The PGA Tour has a tee time.
That time is now.
Right after the appreciable and escalating sounds that the Greg Norman-led LIV Golfing International Series has been building as it prepares to start off its 1st event, Thursday outdoors of London, the silence coming from the PGA Tour is deafening.
Envelopes are becoming pushed by players. And the PGA Tour, so significantly, has stood by and viewed in silence — even though sources have explained to The Article that disciplinary motion could be declared as quickly as Thursday by the PGA Tour.
Dustin Johnson, who publicly pledged his allegiance to the PGA Tour in February, was the initially large domino to drop when he signed a agreement with LIV Golf for a noted $125 million previous 7 days.
Then came Phil Mickelson, who inked for a described $200 million on Monday. Both of those Mickelson and Johnson are in the LIV industry this week.
Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed reportedly also will be generating the leap, as to start with claimed Wednesday by United Kingdom newspaper The Telegraph, but they likely won’t engage in until finally the 2nd celebration, at Pumpkin Ridge exterior Portland, Ore., from June 30-July 2. Sources informed The Put up that DeChambeau signed for $100 million.
A supply common with the negotiations instructed The Article previously this 7 days that LIV Golf is “very close’’ to completing a deal with Rickie Fowler. The far more best gamers stick to Mickelson, Johnson, DeChambeau, Reed and other individuals to a place the PGA Tour considers the dim side, the extra it would make you speculate how several a lot more will comply with.
Mainly because there will be much more.
And the additional players that make the go the much more it gets distinct that commissioner Jay Monahan and the powers at the PGA Tour, who are all undoubtedly plotting their next stage, are going to have to soften the tough-line stance from gamers jumping to LIV Golfing.
Monahan has been quite general public and really assertive about his stance from players who choose to play in the Saudi-backed venture, threatening sanctions towards them, however not specifying what all those sanctions will be.
There’s perception all that Monahan has been waiting for gamers to basically tee it up in an LIV Golfing celebration prior to he dishes out punishment. Some burning thoughts await when and if the PGA Tour does punish gamers.
Initial: What will the sanctions be?
2nd, Will the Tour, which as a coverage (a foolish 1 at that) does not publicly announce participant fines or suspensions, announce the sanctions?
3rd (and most importantly): Does the PGA Tour have the legal proper to punish — and quite possibly banish — gamers if they’re deemed unbiased contractors?
The Norman-led LIV team thinks it has the remedy to that 3rd dilemma, and that reply is a resounding “no.’’
Last tumble, at an LIV Golfing summit hosted by Norman in Manhattan, I was amongst a compact team of journalists invited to listen to Norman and other vital figures concerned with LIV Golfing. They introduced a detailed glimpse at what their program was for the tournaments and teams as they ready to start.
Following the conference, we convened for evening meal at a midtown restaurant and I sat across the table from Norman and LIV Golf’s main attorney, who spoke with absolute certainty that the PGA Tour would not have a leg to stand on in court docket to stop gamers from competing on another tour or to ban them from its tour.
An appealing and ironic element to this tale is the simple fact that several years ago, more than time, the PGA Tour basically gutted what was identified as the European Tour and is now named the DP Globe Tour.
Since the PGA Tour offered the biggest purses and the most prestige and experienced tournaments that dealt with the players like royalty, the very best players from the European Tour migrated to the United States to enjoy on the PGA Tour.
That significantly weakened the European Tour to the point at which the two excursions have considering the fact that aligned in company — typically simply because the DP Earth Tour demands the PGA Tour.
The clear detrimental to this tug-of-war is the division of best players that’s getting put. But the PGA Tour can set an conclusion to that division by not banning the players who opt to engage in LIV Golfing situations and allowing the independent contractors to engage in wherever they want to play.
There is a notion that Mickelson, Johnson, DeChambeau and the gamers who’ve signed on to play LIV Golf occasions no extended want to be a aspect of the PGA Tour, but which is not the situation at all. Quite a few have simply created the assumption that they’re no for a longer period welcome to enjoy on the PGA Tour due to the fact of the community stance Monahan has presented.
For the excellent of golfing — and isn’t that what all of these governing bodies are regularly pushing on us? — it is time we listen to from the PGA Tour. That time appears to be Thursday.
With any luck ,, the PGA Tour is not late for its tee time.
— Brian Wacker contributed to this report
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