Phil Mickelson will play on the 18th of Pro-Am at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire prior to the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Stephen Paston | PA Images | Getty Images
The PGA Tour has suspended 17 golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, the winners of the major championships competing Thursday at a Saudi-sponsored LIV golf event near London. The suspension is indefinite.
The player states, “We did not receive or request any release of the required competing event and media rights.” Internal PGA Tour Memo.. The PGA Tour will also suspend future tour players playing at the LIV event, Thursday’s note said.
“These players made their choice for their own financial reasons,” the memo reads. “But they can’t claim the same PGA Tour membership benefits, considerations, opportunities, and platforms as you do.”
Mickelson, just 51 years old LIV Golf’s leading recruiter, Primarily funded by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. He hasn’t participated in golf tournaments since February.His deal with LIV is reportedly Worth about $ 200 million.. Johnson’s deal is worth about $ 125 million, New York Post reported..
Mickelson, who won six major golf championships, is second only to Tiger Woods. PGA Tour Career Money Leader List For almost $ 95 million. Johnson is third with about $ 74 million. (Woods declined a large offer to participate in LIV, according to Greg Norman, another former PGA star who is CEO of LIV Golf Investments.)
Norman, Mickelson, and others have been enthusiastic about coordinating with ventures despite past human rights abuses by the Saudi Arabian government, including involvement in the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. (Saudi Arabian courts sentenced several to imprisonment for murder.) During FebruaryMickelson told his biographer that he believed that being involved in Saudi Arabia was “scary”, but that other factors were at work.
“They execute people over there to be gay. Why do I think of it when I know all this? This is a once-in-a-lifetime reshape of how the PGA Tour operates. Because it’s an opportunity, “he said at the time.
Mickelson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Johnson said there was no comment.
As for whether players can rejoin the tour later, the PGA Tour memo says: Be transparent and respect the PGA Tour rules that helped you establish. “
In a statement, LIV Golf called the decision “convincing” and “closed the gap between the tour and its members.”
“It’s annoying that a tour, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play games, is an entity that blocks golfers’ play. This is certainly not the last word on this topic. Being proud, the era of free agencies begins, with full-field players in London and beyond. “
The LIV event in the UK is the first of eight upcoming tournaments. Five of them are set up for the United States, including two of the courses owned by former President Donald Trump.
Here is the list of players. Asterisk indicates a player who has already told the PGA Tour to resign from membership.You can read Click here for a complete internal note.
- Sergio Garcia *
- Tara Gooch
- Branden Grace *
- Dustin Johnson *
- Matt Jones
- Martin Kaymer *
- Graeme McDowell *
- Phil Mickelson
- Kevin Na *
- Andy Ogletree
- Louis Oosthuizen *
- Turk Petit *
- Ian Poulter
- Charl Schwartzel *
- Hudson Swafford
- Peter Euline
- Lee Westwood *
