(Reuters) – The PGA Tour has granted permission to its members to miss one of its own events and instead compete at February’s Saudi International, Golfweek reported on Monday, citing a memo to players.
Thirty players including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau were granted waivers to miss the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which is taking place over the same Feb. 3-6 weekend.
Players that compete at the Saudi International had to commit to playing the event in the future as a condition of the waiver.
The PGA Tour confirmed the accuracy of Golfweek’s reporting and in an email added a statement from Andy Pazder, PGA Tour chief tournaments and competitions officer:
“While we certainly have grounds under Tour regulations created by and for the players to deny conflicting event releases, we have decided in this instance to allow a group of Tour players the opportunity to play in a single sanctioned tournament outside North America on a recognized Tour, with conditions attached that will contribute to the success of AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in future years.”
The Saudi International, which will be on the Asian Tour schedule in 2022, has invited controversy since its inception in 2019 due to allegations of human rights abuses against the Saudi government.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates)
