The PGA Tour informed players who applied to participate in Saudi International, the Asian Tour, which is set on the same date as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Feb. 3-6, 2022 (the part of PGA events), about the necessity to ask for a reales (special permission), says bleacherreport.com
Such players as Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others have pledged their participation in the event, which has been disputable right from the start in 2019.
The competition is run by the Saudi government. which is under international scrutiny due to its incorrect human rights policy. A second issue arose when the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund set up LIV Golf Investments to invest $200 million in the Asian Tour – the potential competitor of PGA.
Actually, the Tour rules prohibit athletes from participating in other golf competitions or events on the day of a PGA Tour event. Thus the issue appeared.
Many PGA golfers have applied for taking part in Saudi International, but the administration is going to decline distribution of releases.
As a result, the dispute with the Tour’s biggest stars is held. No-one can say how the rivalry will end, let’s keep an eye.
Source: GolfDigest