tour was The Players Championship, at $ 20 million. This week’s Canadian Open, which features five of the world’s top 10 players at stake, has a purse of $ 8.7 million.