Hunter Mahan has questioned whether it’s legal to ban players who take part in LIV Golf events, and feels there’s a big court case coming unless something changes.
The PGA Tour was quick to issue indefinite suspensions to players taking part in LIV events, and it has been reported that those playing in the Saudi-backed series will be banned from future Majors. But six-time PGA Tour winner Mahan, talking to Golf.com’s Subpar podcast, questioned whether banning LIV Players from events would stand up in court.
“Is that legal,” asked Mahan. “How do you do that? How do you say because you’re not part of the PGA Tour but you’re part of the Asian Tour and you can play, you’re part of the European Tour and you’ve earned the right to play, you’re now part of the LIV Tour but you’ve qualified to play but we’re not gonna let you play?
“That’s a lawsuit and I don’t think they’re going to win that. I’ve talked to quite a few people and everyone’s like ‘you can’t just do that, you can’t just tell someone they can’t do something when they’ve earned the right to do it’. I don’t know what the answer is, I want to see the best in play but this is also what leverage looks like, it’s sort of uncomfortable.”
Henrik Stenson, Jason Kokrak and Charles Howell III became the latest players to join LIV last week, and all three are set to be in the field at the third LIV Golf Series event, starting later this week in New Jersey. LIV CEO Greg Norman last week revealed his breakaway series is still attracting interest from the top players in the world in its inaugural season, and more big names are expected to come on board before the fully fledged league format launches in 2023.
“The players are the ones winning in this situation,” Mahan told the Subpar podcast. “How can I sit there and tell them, no, you’re not allowed to take that. It seems like the players are the ones who are going to benefit but I hope the game of golf is going to benefit too. I’m a little worried for the fans. Are we not going to see…
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