Wesley Bryan has been slapped with an indefinite suspension by the PGA Tour for participating in ‘The Duels’ – a LIV Golf event that took place earlier this month. On April 5, LIV Golf launched ‘The Duels,’ a fresh competition pairing 12 pros from the Saudi-backed league and social media influencers together on six teams of two.
The pairings in the nine-hole scramble Miami-based event – which was broadcast exclusively on Grant Horvat’s YouTube channel – included Sergio Garcia and George Bryan, Bubba Watson and Luke Kwon, Joaquin Niemann and Rick Shiels, Phil Mickelson and Horvat, Dustin Johnson and Wesley Bryan, as well as Cameron Smith and Fat Perez.
Garcia and Bryan ultimately emerged victorious in the spinoff of the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic, narrowly fending off Watson and Kwon in a playoff to take home a major share of the £188,000 ($250,000) prize pool.
“At LIV Golf, we champion bold, new approaches to the game, and The Duels is a perfect example of how golf continues to evolve and engage fans,” LIV Golf League’s Chief Marketing Officer Adam Harter said, reports the Mirror US.
“We love what the creator community has done for this game and this event is a way to celebrate the creativity and passion that fuels the modern golf community while connecting them with the most exciting elite golfers on the planet.”
Ryan French from MondayQ reported that on the same day ‘The Duels’ was announced, March 26, Bryan found himself on probation with the PGA Tour. It was clear to those involved in the debut event that disciplinary actions could include “being excluded from any PGA Tour-affiliated events and content going forward.”
Merely a day later, after The Duels video was posted on Horvat’s YouTube channel, racking up over two million views, Bryan faced an indefinite suspension from the PGA Tour. Nevertheless, when speaking to MondayQ, the 35-year-old maintained his stance without remorse.
“No, I don’t have regrets. That video is one of the most powerful videos in YouTube golf,” he proudly stated. “We are going to continue to support Grant and grow the game through YouTube.”
Reminiscent of events from 2022, the PGA Tour had put forth a strict ruling against players joining “unauthorized events”, which seemingly includes The Duels – an event Bryan partook in despite being a previous victor on the Tour, with his triumph at the 2017 RBC Heritage being a notable win by a single stroke against competitors like Luke Donald and Patrick Cantlay.
Reflecting on his time in professional golf, Bryan remains hopeful of making a comeback to the PGA Tour eventually. “For the last eight or nine years, the opportunities have been amazing,” he said. “I’m extremely grateful to the Tour for that. I don’t want this to be the end of my professional golf career.”
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