Eighteen members of the LIV Golf Series are set to tee it up at Wentworth next week for the BMW PGA Championship.
Although the DP World Tour and PGA Tour have an “operational joint venture partnership,” LIV players have not been banned from the European circuit as they have from the U.S. league.
Several of the PGA Tour’s biggest backers will also be playing the DP World Tour’s flagship event, including Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick.
“It’s going to be odd seeing certain people at Wentworth. That is going to be a bit weird, and obviously, it’s a little bit disappointing. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens,” Fitzpatrick said at the Tour Championship. “Obviously they’re (the DP World Tour) not quite in as strong a position as the PGA Tour are in terms of regulations. I guess we’ll just have to see how it plays out.”
According to a report by ESPN, LIV members have been asked by DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley to not wear LIV logos during the BMW tournament.
“Out of respect for our partners, our broadcasters and your fellow competitors, we would kindly ask you to consider not wearing LIV Golf-branded apparel during your participation at Wentworth,” Pelley said in an email memo sent to players.
They’ve also been alerted they’re not required to play in the pro-am.
“It’s going to be hard for me to stomach going to Wentworth in a couple of weeks’ time and seeing 18 of them there. That just doesn’t sit right with me,” McIlroy said at East Lake.
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