(07-06-2022, 07:42 PM)NYC4jags Wrote:

(07-06-2022, 02:45 PM)KingIngram052787 Wrote: It seems inherently unfair (and maybe against employment laws) to do that to independent contractors.  If they were employees of the TOUR, then I would tend to agree more with you.

Either way, what's best for golf is best for the TOUR, and in my opinion that is allowing the players to float and do as they wish.

Quote:... the PGA Tour, like any other employer or organization, has the discretion to enact rules of conduct of its members, employees and independent contractors. One of the provisions in the PGA Tour Player Handbook and Tournament Regulations is that each PGA Tour member acknowledges the commissioner, the tour’s policy board and the appeals committee have the authority to permanently ban a member from playing in a tour co-sponsored, approved or coordinated tournaments if the member violates its regulations. The handbook also provides that a player ceases to be a member of the PGA Tour if, in the judgment of the policy board, the member commits a serious breach of the Tournament Regulations, the PGA Tour’s Code of Ethics, or otherwise conducts himself in a manner unbecoming of a professional golfer.

One such regulation generally prohibits tour players from playing in events when there is a PGA Tour-approved or sponsored event taking place at the same time. Per the handbook, players who reach the 15-event minimum (which a member must meet as a condition of their membership voting rights) are eligible for three conflicting-event releases per season, which is why so many tour players were allowed to play in the Saudi Invitational. However, the regulations also state such requests can be denied. In short, the PGA Tour likely has the discretion to decide that joining a competing tour is a serious breach of its regulations.

It's all in the rules they signed up for when they joined the tour. 

Whether you think it's fair or not - it's right  there in the fine print. 

I understand what their rules say, it doesn't make it legal (potentially, I'm not an employment law expert, but I think that's the whole point they're getting at) which was my point.  Though, I do think it's also unfair.  I'm also a big golf fan and want to see them coexist because it's best for golf, so also for selfish reasons.

Also, with how strict anti-trust regulations are getting, I could see them having potential issues there.  I know for a fact when it comes to OWGR points, that governing body is very concerned about that, along with the fact that Monahan is a member of that governing body.  Will he recuse himself from that vote when the time comes given he has a large conflict of interest?  It seems like things are going to get very interesting...

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