LIV Golf Players Denounce Their PGA Tour Suspensions: 'It Makes No Sense.'

Shortly after they teed off in the first LIV Golf event, every PGA Tour member was suspended. Graeme McDowell was dismayed. Ian Poulter vowed to appeal.

HERTFORDSHIRE, England – The memo came just after the first-ever round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series began Thursday, and while several PGA Tour players who have since been suspended acknowledged they expected penalties, there was a surprise.

As part of commissioner Jay Monahan’s memo to players saying that all 17 PGA Tour members in the 48-player LIV field would be suspended indefinitely, he also said that those who gave up their membership would not be allowed to compete in PGA Tour events via a sponsor exemption.

That was viewed as a possible loophole, as typically four to eight spots each week at regular PGA Tour events are considered unrestricted, meaning they can go to any player.

While a few years ago the Tour instituted a rule that said all sponsor exemptions needed to be approved, there was never any doubt that a seasoned pro would be denied.

Not the case now.

So, for example, if the Rocket Mortgage Classic wanted to invite Dustin Johnson – who is now no longer a member of the PGA Tour – it will be prohibited from doing so.

That came as a surprise to tournament officials contacted by SI.com/Morning Read who said sponsors and tournament directors had not been notified in advance.

“We’ve all known that something was coming, and we wondered about the idea of inviting players who are no longer members,’’ said one tournament official who did not wish to be identified. “We knew that loophole existed and certainly you can understand tournaments might want to get the best players possible.’’

The tournament official suggested surprise that this edict was not first addressed with title sponsors and tournament directors, even if it is understood that it might be the correct way to proceed. “We figured at some point they might want to circle the wagons and get us all in agreement.’’

Not so far.

Monahan’s memo was stern, but also did not state how long the suspensions would last. It’s a clear warning to those considering doing this in the future that their path back to the PGA Tour – if they want it – might not be so easy.

Sergio Garcia, who resigned his membership, didn’t seem bothered. Phil Mickelson, who Wednesday said as a lifetime member of the PGA Tour he should be allowed to keep that honor and play when he wants, said he would not comment on PGA Tour business. Graeme McDowell acknowledged he’d resigned shortly before the first round. And Ian Poulter said he would be appealing his suspension.

“That’s (Monahan's) decision,’’ Garcia said. ““There’s nothing I can do. If that’s the way he wants to go, that’s the way he wants to go.’’

Garcia didn’t seem bothered. He hopes to still have the ability to play European Tour events and be eligible for the Ryder Cup. But he has made the move to LIV Golf and seems at peace with it.

“That’s one of the reasons why I resigned because I didn't want to get into any legal battles,’’ he said. “I'm very happy to be here for many reasons. It's going to allow me to do what I love, which is playing golf. It's going to allow me to see my family more, spend more time with my kids, 4 and 2, spend as much time as I can, and I make a good living doing it.

“For me it's a win/win. I'm excited for what's coming. Excited to finally be here playing and see the reaction of the people and the players and everything. So it's very exciting.’’

McDowell took more issue with the memo. It was only 30 minutes prior to the start of the round that he notified the PGA Tour he was resigning his membership.

It’s not something he wanted to do, he said.

“I don’t think it’s healthy for the sport,’’ McDowell said of the suspensions. “We're here because we believe we're independent contractors and we should be allowed to compete and play where we want to all over the world. A guy like Sergio García has been doing that for the last five years of his life. I've been doing it for the last 20 years of my life with no hesitation and no arguments from anybody.

“But we're in the midst of a competitive threat. We have a compelling option which is not agreeable by the big tours in the world. We have a situation. So it's disappointing. Not a whole lot we can do about it, obviously. As players, we're here understanding the consequences of what may lay ahead of us, and you know, obviously we're trying to operate best we can and the team at LIV have done a great job helping us navigate those potential consequences, and have said they will stand by us as we go through these processes.’’

McDowell said the decision to resign was difficult because he did not want to do so.

“I wanted to keep the moral high ground and kind of remain a member of the Tour because I really didn't feel like I needed to resign nor that I should have to resign. It was a very difficult decision. I kind of resigned out of an abundance of caution honestly because I feel like it puts me in a less litigious situation regards getting drawn into anything unnecessarily.

“But like I say, I didn't want to resign. I love the PGA Tour. It's been great to me. This is not about 'the PGA Tour is a bad tour.' This is about being able to add on additional opportunities to my golf career. Really hard.’’

Poulter appeared surprised. The Englishman and Ryder Cup star has not resigned his PGA Tour membership.

“I will appeal for sure,” he said. “It makes no sense, given how I have played the game of golf for all this time.

“I didn’t resign my membership because I don’t feel I have done anything wrong. I have played all over the world for 25 years. This is no different, I am committed to playing around the world like I have done for so many years so it is a shame if they view this as different.

“Of course it’s going to be sad, when you feel you haven’t done anything wrong and want to promote the game of golf. It’s a power struggle and it’s just disappointing.”

Asked if he or his team might consider a lawsuit – and commissioner Greg Norman and LIV has said they would provide support for such efforts – Poulter said it's possible.

“I am sure we will sit down and evaluate the process and work out what is the right thing to do," he said. "I don’t feel I have done anything wrong. What have I done wrong or different to the past?”