A multiple-time winner lost his Tour card — then got a big assist from LIV Golf
Rory Sabbatini will keep his PGA Tour card. Five pros will have a shot at one.
All thanks to … LIV Golf?
It’s true, though a bit complicated, as it involves resignations and suspensions, various standings and a recent update to those standings. In short, though, Sabbatini, the silver medalist at last year’s Olympic Games and a six-time Tour winner, will now get to use an exemption as a top-25 all-time money winner to play on the Tour next season, and pros Anthony Quayle, Chris Naegel, Rick Lamb, Matti Schmid and Jonas Blixt gain entry into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, a three-week series that begins next week and hands out 25 Tour cards.
We’ll start with Sabbatini, who was helped by a recent decision by the Tour to update the all-time money list by removing the golfers who have either resigned from the Tour or been suspended for playing in events in the controversial, Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series. This season, Sabbatini played under an exemption as a top-50 all-time money winner, then failed to keep his card, but with the removal of LIV golfers Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Charles Howell III, Brooks Koepka and Paul Casey, Sabbatini slides into the top 25 all-time — and unlocks another exemption.
On his Instagram story, Sabbatini shared the news, from a Slovakian news account.
View this post on Instagram
The cases of Quayle, Naegel, Lamb, Schmid centered around just one player — Watson — and included an online campaign. To begin, each golfer had accumulated enough FedEx Cup points as non-members this season to gain entry into the KFT Finals, then all moved below the threshold when Joohyung Kim won last week’s Wyndham Championship. Here’s where Watson comes into play.
He could help move the foursome back in. And the work began. Last month, the two-time Masters champ had pledged to play LIV Golf, and if he were to be removed from the season-long standings by resigning his Tour membership ahead of playing in an event, Quayle, Naegel, Lamb and Schmid were good. So Ryan French, a staffer for the Fire Pit Collective website and the operator of the popular Monday Q Info Twitter site, tweeted a plea to Watson.
Dear @bubbawatson
I respect your reasons for signing with LIV, and I also know you understand players chasing the Tour as you played mini-tours for years before making it.
If you resign your Tour membership 4 players will earn a spot in KFT finals.
I hope you consider it.
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) August 10, 2022
And Watson responded.
I have resigned from @PGATour. Was told I will be removed from rankings after Sunday. Not sure how that plays out. Up to the Tour.
— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) August 10, 2022
And Watson will be removed.
And Quayle, Naegel, Lamb and Schmid — and Blixt, who hit the regular-season threshold after the Watson move — all have a spot in the KFT Finals, which begin Thursday at the Boise Open.
Article originally appeared on: Golf.com
Just because the PGA removes them from the World Ranking doesn’t diminish what they’ve done or what they will accomplish going to the LIV tour. Hard to turn down multiple millions of dollars and play less golf while doing it. I hope they get a TV contract so I can see what this is all about. We’re mostly in the dark by not being able to watch it. Doesn’t seem to bother the Saudis. But removing Phil Mickelson? Hard to believe that was smart.