Count Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy among the PGA Tour pros who are “pleased” that PGA Tour Commissioner suspended members who violated Tour regulations by competing in the debut of the LIV Golf Series.
“I’m pleased. I think anybody that’s shocked clearly hasn’t been listening to the message that Jay and everybody’s been putting out. They took that risk going into it, whether they thought it was a risk or not,” Thomas said. “Like I’ve said the whole time, I have great belief and great confidence in the PGA Tour and where we’re going and continuing to grow to, and those guys just aren’t going to be a part of it.”
Thomas was asked if it will be awkward to see some of his former colleagues and Ryder Cup teammates such as Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others next week at the U.S. Open.
“I saw D.J. last week at home, and it was fine. I would say a lot of guys, myself included, aren’t at a U.S. Open to socialize. I’m not there to have a conversation and catch up,” Thomas pointed out. “I’m sure it will be awkward. When I saw D.J. last week, I didn’t know what to say, if it was a congrats or a bye or whatever it was.
“It is what it is. I think we’re all grown-ups, and we understand there’s going to be some guys you can make some jokes to and some guys you have to leave it alone, but in the end, we’re all there to win a major.”
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Asked if he was concerned that more players would jump ship for the next Liv event in Oregon next month, Thomas said, “I mean, you don’t know. They’re obviously throwing so much money at people that it’s very hard to turn down. I don’t care what you say in terms of that people play for different reasons. It doesn’t matter who you are or what it is, everything has a number. They’re reaching that number for some people, and I hope that they don’t get others. But I think a very strong core group of us is very stable and firm in our position, and I hope that it stays that way.”
PGA Tour suspends current and future LIV players. pic.twitter.com/lKhxo27Ida
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) June 9, 2022
McIlroy, who is a player director on the PGA Tour policy board, reiterated Wednesday that he would be staying put and supporting the Tour.
“I think at this point, Jay’s been pretty transparent in terms of he’s just going to act within the tournament regulations and the rules that are set for a PGA Tour member. All he’s doing is basically going by the book,” McIlroy said. “I think that the majority of the membership that are here this week and that haven’t went and played elsewhere really appreciate that. So I think he’s done the right thing because these guys have broken rules and done things outside of the tournament regulations, and because of that, there are going to be consequences, I guess.”
Asked if he planned to watch any of the LIV Golf on YouTube, McIlroy said he likely would. “I think like everyone else, I’m intrigued and I’m a fan of golf. I’ve got quite a few guys over there that I call friends that are playing,” he said. “Yeah, of course I’ll see it and watch it and see what all the fuss is about.”
Asked to name his favorite of the 12 four-man teams, specifically Team Majesticks or Fireballs, McIlroy said, “What are the other ones, like Iron Heads? I have no idea. Certainly not going out to buy any team merchandise any time soon.”
Canadian Corey Conners joined Thomas and McIlroy in throwing his support behind Monahan and the Tour.
“I have a lot of faith that the Tour’s making the right decisions,” he said.
