Course Correction

This week, 73 players from around the world will play at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates with hopes of earning a lucrative spot on LIV Golf. The LIV Promotions event is a 72-hole tournament offering a $1.5 million purse and three exemptions into the league in 2024. 

Last month, Monday Q Info obtained a potential field list that included nearly a dozen notable PGA Tour names, but those players are no longer in the field. We reached out to some of the players to learn what went into their decision to sign up for the event. Those discussions, however, ultimately were about why the players are choosing not to play. 

As first reported by Alex Micelli in Sports Illustrated on Nov. 4, the PGA Tour said its members could compete in the LIV Promotions event as it was not deemed an “unauthorized event.” The Tour’s statement, which appeared in the SI article, did not mention the need for players to request a waiver but did say the Tour’s position could change.

“Based on the information publicly available regarding the LIV Golf Promotion event, it is determined to be a qualifying event only and not a part of an unauthorized series,” a Tour spokesman said in the SI article. “Therefore, the LIV Golf Promotion event is not categorized as an ‘unauthorized tournament.’ This classification is subject to change should the details of the event change.” 

However, I spoke with multiple PGA Tour members who considered signing up, or signed up and withdrew, because of the threat of suspension. Almost all of those players spoke with me under the condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions from the Tour. 

“It’s the only place I have to play,” one PGA Tour member said. “I am not in a position to piss them off. So I can’t really speak my mind. The Tour doesn’t care about you until they think you might leave, and then they won’t let you go.” 

The threat of suspension did not sit well with the player, who said he was also questioned by a Tour representative about why he would want to go to LIV.

According to players we spoke with, the Tour’s position changed when it learned the Promotions event was going to be streamed, and only then told inquiring players they were required to request a media release 45 days prior to the start of the Promotions event. The event details were announced 48 days ago. 

Keith Hirshland, a producer on the LIV broadcast team, told Monday Q Info the plan to stream the event has been in place since the announcement of the qualifier.

Another player was in a similar situation, having not requested a release and not being in the Grant Thornton Invitational, the PGA and LPGA Tour mixed event that is being played opposite the Promotions event. Initially, he saw the comments from Tour officials saying players would be allowed to compete in the Promotions event and decided there was no harm in signing up. His plan was to earn one of the LIV spots and then survey the landscape of the PIF-PGA Tour agreement before choosing which Tour to play in 2024. 

Last week, he was unsure whether he would make the journey to Abu Dhabi, and upon hearing the Tour was requiring a media release, he reached out to Tour representatives. He received a similar response as the first player I spoke with. The player cited the 45-day minimum for a release. “Since they (LIV) put out the Q school info 48 days before, the tour says they’d determine discipline on a case-by-case basis after the event,” the player said.

He didn’t want to risk a potential suspension, which the Tour told him would be between 30 and 90 days, so he withdrew. 

Imagine the frustration of a player who chose not to travel to Abu Dhabi because of the threat of suspension, only to learn the Tour had reversed course on potential disciplinary action. “Threaten suspension and then after we all withdraw,” the player said. “Then change the discipline. Classic.” 

Then there’s Mark Hubbard, who is coming off a lucrative season on the PGA Tour. Hubbard, 34, finished 67th on the 2023 FedEx Cup points list and has almost $8 million in career earnings. After seeing the Tour’s original stance on the Promotions event, he believed there was no downside to signing up.

“I don’t know if I want to play out there (LIV), but I knew the field wouldn’t be strong and it would give me more options, so I signed up,” Hubbard says. He applied for a release, which was denied. 

According to Hubbard, a Tour representative told him he would face potential disciplinary action if he chose to play.

“LIV should have known, given their history with the Tour, that the Tour was going to find ways to make it hard for players to go,” Hubbard said. “I don’t know why it’s so important that they (LIV) stream the qualifier since it’s unlikely to be widely watched anyway.” 

Still, Hubbard believes this is the latest example of the PGA Tour not being transparent with its members.

“I still feel some strange loyalty to the Tour,” Hubbard says. “I wouldn’t say the players are losing trust in the Tour’s leadership. We’ve lost trust in the Tour’s leadership.” 

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(Photo Credit- LIV Golf)