The PGA Tour has announced that it has rejected the request from numerous players to participate in the LIV Golf International Series event in England next month.
The emergence of the competition, which has backing from Saudi Arabia, has caused controversy for a number of months, many of the world's best players publicly distancing themselves from participation and reaffirming their commitment to the PGA Tour.
However, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood have revealed that they wish to play at the Centurion Club next month, while Sergio Garcia strongly hinted during a rant at a PGA Tour official last week that he intended to feature.
In a further twist to the plot, the PGA Tour has now released a statement to say that it is preventing its members from playing in the three-day event scheduled from June 9 to June 11.
A statement read: "The PGA TOUR has denied the conflicting event releases for those members who sought to play in the opening event of the LIV Golf Invitational series. TOUR members were informed of the decision via a memo sent Tuesday evening.
"We have notified those who have applied that their request has been declined in accordance with the PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations," Tyler Dennis, Executive Vice President & President PGA TOUR, wrote in the memo. "As such, TOUR members are not authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League's London event under our Regulations.
"As a membership organization, we believe this decision is in the best interest of the TOUR and its players."
Greg Norman, the chief executive of the LIV Series, revealed in an interview to BBC Sport on Tuesday that a further £1.6bn of funding had been secured from Saudi Arabia to grow the competition.
Darren Plant
