The animosity between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf shows no signs of simmering with rebel stars now banned from another prestigious tournament in America.
Next month, the Pro-Member tournament takes place at the Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. The event, which has been running since 2004, has become renowned for attracting golf's biggest names, and in 2014 famously fielded the four reigning major champions - Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Jason Dufner.
But this time around, stars who have defected to LIV won't be invited to the Donald Ross designed course. In the latest twist in golf's civil war, course President Jimmy Dunne outlined it was an event purely for the PGA Tour.
Dunne competes himself every year, and ironically, partnered up with Dustin Johnson in 2022. 'DJ' was among the first high profile defectors to the Saudi-backed series last summer, but unlike the majority of rebels who have still tried to compete in PGA events, immediately resigned his Tour card.
“We are doing what we have always done,” Dunne explained to Golfweek on Thursday. “PGA Tour players get the first priority. This event has always been supported by the PGA Tour. We try to make this a special and unique day for Tour players.”
However, Dunne, who will play this year with Max Homa, stopped short of criticising LIV players. "Candidly, I have a pretty good relationship with most people,” he said. “These guys had a choice to make, but they’ve made it. That’s it. I’m not going to say something nasty about guys who participated in the past.”
As well as Johnson, the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen will be absent, despite having played in the 2022 tournament. Patrick Cantlay will head in as the defending champion.
The tense relations between players of the two tours has been underlined this week with a spat between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Reed was filmed throwing a tee at the Northern Irishman, who was been one of the most vociferous opponents of Greg Norman's venture.
Golf icon Nick Faldo has also launched a scathing attack on former rival Norman. He branded his tournaments "meaningless," citing LIV's poor viewing figures during their streamed events last year.
