LIV Golf: PGA Tour Commissioner Explains Decision To Suspend 17 Players

On the day after the LIV Golf Invitational Series completed its inaugural event, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan explained his decision to suspend 17 players who took part in the tournament. Monahan had previously warned that there would be repercussions if golfers joined the new rival golf tour.

"It's been an unfortunate week that was created by some unfortunate decisions, those decisions being players choosing to violate our tournament regulations," Monahan said on CBS Sports at the RBC Canadian Open Sunday. "It's my job to protect, defend and celebrate our loyal PGA Tour members, our partners and our fans. And that's exactly what I did. And I don't think it was a surprise to anybody, given how clear I had been about how we were going to handle this situation."

Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen are among the golfers who have been suspended from the PGA Tour for playing in the Saudi-backed league. Charl Schwartzel, who was also suspended, took home $4.75 million in total prize money for winning LIV Golf’s event at the Centurion Club outside London.

PGA Tour members Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, and Pat Perez will compete at upcoming LIV Golf events. They are expected to receive suspensions when they do so.

The LIV Golf tour features fewer tournaments with less competition, but the money has lured away some of the world’s best players. On the PGA Tour, golfers don’t get paid for simply entering a tournament. The top LIV players have received nine-figure deals.

"Why do they need us so badly?" Monahan said. "Because those players have chosen to sign multiyear lucrative contracts to play in a series of exhibition matches against the same players over and over again. You look at that versus what we see here today and that's why they need us so badly. You've got true, pure competition. The best players in the world are here at the RBC Canadian Open, with millions of fans watching, and in this game, it's true and pure competition that creates the profile in the presence of the world's greatest players.

"And that's why they need us. That's what we do. But we're not going to allow players to free ride off of our loyal members, the best players in the world."

LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman has argued that PGA Tour golfers should have the right to play for the new league because they are independent contractors. It’s been speculated that the suspension could open the PGA Tour to an antitrust lawsuit.

For now, the suspended golfers can compete at the four major championships because the events aren’t run by the PGA Tour. The USGA, which runs the 2022 U.S. Open, has stated that eligible LIV golfers can play at the major this week.

The case is expected to be the same for the Open Championship in July.