The PGA Tour says it will sanction players who compete in next week’s $25m Saudi-funded LIV Golf Invitational.
The PGA Tour rejected requests for waivers from players who want to play and reiterated its earlier threat to ban those that flout the rules.
“Members who violate the tournament regulations are subject to disciplinary action,” read a PGA Tour statement.
“As communicated to our entire membership on 10 May, PGA Tour members have not been authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League’s London event, under PGA Tour tournament regulations.”
The DP World Tour, which has also rejected waiver requests, told BBC Sport it has no comment to make at present.
Englishmen Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Richard Bland are also among the 48-man field announced for the three-day tournament at Centurion Club near London, along with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.
Before the PGA Tour statement, McDowell said that he “does not agree” with the prospect of banning players, adding: “I hope they make the right decisions.”
“If the big tours in the world start banning players it’s just not healthy for the sport,” he told BBC Radio Newcastle.
“There are a lot of smart guys out there in the world running golf and I believe they’ll do the right thing for everyone.”
Speaking at the PGA’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio on Wednesday, McDowell’s compatriot Rory McIlroy said he was “indifferent”, adding: “I certainly don’t think the field is anything to jump up and down about.
“Look at the field this week. Look at the field next week in Canada. They are proper golf tournaments.”
Next week’s RBC Canadian Open in Toronto takes place at the same time as the LIV event and its sponsor, Royal Bank of Canada, said on Wednesday it had terminated sponsor agreements with Johnson and McDowell.
The Centurion Club tournament is the first of eight scheduled LIV events – five in the US, one in Saudi Arabia and one in Thailand – with a total prize fund of $255m (£202m). The first seven are worth $25m, with $50m up for grabs in the final team competition.
The PGA Tour said last month that its decision to turn down requests for waivers was “in the best interest of the Tour and its players”.
What action is taken against those players who have defied the PGA Tour remains to be seen and world number 376 McDowell admits it was not an easy choice to make.
“It’s taken me several months to make my decision because it’s become so polarising, [there is] so much negativity out there with regards to what it all means for the sport of golf,” said the 42-year-old, who won the 2010 US Open.
“But I had to boil it down to the fact that I’m a businessman who has operated all over the world for the past 20 years and this is just another compelling golf opportunity.
“I feel like I’m a free agent, I feel like I have the ability to play anywhere any time I want to and it’s just exercising those rights on an opportunity which is really interesting.”
LIV Golf Investments, fronted by former world number one Greg Norman, is promising to revolutionise the game with a shorter, sharper product that is lucrative enough to draw in the biggest names.
However, it has attracted criticism because its money is coming from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
That has led to accusations of sportswashing, with organisations such as Amnesty International arguing some countries can invest in sport as a distraction from poor human rights records.
McDowell is at Slaley Hall in Northumberland this week to play in the first Asian Tour event to be held in England. This second International Series tournament has a $2m prize pot and is funded by LIV Golf Investments, with five places up for grabs at next week’s LIV Golf Invitational.
He acknowledges the controversial nature of next week’s event but believes it could lead to the growth of the sport.
“Financially it’s lucrative but the format is innovative and different and appealing to the next generation,” he said.
“There was a lot went into this decision. All I know is the guys I deal with at PIF and LIV they are passionate about the game of golf and that’s important to me. I love growing the game around the world. I love using golf as a force for good to really inspire the next generation and teach great values.
“We’re not here to save the world’s geo-political situations we’re here to play golf and grow the game in a county like Saudi Arabia. It just so happens they have a huge amount of resources to be able to accelerate their journey in the game of golf and I’m happy to be part of it.”
‘It’s very appealing to those guys, I wouldn’t want to stand in their way’
Four-time major winner McIlroy, 33, added that he does not want the PGA Tour and DP World Tour to give stiff penalties to players signing up for LIV events, saying: “I certainly don’t think they should drop the hammer.
“You have some guys in a position where they are literally not guaranteed a job next year. It’s hard to stay in the top 125 out here, especially when you’re a guy in your 40s and maybe you don’t hit the ball as far as you used to.
“As we’ve seen, it’s a young man’s game nowadays. So someone that isn’t guaranteed their Tour card next year, another entity comes along and says ‘we’ll guarantee you this amount for three years, plus you’re playing for a ton more prize money, and you’re playing less events, you can spend more time with your family’.
“I mean, whenever you sit down and look at some of those things, it’s very appealing to some of those guys that are in that position.”
The current world number eight added: “I have some very close friends that are playing in this event in London, and I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in their way, for them to do what they feel is right for themselves.”
