Recently, the PGA Tour shocked the golf world yet again. The Tour announced that its golfers were being permitted to play at the LIV Golf qualifying event in Abu Dhabi, which saw a multi-million-dollar cash prize. However, that openness seems to have now been short-lived!

Recent reports reveal that the Tour is looking to revoke their earlier decision. While that in itself is harsh, the PGA Tour may additionally serve penalties to the players who opt to do so!

The PGA Tour warns golfers against competing at the LIV Golf Promotions

The LIV Golf Promotions set to start next week will see various professional and amateur golfers from around the world. As reported by Monday Q Info, the Qualifying Event for the LIV Golf 2024 season will also see a major champion, a decorated PGA Tour winner, one golfer from the OWGR’s top 100 ranks, and other notable amateurs.

The event in itself is not recognized as an “unauthorized tournament,” and in November, a spokesperson from the Tour stated that, as per the rules, the players will not face repercussions. However, the PGA Tour has now backtracked from its early decision to allow golfers to play at the qualifying event.

As per the report, players who now choose to participate might face “suspension” or perhaps even hefty fines. It’s safe to say now that the list of players that signed up may not be the final list that plays due to the fear of losing their PGA Tour cards or never being allowed back on the Tour.

As per the Tour’s statement early in November, it was not made clear what would happen if the player did qualify. And the Tour’s recent decision to make its stance clear on how their qualification will be handled also hints at its previous animosity with LIV Golf rising once more, giving many reason to believe that the merger between the two sides may never take place!

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The $3 billion merger may never see the light of day

With the new opposition from the PGA Tour, the nearing deadline of the merger might be under threat as well. The Tour itself has many offers from investors to partner with, including the mega-billion-dollar entity Fenway Sports Group, thus no longer leaving LIV as its only option.

Many now believe the merger going through is harder than it was initially, including the Player Advisory Chairman, Adam Scott. “It is very hard to know if the deal is going to go through or not,” he said in his recent press conference. The one-time major winner claimed that there were four or five “parties like PIF” wanting to invest in the Tour.

With the one-time major winner’s doubts and the Tour’s recent “suspension” threat, it seems like the ice upon which the merger lies is only getting thinner! Will it hold or eventually just break? Only time will tell!

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