PGA Tour boss won't drop suspensions for LIV golfers

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan talks about the decision to cancel the last three days of The Players Championship because of the coronavirus during a press conference Friday, March 13, 2020 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Will Dickey-- / USA TODAY NETWORK

PGA Tour commissioner says he won't drop suspensions for LIV golfers

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 8/24/22

Suffice to say, the PGA Tour is going to go through a bit of a makeover between this weekend's Tour Championship and when the 2022-23 season starts. But there's one thing that will very much not be changing: The PGA's stance on suspending golfers who defect to the LIV Golf Invitational.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan made that clear when he addressed the media on Wednesday ahead of the PGA's season finale in Atlanta, Georgia.

"They've joined the LIV Golf Series and they've made that commitment," Monahan said.

Jay Monahan on whether he'd consider dropping suspensions for Tour players who joined LIV: “No, they’ve joined the LIV Golf Series and they’ve made that commitment. I’ve been clear throughout, every player has a choice and I respect that choice. I think they understand that.”
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) August 24, 2022

Monahan also praised the PGA pros who attended last week's players-only meeting. The gathering, led largely by Tiger Woods, was brought together as a front to combat the rival golf league.

Jay Monahan praised those at the player meeting last week, who "rallied together to strengthen the PGA Tour platform." Many of the ideas which have been reported are being enacted almost immediately, going into effect for next season's schedule, which begins in just a few weeks.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) August 24, 2022

The PGA announced several changes this week that it hopes will deter pros from defecting to the rogue golf series, including adding 12 "elevated" tournaments with purses between $15 million and $20 million. When asked if he thought making these changes sooner would have kept more golfers from leaving the PGA Tour, Monahan said the situation was unavoidable.

Jay Monahan on whether making these revisions earlier could've prevented LIV: "They were launching, they were going to move forward. I think the moves we made right now are the right ones for our organization. I don’t think there’s any scenario where they weren’t launching."
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) August 24, 2022

The Tour Championship tees off at East Lake Golf Club on Thursday.

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