Seminole, one of the best golf courses in Florida, has taken sides in the LIV Golf and PGA Tour saga by banning LIV players from February’s popular Pro-Member tournament.
The tournament is held on the Monday after the Honda Classic at nearby PGA National has finished, and usually attracts a decent field of Tour pros leading to the Pro-Member field looking almost like a regular tournament.
Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas all played in the 2022 edition, with more than a dozen players who later signed with LIV Golf also taking part.
However, Golfweek (opens in new tab) broke the news that the club has said that all of those LIV golfers would not now be welcome to play in the 2023 Pro-Member event which takes place on February 27.
Long-time Seminole president Jimmy Dunne made the decision based on the event being linked to the PGA Tour – who have suspended players who have joined LIV, with some of these also resigning their membership.
“We are doing what we have always done,” Dunne told Golfweek on Thursday. “PGA Tour players get the first priority. This event has always been supported by the PGA Tour. We try to make this a special and unique day for Tour players.”
Dunne played with Dustin Johnson last year and has previously played alongside Phil Mickelson in the two-player team event, but Dunne has recently been appointed to the PGA Tour board so his loyalty must now lie with them.
Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter and Bubba Watson all played last year, along with Louis Oosthuizen who played with seven-time Super Bowl champion and NFL legend Tom Brady as one of the star non-pro golfers in the field.
Dunne says he still has good relations with many of the players who will not be included in the field this year, but insists that making the decision to join LIV Golf was to blame.
“Candidly, I have a pretty good relationship with most people,” Dunne said. “These guys had a choice to make, but they’ve made it. That’s it. I’m not going to say something nasty about guys who participated in the past.”