Jan 27, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; Phil Mickelson acknowledges the crowd after a putt on the fourth green during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course – South Course. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
On Thursday, June 9th the PGA Tour officially declared war on the LIV Golf International Series. 17 PGA players were suspended indefinitely by the PGA Tour.
This suspension will effectively ban any LIV participants from competing on the PGA Tour’s sanctioned events (including the PGA Tour Champions, PGA Tour Latinoameric, PGA Tour Canada, etc.). Those who wish to participate in LIV events in the future will also face the same suspensions according to the PGA’s official announcement.
PGA Tour suspends current and future LIV players. pic.twitter.com/lKhxo27Ida
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) June 9, 2022
While the suspension could feel out of nowhere for casual sport fans, all suspended players knew there could be consequences for joining LIV events. The PGA Tour issued a warning on May 10th, stating potential discipline.
LIV Golf’s Response to PGA Tour Suspensions
The officials within the LIV did not wait long to publicly respond. LIV Golf stated that the suspensions were “…vindictive and it deepens the divide between the Tour and its members.” They concluded with “The Era of free agency is beginning…”
Official statement from LIV Golf pic.twitter.com/UBt4DpRdS4
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 9, 2022
Who Received a PGA Tour Suspension?
The 17 players who were suspended from the PGA Tour include several high-profile names. Most notably is Phil Mickelson, who was the first defector into the LIV. Mickelson is currently ranked 72nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. It has been reported that Mickelson received a $200-million contract for jumping to the LIV.
Dustin Johnson is the highest ranked LIV member, currently ranked 15th. He announced his LIV membership this week after resigning from the PGA Tour. It has been reported that Johnson is going to earn $125-million in a signing bonus. 2020 U.S. Open Champion, Bryson DeChambeau, is not playing the inaugural LIV event in London. DeChambeau’s agent confirmed that he will join LIV events in July, in Oregon.
Other notable players to join the LIV defectors were Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Charl Schwartzel, Kevin Na, Martin Kaymer, Taylor Gooch, Patrick Reed, Branden Grace, Matt Jones, Hudson Swafford and Lee Westwood.
What About Major Tournaments?
It is still unclear if the four separate organizations who run golf’s traditional major tournaments (the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship) will, or will not, allow LIV players to participate. All four major tournaments are not PGA Tour sanctioned events. LIV golfers expect to be eligible for major tournaments.
While the suspension has raised many eyebrows, there certainly will be a legal battle to ensue. LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, stated that several players have committed to legal battles against the PGA Tour. Norman stated, “I can only speak on information given to me by our legal team, and I have an extremely talented legal team in antitrust and anti-competitive laws, and we believe we’re in the right position. We believe the players are independent contractors and have a right to go play wherever they want to go play.”
A Deeper Dive Into the Rival Leagues
Publicly backed by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, the LIV remains controversial amongst golfers, fans, and sponsors, due to the country’s long history of human rights violations. These alleged violations range from controversial airstrikes in Yemen, to its treatment of Women and the LGTBQ+ community, to potentially aiding in the murder of featured Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi.
LIV golfers have stated they want to create a competitive landscape against the PGA Tour, which will hopefully allow the Tour’s players to get better compensation and streamline meaningful changes to the PGA Tour. They also want to improve golf telecasts, which may capture a larger audience over time, and potentially change competitive golf with new formats being introduced by the LIV. In the end, to most fans it certainly looks like a money grab.
Of course, the PGA believes that the LIV could be a potential threat towards their organization, fans, ad-partners and ultimately their bottom-line… hence the crazy suspensions.
What do you think about all of the drama? Do you feel players are complicit to Saudi Arabia or is that unfair? Shoot me a tweet on the cesspool they call twitter @GarettThomas!
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