LIV players remain banned from Scottish Open despite letter
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 [July 02, 2022]
The DP World Tour declined a
request from members of the LIV Golf Invitational Series to rescind
their fines and permit their participation in the Scottish Open next
week.
The field for the Scottish Open was released Friday evening, and no
golfers linked to the Saudi-financed LIV circuit appeared on the
list.
LIV players were banned from three upcoming DP World Tour events and
fined £100,000 ($120,996) after playing in the LIV's debut event
outside London.
In a letter to the DP World Tour, 16 players asked for resolution by
"5:00 p.m. on Friday." Brits Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood were among
those who signed the letter, hopeful they will be able to tee it up
at the Scottish Open without taking their challenge through the
court system.
"Instead of spending our time, energy, financial resources and focus
on appeals, injunctions and lawsuits, we would implore you ... to
reconsider your recent penalties and sanctions," the letter reads,
according to the London Telegraph.
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Players didn't have to wait that long for a firm
and apparently final response from DP World Tour chairman Keith
Pelley.
"Before joining LIV Golf, players knew there would be consequences
if they chose money over competition. Many of them at the time
understood and accepted that. Indeed, as one player named in the
letter said in a media interview earlier this year: ‘If they ban me,
they ban me.' It is not credible that some are now surprised with
the actions we have taken," Pelley's statement read.
Fourteen of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking
will play the Scottish Open, a tune-up for the Open Championship,
which is being co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour for the first time.
Only Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy choosing to sit out.
The LIV series began its first U.S.-based tournament Thursday
outside Portland, Ore. LIV's top-ranked golfer, Dustin Johnson, has
fallen to No. 17 in the world ranking.
--Field Level Media
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