PGA Tour suspends members as controversial LIV Golf Series gets under way at Hertfordshire course
The PGA Tour has suspended all its members who are taking part in a Saudi-funded golf series which is getting under way in Hertfordshire.
The first event of the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series is taking place from Thursday at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead.
In a memo, which was sent just 30 minutes after the action teed off in Hertfordshire, the PGA confirmed that any players involved at Centurion would no longer be allowed to compete on the PGA Tour.
That sparked an immediate response from LIV Golf, which called the move "vindictive".
"It's troubling that the tour, an organisation dedicated to creating opportunities for golfers to play the game, is the entity blocking golfers from playing. This certainly is not the last word on this topic," the LIV statement read.
A host of the sport's big names have signed up to take part in the hugely lucrative invitational tournament, with $4m of prize money on offer for the winners of each of the eight events due to take place over the next few months.
Among the field are former world number one Dustin Johnson, who earlier this week gave up his PGA membership to play, fellow American Phil Mickelson, and Woburn's Ian Poulter.
At a tense press conference on Wednesday, Poulter and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood, were forced to bat away questions about their involvement in the series after one journalist asked if they would compete in a tournament hosted by Vladimir Putin.
Poulter refused to answer, saying: "That's just speculation, I'm not even going to comment on speculation."
The LIV series, which is being fronted by former world number one Greg Norman, has been criticised by some who have concerns about Saudi Arabia's human rights record.
That has led to accusations of sportswashing - where a nation uses the PR power of sport to repair their reputation - while others have questioned the morals of the money being offered to players, with Johnson reportedly being paid $150m to take part.
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy is among those to have distanced himself from the series, saying it's "not something that I want to participate in."
He added the players who had signed up were doing it for "boatloads of cash".
"I'm certainly not knocking anyone for going. It's their life, it's their decision, they can live it the way they want to," he said.
"We all know why everyone's playing in London this week, it's boatloads of cash and it's money up front and I get it.
"I think they're thinking very short-term. Some of these guys are younger than me and have their whole careers ahead of them. That's the thing I don't get."