Min Woo Lee’s Plight Makes Golf World Angrily Demand Jay Monahan & Co to ‘Eliminate Sponsors Exemptions’

The PGA Tour has moved to North Carolina for its sixth signature event, the Wells Fargo Championship. As apparent, the field of the championship is small, and there is Webb Simpson, the Policy Board member, along with a player director on the PAC, the Quail Hollow Golf Club member, and a North Carolina resident for a few years. Simpson’s inclusion in the Wells Fargo Championship had been the talk of the town, as it was his fourth sponsor invitation to an event. It was assumed that he was given preference instead of Min Woo Lee because of his policy board membership.

However, Simpson has denied the claims, and someone else was deemed more deserving of the sponsor exemption than him. Australian Golf Digest reporter, Evin Priest, shared on X that Min Woo Lee from the Land Down Under was a runner-up at the Cognizant Classic, and has had four top 4s so far, the last two being at the 88th Masters and CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Moreover, Lee is 34th on OWGR while Simpson is 227th, but still didn’t get the start he deserved at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Preist’s tweet was aimed at rekindling the rumors that the 7-time PGA Tour winner was receiving a sponsor’s invite because of his place on the PGA Tour board and the Player Advisory Council. Seeing it, many in the golf world criticized the PGA Tour for mistreating Lee, highlighting the unfairness.

Golf world disparages PGA Tour’s mistreatment of Min Woo Lee

The PGA Tour had been a competitive league and a place for the best players of the world to tee it up. However, in recent days, the fans have felt that the competitive nature of the game has decreased. This could be because of the divide in the game. This fan, too, wanted the competitiveness to be back on the Tour, and they suggested one thing. Talking about how the sponsor invite is problematic, they said, “This is a problem. @PGATOUR, if you care about competition, eliminate sponsors’ exemptions from signature events.” 

Lately, the PGA Tour has been surrounded by much drama, including the denial of Rory McIlroy into the policy board. Taunting the PGA Tour for a differential behavior, this enthusiast related that just like the Tour didn’t want an Irish pro on the board, they wouldn’t want someone from Australia to be at Quail Hollow. They took a dig saying, “Wow. is that an Aussie flag or New Zealand? Oh well, like. Its PGA board what’d an Irish do in an all-American boys club. Wells Fargo- let a board member be exempted than someone from down under, even if he is way better ranked lol.”

Another viewer agreed with the tweet that Min Woo Lee deserved the sponsor invite. They called out the PGA Tour for unfair tactics and remained how the Tour had disagreed about the guaranteed money format of LIV Golf. They said, “Great point. Another failure from the corrupt @PGATOUR and @webbsimpson1 should know better. Aren’t they the ones complaining about guaranteed money? Did @webbsimpson1 earn his spot?” 

Although Simpson has explained that his position at the PGA Tour policy board had nothing to do with the sponsor exemption, the fans still believed that it had to be. This user found it despicable by the PGA Tour to favor one player. They exclaimed, “So very wrong, what is happening in golf today. And on so many fronts, this being one of the most egregious.”

The PGA Tour has been losing some of its viewership in recent days. Even McIlroy said that in 2024, 20% of its viewership is down from last year. This has been an issue that the PGA Tour has tried to tackle, with one enthusiast revealing the reason behind the fall and why they don’t watch the PGA Tour event. The sponsor exemption being one such cause, they said, “Honestly, the PGA is totally f**ked I love these tournaments and there is no longer a reason to watch. the only thing holding it together are the courses, not the players.”

Who do you think was more deserving of the Wells Fargo Championship’s sponsor invite, Min Woo Lee or Webb Simpson? Tell us in the comments.