Conflict Between PGA Tour and LIV Golf Heats Up: Seminole Pro-Member Event Excludes Players from LIV

The tug of war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf continues to be a hot topic in the golf world.^[0] Players who joined LIV Golf will not be welcome at next month's Seminole Pro-Member event, a prestigious tournament played the Monday after the Honda Classic at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida.^[1]

Jimmy Dunne, president of Seminole, and PGA Tour Policy Board director, told Golfweek, “We are doing what we have always done. 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.”^[2] He added, “Candidly, I have a pretty good relationship with most people. 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.”^[2]

Dunne previously competed in the Pro-Member event alongside some of the players who he won’t welcome at this year’s event.^[3] For the upcoming year, the club president and Max Homa will be playing together instead of Dunne and Dustin Johnson as was the case last year.^[3]

If the LIV Golf leaders had targets to acquire their most desired players, Jon Rahm would be high on their list.^[4] Players like Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Scottie Scheffler have been outspoken about their support for the PGA Tour’s competitive framework and legacy over LIV’s open checkbook.^[4]

Due to an extraordinary amount of money injected into the PGA Tour system for 2023, those who remain loyal to it will not have to worry about financial hardship.^[4] The PGA Tour’s new compensation program—designed in direct response to the continued threat of LIV poaching PGA Tour stars—splashes more than $150 million into play this year.^[4] The majority of the proceeds from the premier events will be received by the most well-known stars.^[4]

PGA Tour models and analysis project that the player who places 30th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2023 will earn a total of $7 million, including bonus payments.^[4] Projected earnings for the 70th-place player have increased to $3.5 million, up from the $2.15 million Matt Jones received in the same spot last year.^[4]

0. “‘It’s Not Playing Centre Field For The Yankees’: High Level PGA Tour Official Publicly Mocks LIV Golf” EssentiallySports, 18 Jan. 2023, https://www.essentiallysports.com/golf-news-pga-tour-liv-golf-its-not-playing-centre-field-for-the-yankees-high-level-pga-tour-official-publicly-mocks-liv-golf/

1. “Report: LIV Golf players not welcome at Seminole Pro-Member” Golf Channel, 26 Jan. 2023, https://www.golfchannel.com/news/report-liv-golf-players-not-welcome-seminole-pro-member

2. “Seminole Pro-Member event officially bans LIV Golf members” Sportskeeda, 26 Jan. 2023, https://www.sportskeeda.com/golf/news-seminole-pro-member-event-officially-bans-liv-golf-members

3. “LIV Golfers Barred From Exclusive Pro-Am Featuring Many Top Pros” Sports Illustrated, 26 Jan. 2023, https://www.si.com/golf/news/liv-golfers-barred-from-seminole-pro-member-jimmy-dunne

4. “The $153 million question: Breaking down the PGA Tour’s response to LIV” GolfDigest.com, 18 Jan. 2023, https://www.golfdigest.com/story/breaking-down-pga-tour-response-liv-golf-153-million-dollar-question