A number of PGA Tour players opted to compete in last month’s LIV Golf Promotions event in a bid to earn a spot on the breakaway circuit, despite fears of suspension
The PGA Tour has confirmed that there will be no sanctions handed out to members who opted to competed in LIV Golf Promotions last month.
LIV hosted their first-ever Q-School event in December, with three places on offer for the 2024 season. After four rounds across three days, it was Kalle Samooja who came out on top, and he was then joined by Jinichiro Kozuma and Kieran Vincent via a playoff.
Since the American circuit had previously banned any player who switched to LIV Golf, it was unclear going into the event which PGA Tour player would actually commit to competing.
Towards the end of November, however, it seemed the Tour had loosened its position regarding the breakaway circuit when an official from the PGA Tour revealed that its members would be permitted to participate in the event as it was a “unauthorised tournament.”
Then, in a stunning reversal of course, many reports asserted that the Tour was actually going to punish those who had chosen to attend the Q-School event. Many well-known players chose to take the chance, such as former Ryder Cup player Jeff Overton and major winner Jason Dufner.
However, the PGA Tour has now notified Mirror Sport that, because the event was Q-School style, no sanctions have been imposed on anyone who entered LIV Promotions. This was more than a month ago. The choice was made this week when Martin Trainer, one of the LIV contenders, returned to competition on the Tour.
Trainer finished the week in a tie for seventh place, just three spots shy of securing a spot on the LIV circuit for 2024. Since then, he has returned to Q-School, but this time on the PGA Tour, where he has found more success after being awarded a spot in this week’s Sony Open.
The 32-year-old banked his place in the second Tour event of the year via Monday Q-School, and will be joined by Parker Coody, Norman Xiong and Robert Streb in Hawaii. Following his LIV appearance last month, Tranier acknowledged that, although he was certain he wouldn’t face a suspension from the Tour, he was worried he might incur financial penalties.
“We’ll observe the situation. In December, he told Golfweek, “They might fine me.” It was an odd circumstance since I was considering my options and trying to hold onto my card, which is how I ended up in that predicament. I believe there will be a fine instead of a suspension.
