PGA Tour SUSPENDS Phil Mickelson and 16 other defectors to rival Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series

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The PGA Tour dramatically crashed the opening day of the Saudi breakaway series by immediately suspending its defectors in a major escalation of golf’s civil war on Thursday.

In an explosive letter to PGA members, sent within half an hour of the first tee shots at Centurion Club in St Albans, Tour commissioner Jay Monahan declared that 17 players, including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Sergio Garcia, would be banned from their events indefinitely. 

While the situation around their participation in future majors remains undecided, the PGA Tour’s sanctions are a definitive line in the sand between golf’s established factions and the star players who have cashed in by joining the LIV Invitational Series. 

The same punishment will apply to players who enter future LIV competitions, with Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed expected to join in the coming weeks. LIV responded by calling the Tour ‘vindictive’.

Monahan’s letter read: ‘Participation in the Saudi Golf League/LIV Golf event is in violation of our tournament regulations. These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons. 

‘I am certain our fans and partners — who are surely tired of all this talk of money, money and more money — will continue to be entertained and compelled by the world-class competition you display each and every week, where there are true consequences for every shot you take and your rightful place in history whenever you reach that elusive winner’s circle.

‘(The Tour’s) legacy can’t be bought or sold.’

Poulter plans to appeal the PGA’s ruling. He said last night: ‘I will appeal for sure if that’s exactly what it says (in the PGA letter). 

‘It makes no sense how I have played the game of golf all this time. I haven’t done anything wrong. I am playing the game I love and they’re going to take that opportunity away. It’s disappointing.’

A number of players — including Johnson, Martin Kaymer, McDowell, Garcia, Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Kevin Na, Charl Schwartzel and Westwood — had moved to nullify the impact of the expected sanctions by resigning their PGA Tour membership in advance of the LIV opener at Centurion. 

Making up the 17 banned players were Talor Gooch, Matt Jones, Andy Ogletree, Turk Pettit, Hudson Swafford and Peter Uihlein, who are among the 48 playing for an obscene prize pot of £20million.

The LIV series led by Greg Norman hit out with a statement that read: ‘The announcement by the PGA Tour is vindictive and it deepens the divide between the Tour and its members. 

‘It’s troubling that the Tour, an organisation dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the entity blocking golfers from playing. This certainly is not the last word on this topic.’

What happens next will be fascinating, particularly in regards to the Ryder Cup and the four majors. 

On the latter, the US Open have said those in this field will remain eligible, but longer term it has not been stated how the different organisers of the quartet — Augusta National, the PGA of America, the USGA and the R&A — will respond to players siding with LIV Golf. 

Likewise the DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, have remained silent on their own stance to the rebels.

Westwood and Poulter admitted on Wednesday that they do not know if they will ever again feature in the Ryder Cup.

Players at Centurion have been buffeted through the week with accusations that they are enabling sportswashing by signing up to the Saudi-backed series, which will have eight events in its first season. Mickelson alone is believed to have pocketed a £160m signing-on fee. 

It emerged on Thursday that they had been coached on how to handle thorny questions with a crib sheet distributed by organisers. 

One snippet, echoed by players such as McDowell, read: ‘As I understand it, their goal is to grow the game, provide players additional opportunities, and give fans more fun and a better entertainment product. We all want the game to flourish. They want everyone to benefit — including the players.’

LIV Golf declined to comment.

Blasting the defectors for ‘willfully violating regulation’, Monahan outlined suspensions in a wide-ranging letter issued to members.  

The PGA Tour chief’s letter added: ‘Their participation in the Saudi Golf League/LIV Golf event is in violation of our tournament regulations.

 ‘The same fate holds true for any other players who participate in future Saudi Golf League events in violation of our regulations.

‘These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons. But they can’t demand the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities and platform as you. That expectation disrespects you, our fans and our partners.’

‘As you know, players listed below did not receive the necessary conflicting event and media rights releases – or did not apply for releases at all – and their participation in the Saudi Golf League/LIV Golf event is in violation of our tournament regulations,’ the letter continued. 

‘The same fate holds true for any other players who participate in future Saudi Golf League events in violation of our regulations.’

A memo to players last month warned that the Tour would not be releasing players to feature in the opening rebel series event and that has rung true.

‘As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA Tour and its players,’ that memo to players read. 

Thursday’s bombshell letter enhances the pressure on the sport’s other governing bodies – Augusta National runs the Masters, the PGA of America runs the PGA Championship, and the R&A oversees the British Open – to see how serious their sanctions – if any – will be on players jumping ship. 

Former world No 1 Johnson jumped before others have now been pushed as he confirmed he had resigned from the PGA Tour on Tuesday. 

Johnson said: ‘Obviously at this time it’s hard to speak on what the consequences will be, but for right now, I’ve resigned my membership from the PGA Tour. 

‘I’m going to play here for now, and that’s the plan. Majors, again I can’t answer for them, but hopefully they are going to allow us to play. 

‘Obviously I’m exempt for the majors so I plan on playing there unless I hear otherwise.’ 

Mickelson and DeChambeau both insisted they had not offered their resignations to the PGA Tour, prior to day one of the LIV Invitational Series, but that has now been deemed irrelevant. 

Mickelson, who is said to be pocketing £160million ($200 million) by defecting, showed an element of golfing tradition as he wore a black zip-up featuring the Augusta National logo when he took to the fairways. 

United States Golf Association said of the Saudi-backed LIV Series last week that participation would not end a player’s ability to feature at the US Open in Brookline, Massachusetts, next week.

‘We pride ourselves in being the most open championship in the world and the players who have earned the right to compete in this year’s championship, both via exemption and qualifying, will have the opportunity to do so,’ read the USGA statement. 

‘Our field criteria were set prior to entries opening earlier this year and it’s not appropriate, nor fair to competitors, to change criteria once established.