Former and current members of the PGA Tour continue to express divergent views on whether LIV Golf players ought to serve sentences before participating in Tour events.
According to Brandel Chamblee, LIV Golf players should be subject to fines and suspensions prior to participating in PGA Tour events.
The 61-year-old Chamblee is a vocal opponent of the league and the money it receives from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is run by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Just last year, the analyst for Golf Channel claimed that by signing Cam Smith to the series, Greg Norman had ruined Smith’s career.
A few months later, he demanded that Phil Mickelson be disqualified from the World Golf Hall of Fame on the grounds that his joining LIV Golf “caused irreparable damage to the game.” He does appear to be amenable to players joining the Tour again, but only if they take responsibility for their actions.
He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “They should have to pay fines, sit out for a while, and when they come back, support/play in only non-signature events for as long as they played for LIV.” These remarks expand upon those made at the WM Phoenix Open by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
LIV golfers “definitely shouldn’t be able to come back without any sort of contribution to the tour,” he asserted on the Golf Channel on Wednesday. He also emphasized the “various degrees” of defections.
Scheffler recalled, “You had some guys that left our tour and then sued our tour.” “There should be some sort of caveat to them getting back on our Tour,” the speaker said, conceding that it wasn’t exactly in great taste.
“I believe that a pathway back should exist if they desire one, but it shouldn’t be limited to returning during the first week of playback.”
It would not be good news for Mickelson if Chamblee’s suggestion—that returnees miss signature events for the duration of their absence—comes to pass. For instance, after initially requesting a release from the Tour in April 2022, he would be essentially prohibited from participating in the limited-field events for about two years.
The people most negatively impacted would be other early adopters like Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, and Sergio Garcia.
Likes of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Rickie Fowler oppose LIV golfers receiving easy paths back to PGA events, as does Scheffler and Chamblee. Notably, though, is Rory McIlroy no longer a part of that expanding group.
“I find it difficult to punish people,” Unexpectedly, he declared last month, “I don’t think there should be a punishment.” “Let people who are still eligible for this tour return if they would like to play or if you would like to try something else.
“I used to be an outspoken critic of that, but I see where golf is now, and I think it’s bad for both parties to have a diminished PGA Tour, diminished LIV Tour, or anything else.”
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