The PGA Tour has notified Jon Rahm that it has suspended him for his contract with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, a process that is geared toward benefiting Rahm’s remaining players.
Mackenzie Hughes and Karl Yuan are the direct beneficiaries of Rahm’s decision last week to sign with a rival league.
Rahm’s suspension “due to his involvement in a series of unauthorized tournaments” will result in his name being removed from the FedEx Cup qualifying points list, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a memo to players Monday afternoon. He said it would be done.
This means Hughes went from 51st to 50th and qualified for all seven of the $20 million signature events in 2024. Also, Ewan, who enrolled in Q School this week, moved up one place to No. 125 and has his full PGA Tour card for next year.
Last year’s tour differentiated the FedEx Cup standings from a separate list related to postseason eligibility and status. This distinction was made to ensure that players who defected to LIV did not negatively impact players who remained in LIV.
Among the players who benefited last year was Rickie Fowler, who was able to make the postseason because all of his players left for LIV. Jimmy Walker and Rory Sabatini moved up the career money list and were able to take advantage of a one-time waiver to maintain their full status.
Hughes narrowly missed out on the top 50 this year. He maintained his 51st place position through the fall, which only guaranteed him a spot in his first two $20 million events. Now, the Canadian can look forward to hosting the Wells Fargo Championship and more at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Alex Smalley takes the 60th place spot and is guaranteed to win two $20 million events. The change also affects Paul Haley, who has been moved to 150th place and has at least received conditional status.
And it can affect Sahis Segara. He finished 31st and narrowly missed out on the Tour Championship. He could move up to No. 30 and be exempted from the U.S. Open. This year’s U.S. Open honored the top 30 players who qualified.
The move was allowed because the new season has not yet started. More PGA Tour players departing for LIV by the end of the year could lead to further changes.
Social media was also buzzing about the possibility of Tony Finau (he and Rahm are close friends) moving to LIV. Finau reflected on his year on Instagram Monday night, saying, “I’m looking forward to playing my 10th season on the PGA Tour.”
“See you on Maui!” he concluded, adding the hashtag “imnotleaving.”
In his memo, Monahan said the policy committee and management have recently been working with players who are upset that signature events are awarded a disproportionate number of FedEx Cup points compared to other events. He also met with the group and said this has led to concerns that it may be difficult for players outside the top 50 to earn points fairly. compete.
Monaghan said the board will review how the new system is working in June and assess whether changes are appropriate for 2025.
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