Wesley Bryan said Wednesday he plans to appeal his PGA Tour suspension for participating in an LIV Golf influencer event earlier this month.
“It’s been a difficult few weeks for us,” Bryan said in a YouTube video. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster for sure for everybody in this cart.”
Bryan, 35, appears in the video with his brother, George. Their “Bryan Bros Golf” YouTube channel, mostly featuring videos of trick shots, had more than 550,000 subscribers as of Wednesday.
Bryan has made 134 starts on the PGA Tour, with his lone victory coming at the RBC Heritage in 2017.
While building their online business, the Bryan brothers have participated in the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic events for golf content creators.
It was Wesley Bryan’s participation in a similar format for PGA Tour rival LIV Golf that landed him in hot water. He confirmed in Wednesday’s video that he was suspended after taking part in LIV’s “The Duels” at Doral this month.
Bryan, who called his indefinite suspension a “little disagreement” in the video, explained why he participated in the event at Doral.
“We had to jump at that opportunity, because all we’ve ever wanted to do from the Bryan Bros is be able to merge professional and YouTube golf and this was going to be one of those opportunities we’ve been dreaming of since we got into YouTube golf,” he said.
According to Golf Digest, Bryan was warned that he could face a suspension if he participated. PGA Tour rules state that members participating in an LIV-backed event face a one-year ban.
Bryan said he is appealing because “The Duels” was not a regular LIV event.
“I want to be clear I do respect the authorities that are in place at the tour, but because of the ambiguity in the rules and regulations that were written, I do, as a member of the PGA Tour, have a right to appeal their decision of which I plan on exercising,” he said. “And I don’t feel like when the rule was written it was meant to cover content creation on YouTube. I feel like it was meant to cover organized, professional, high-level golf events.”
–Field Level Media
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