PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. Will Dickey-- / USA TODAY NETWORK

PGA Tour denies waiver requests to play in first LIV Golf event

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 5/10/22

The PGA Tour on Tuesday announced a major decision regarding the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league.

The Tour said they would deny waivers to its members who are looking to compete in the LIV Golf events.

“As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA Tour and its players,” a memo to members read, according to Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard.

The PGA Tour denies releases for members to play the LIV Golf event in June outside of London. “As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the PGA Tour and its players," a memo to players read.

— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) May 10, 2022

The Saudi Arabian-funded league has been the subject of great controversy. The Saudis were looking to create a rival golf tour by throwing huge amounts of money at many of the top-ranked players in the world. Phil Mickelson drew negative attention when he admitted he was talking with the Saudis to obtain leverage against the PGA Tour.

Next month in London is when the first LIV Golf event is scheduled. PGA Tour members need to obtain waivers to compete in non-Tour events. Generally they are able to obtain such waivers, but the Tour denied waivers for the LIV event. The PGA Tour likely made the decision because it views the LIV series as a competitor.

Former World No. 1 golfer Lee Westwood is one of the golfers who was planning to compete in the first event, which begins on June 11 at Centurion Club in England. Sergio Garcia also signaled his plans to compete in the event.

The series currently has eight events planned between June and October.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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