Next week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth promises to be a high-profile event for more than one reason.
Not only is it the DP World Tour’s flagship event, with a suitably strong field including newly crowned FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy, a significantly higher purse than usual of $8m and the first tournament to earn points towards Ryder Cup qualification, but it will also include 18 LIV Golf players.
Video: What Is LIV Golf?
The appearance of players from the controversial Saudi-backed Series has already caused disquiet among some other players, including McIlroy and US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who will also play next week, and that was before any intervention from the DP World Tour.
However, that changed when it was reported in The Telegraph that LIV Golf players would be excluded from the pro-am and encouraged not to wear LIV Golf apparel at the tournament. Further details have now emerged on the DP World Tour's stance in a memo from CEO Keith Pelley obtained by The Golf Channel. It read: “They will not be given any on course competitive disadvantage – i.e. unfavorable tee times – but they will not be required to play in the pro-am on Wednesday and will not be in TV featured groups.”
Facing awkward encounters from fellow pros, missing out on the pro-am and being asked not to wear LIV Golf apparel would likely leave even the thickest-skinned players feeling unwanted, but their exclusion from featured TV groups will come as another blow to the rebels – including Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Patrick Reed – who intend to tee it up at Wentworth.
It’s not the first time the DP World Tour has apparently sought to make an example of LIV Golf players with groupings. In June’s BMW International Open in Germany, nine of the 10 players who took part in the first LIV Golf Invitational Series event were grouped together, seemingly to make a statement from the powers-that-be that, while eligible for the tournament, they were not considered welcome.
LIV Golf players are permitted to play in next week’s tournament due to an injunction that temporarily prevents the DP World Tour suspending them from competing in its tournaments. The ruling is due after a full legal hearing next February.
