Google News
"Do not play on the LIV Golf Tour" I know what you are thinking, but it is not. It would be reasonable to think that Jay Monahan uttered this sentence, but no. Scrolling through the text of the complaint filed by the 11 players against the PGA Tour, they energize several uncomfortable revelations.
Apart from the one that caused the most uproar, namely that of the two-year suspension imposed by the PGA Tour on Phil MIckelson already in March due to his recruiting activity in favor of the LIV, there is another rather surprising one.
The President of the Augusta National Board, Fred Ridley, on the occasion of the last edition of the Masters, would have personally instructed a number of participants not to play in the LIV Golf Invitational Series. In addition, some representatives of the Augusta Nationale would have threatened the players to withdraw their invitation to participate in the Masters if they joined LIV Golf.
The complaint also highlights how PGA Tour pressured Augusta National officials to take part in a meeting of the Players Advisory Council to be held in May. All of this would happen right after the launch of the League led by Greg Norman.
But what puts Fred Ridley in a rather uncomfortable situation is the fact that during a press conference before the tournament, to a specific question about the birth of the Saudi Super League, he gave a non-answer, declaring that "our mission is that to always act in the best interests of the game, whatever form it takes ".
On the same occasion, he also explicitly stated that "the Augusta National did not remove Phil MIckelson's invitation to the Masters". The complaint thus highlighted the contrast between the behaviors of Augusta National and its President.
"Augusta National, sponsor of the Masters Tournament, took several actions aimed at indicating its alignment with the PGA Tour, thus instilling in the leading players the doubt that they would be excluded from future Masters Tournaments" (point 159 of the complaint). One thing is certain. We are about to see a radical change in the world of professional golf.