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MMAPlaywright

First 100
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
6,030
10,714
The PGA Tour has suspended the 17 members who are competing in the inaugural LIV Golf event, announcing the punishment in a memo to players Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.

Players who resigned their membership before starting the LIV Golf event being held outside London are also no longer eligible to compete in tour events or the Presidents Cup.

"These players have made their choice for their own financial-based reasons," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan wrote in the memo. "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. You have made a different choice, which is to abide by the Tournament Regulations you agreed to when you accomplished the dream of earning a PGA TOUR card and -- more importantly -- to compete as part of the preeminent organization in the world of professional golf."
 

MMAPlaywright

First 100
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
6,030
10,714
The memo said players who compete in LIV events are ineligible to participate on the PGA Tour or any other tours it sanctions, including the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Champions, PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

Players Suspended by PGA Tour
The PGA Tour has suspended 17 current and former members who are participating in the inaugural LIV Golf event.

Sergio Garcia*
Talor Gooch
Branden Grace*
Dustin Johnson*
Matt Jones
Martin Kaymer*
Graeme McDowell*
Phil Mickelson
Kevin Na*
Andy Ogletree
Louis Oosthuizen*
Turk Pettit*
Ian Poulter
Charl Schwartzel*
Hudson Swafford
Peter Uihlein
Lee Westwood*
* Informed the PGA Tour that they had resigned their membership

"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," Monahan wrote.

"You are the PGA TOUR, and this moment is about what we stand for: the PGA TOUR membership as a whole. It's about lifting up those who choose to not only benefit from the TOUR, but who also play an integral role in building it. I know you are with us, and vice versa. Our partners are with us, too. The fact that your former TOUR colleagues can't say the same should be telling."

The PGA Tour announced the discipline less than 30 minutes after 17 of its members or former members who resigned from the tour in the past week hit their opening tee shots in the inaugural LIV Golf event at Centurion Club outside London.

Among them were six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, two-time major champion Dustin Johnson and longtime Ryder Cup participants Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.

Two other former major winners, 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, have also reached agreements with LIV Golf to compete in future tournaments, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. LIV Golf officials have also had ongoing discussions with other players, including Rickie Fowler and Jason Kokrak.

Johnson and Garcia are among the players who have resigned from the tour, along with 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and Kevin Na. The players hoped to avoid punishment from the tour by quitting.
 

MMAPlaywright

First 100
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
6,030
10,714
The LIV Golf series features 54-hole events, shotgun starts, no cuts and a team format. The seven regular-season events, which also are scheduled in Bedminster, New Jersey, Boston and Chicago, are offering $25 million purses, the richest in golf history. The winner gets $4 million, and the last-place finisher gets $120,000. A season-ending team championship at Trump National Doral in Miami, on Oct. 27-30, has a $50 million purse.
 

Hauler

Been fallin so long it's like gravitys gone
Feb 3, 2016
45,412
57,814
LIV is funded by Saudi money and they are throwing a TON of guaranteed cash at the players. PGA basically said "them or us" and many big name players are bolting.

Phil Mickelson
Dustin Johnson
Sergio Garcia
Talor Gooch

Today marks the first event. It's in London and being streamed on livgolf.com, Facebook and YouTube.
 

MMAPlaywright

First 100
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
6,030
10,714
LIV is funded by Saudi money and they are throwing a TON of guaranteed cash at the players. PGA basically said "them or us" and many big name players are bolting.

Phil Mickelson
Dustin Johnson
Sergio Garcia
Talor Gooch

Today marks the first event. It's in London and being streamed on livgolf.com, Facebook and YouTube.
They got Gooch?
 

Hauler

Been fallin so long it's like gravitys gone
Feb 3, 2016
45,412
57,814
PGA will flex on the participants, but they are fighting an uphill battle. It's a sport of individual personalities and LIV has already grabbed a bunch of the bigger names in the sport.

My assumption is that FOX will be very interested in broadcasting the events if it has legs. NBC, ABC and ESPN won't touch it because they won't want to piss off PGA.
 

BeardOfKnowledge

The Most Consistent Motherfucker You Know
Jul 22, 2015
60,547
56,268
LIV is funded by Saudi money and they are throwing a TON of guaranteed cash at the players. PGA basically said "them or us" and many big name players are bolting.

Phil Mickelson
Dustin Johnson
Sergio Garcia
Talor Gooch

Today marks the first event. It's in London and being streamed on livgolf.com, Facebook and YouTube.
I love that their tourney is running 9-11.
 

BeardOfKnowledge

The Most Consistent Motherfucker You Know
Jul 22, 2015
60,547
56,268
Shotgun start is brilliant. Instant action with a full field.
Not a fan personally. I can see the "instant action" appeal but it's no not really my bag.

What I really hope for is that it leads to some really fast golfer being behind some Ben Crane type player and asking to play through and then it becoming a big brewhaha.
 

MMAPlaywright

First 100
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
6,030
10,714
From a NY Times article:

”But in staging some of the most lucrative tournaments in golf history — the winner’s share this week is $4 million, and the last place finished in each event is guaranteed $120,000 — Saudi Arabia is also relying on a proven strategy of using its wealth to open doors and to enlist, or in a cynic’s view, buy, some of the world’s best players as its partners.

Some of the touches at its debut on Thursday might have felt kitschy — red phone boxes, sentries dressed like British palace guards and a fleet of black cabs to deliver the players and their caddies to their opening holes — but there was no hiding what was at play: In its huge payouts and significant investment, the series’ Saudi backers have taken direct aim at the structures and organizations that have governed professional golf for nearly a century.

While the Saudi plan’s potential for success is far from clear — the series does not yet have a major television rights deal, nor the array of corporate sponsors who typically line up to bankroll PGA Tour events — its direct appeal to players and its seemingly bottomless financial resources could eventually have repercussions for the 93-year-old PGA Tour, as well as the corporations and broadcasters who have built professional golf into a multibillion-dollar business.”
 

MMAPlaywright

First 100
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
6,030
10,714
“Most of the players, though, seem to have concluded that the money was just too good to pass up. The reported $150 million inducement to Johnson, the highest-ranked player to jump to the new series, would be more than double the total prize money he has earned on tour in his career. The prize money on offer to the last-place finisher at Centurion this week is $120,000, which is $120,000 more than coming last in a PGA Tour event is worth. The $4 million check for the winner is about three times the winner’s share at this week’s PGA Tour event, the Canadian Open.

The money, in fact, may be LIV Golf’s biggest lure at the moment: Two more major champions, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, were said to be close to accepting similarly large paydays to join the series when it shifts to the United States this summer, including a visit to New Jersey for the first of two scheduled events at Donald Trump-owned courses.”
 

MMAPlaywright

First 100
First 100
Jan 18, 2015
6,030
10,714
“Arguably the most high-profile and perhaps the most controversial figure to join the series is Mickelson, a six-time major champion who was for years one of the PGA Tour’s most popular and marketable players. He has made no secret of the fact that his interest was tied to his contempt for the PGA Tour, which he accused of “obnoxious greed.”

Chastened by vociferous criticism of his headline-making remarks about Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and the decisions of several of his sponsors to sever ties with him, Mickelson on Wednesday re-emerged on the public stage but declined to provide details of his relationship with LIV or discuss the PGA.

“I feel that contract agreements should be private,” said Mickelson, who reportedly is receiving $200 million to participate.”
 

SongExotic2

ATM 3 CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. #FREECAIN
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
39,772
53,672
If someone gets a hole in one they won't be able to buy a round.


Who remembers that episode of my name is earl??
 

Hauler

Been fallin so long it's like gravitys gone
Feb 3, 2016
45,412
57,814
Expected.
No fucks given.

Instead of not making the cut, the last place player gets $120k

Winner gets $4 million. Total purse is $25 million for each event (Masters is $15 million)

It's a LOT more money - guaranteed - for participants. This is their job.
 

Filthy

Iowa Wrestling Champion
Jun 28, 2016
27,507
29,834
The LIV Golf series features 54-hole events, shotgun starts, no cuts and a team format. The seven regular-season events, which also are scheduled in Bedminster, New Jersey, Boston and Chicago, are offering $25 million purses, the richest in golf history. The winner gets $4 million, and the last-place finisher gets $120,000. A season-ending team championship at Trump National Doral in Miami, on Oct. 27-30, has a $50 million purse.
they have Trump and MBS.

I'll pass.

as much as I loathe televised golf, and the PGA, I hope MBS and Trump fail spectacularly.
 

Hauler

Been fallin so long it's like gravitys gone
Feb 3, 2016
45,412
57,814
“Arguably the most high-profile and perhaps the most controversial figure to join the series is Mickelson, a six-time major champion who was for years one of the PGA Tour’s most popular and marketable players. He has made no secret of the fact that his interest was tied to his contempt for the PGA Tour, which he accused of “obnoxious greed.”

Chastened by vociferous criticism of his headline-making remarks about Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and the decisions of several of his sponsors to sever ties with him, Mickelson on Wednesday re-emerged on the public stage but declined to provide details of his relationship with LIV or discuss the PGA.

“I feel that contract agreements should be private,” said Mickelson, who reportedly is receiving $200 million to participate.”
DeChambeau is probably the biggest name that the PGA is concerned about.

Phil is at the end of his career. Bryson is must-watch golf when he's on.
 

SongExotic2

ATM 3 CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. #FREECAIN
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
39,772
53,672
Expected.
No fucks given.

Instead of not making the cut, the last place player gets $120k

Winner gets $4 million. Total purse is $25 million for each event (Masters is $15 million)

It's a LOT more money - guaranteed - for participants. This is their job.
I don't hold it against them. I wouldn't work for the Saudis tho, fuck em. I did get very close, and actually signed a contract. Then I changed me mind and they got mad.
 

Filthy

Iowa Wrestling Champion
Jun 28, 2016
27,507
29,834
I don't hold it against them. I wouldn't work for the Saudis tho, fuck em. I did get very close, and actually signed a contract. Then I changed me mind and they got mad.
I had sweet offer from the Saudis when I left USAF. Just couldn't bring myself to contribute to an oppressive theocracy.
 

SongExotic2

ATM 3 CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. #FREECAIN
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
39,772
53,672
I had sweet offer from the Saudis when I left USAF. Just couldn't bring myself to contribute to an oppressive theocracy.
I was all set to go over. They wanted a minimum of 2 years or I'd be liable for the course they were gonna put me on (fiber optic and eurofighter)

Then I had to have surgery, and while I was laid up the news broke about that khalsoggi murder and I thought and I decided fuck em I don't wanna work for them. Then I got threatening emails because I'd signed up already.

Only way I'll step foot in Saudi Arabia is to shoot the fuckers.
 

kaladin stormblessed

Nala fanboy
Apr 24, 2017
17,627
20,132
they have Trump and MBS.

I'll pass.

as much as I loathe televised golf, and the PGA, I hope MBS and Trump fail spectacularly.
Exactly. I haven't watched golf in like a decade. But whoever said shotgun start made me want to tune in for some reason

But these dudes are indirectly aligning with MBS. Thats pretty sick

Coincidentally, Biden is also about to realign with MBS lol