US Open may ban LIV golfers in the future after 9/11 families say they’ve been disrespected by backing Saudi-funded tour
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Updated 16/06/2022 at 13:58 GMT
The world of golf continues to be shaken up by the recent Saudi-funded LIV golf tour that took place last week at the Centurion Club near London. While the PGA took swift action against the players that participated, the US Open is letting those same players compete in their annual tournament. However, this may change in the future says the CEO of USGA.
USGA's Mike Whan warns it may become harder for LIV Golf players in future
US Open may ban LIV golfers says United States Golf Association’s chief executive Mike Whan.
The LIV Golf series has dominated headlines in the build-up to the US Open as players involved have gone head to head with the PGA Tour which banned all players who competed in the Saudi-funded tour immediately.
The DP world tour has yet to announce if there will be any retributions to the players, with a decision on the matter set to be made on June 23.
The US Open, which tees off today, has also not made a decision regarding the matter, but Whan sees a day when the LIV golfers are unable to play in the annual open national championship of golf.
“Could I foresee a day? Yeah, I could foresee a day. Do I know what that day looks like? No, I don’t,” he said at the USGA press conference.
“To be honest with you, what we’re talking about was different two years ago, and it was different two months ago than it is today. We’ve been doing this for 127 years, so I think the three of us [Whan, John M. Bodenhamer, and Stuart Francis] and everybody else that we work with need to take a long-term view of this and see where these things go so we’re not going to be a kneejerk reaction to what we do.
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J. Stuart Francis, USGA President; Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA and John Bodenhamer, Chief Championships Officer, speak to the media at a press conference during a practice round prior to the 122nd U.S. Open Championship.
Image credit: Getty Images
“But the question was: ‘Could you envision a day where it would be harder for some folks doing different things to get into a US Open?’ I could. Will that be true? I don’t know but I can definitely foresee that day.”
Whan informed reporters that while the USGA did initially speak about preventing LIV golfers from playing in this edition of the US Open, they came to a decision that the players did not disqualify themselves from competing in this tournament.
“I get it; it’s a news story. We’re not going to run away from the news story. We had to make some tough decisions that not everybody agrees with. Where this will go, I don’t know.”
The players who did take part in the LIV golf tour have faced severe backlash, with the American golfers especially receiving a letter of criticism from an organisation formed by the families of the victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
The letter accused the players of being active participants in sports washing done by the Saudi regime and were told that their actions betrayed their country.
When asked about the letter written by Terry Strada, who lost her husband in the attacks, Phil Mickelson said: “I would say to the Strada family, I would say to everyone that has lost loved ones, lost friends on 9/11 that I have deep, deep empathy for them. I can’t emphasise that enough. I have the deepest of sympathy and empathy for them.”
“We have complete support for the 9/11 families,” Whan said in response to the letter.
“Listen, we’re all Americans, and if anybody doesn’t remember that day, then shame on you. That’s alive and well in my head. I remember where I was, what I was doing, who I was talking to when the first plane went in. We lost a couple of neighbours.
“But as it relates to the USGA and this championship, that was the decision we had to make a week ago, and that’s the decision we made.”
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