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There’s been no shortage of drama since LIV Golf set out to take on the PGA Tour, which includes a recent saga involving the influencers and creators who agreed to take part in a competition organized by the former. The latter reportedly walked back some threats after attempting to dissuade them from participating, but if Phil Mickelson is to be believed, they still brought the hammer down on Wesley Bryan.
When LIV Golf first got off the ground, it ostensibly positioned itself as an organization that was focused on “growing the game.” Even if you bought into the argument, it’s pretty hard to say it’s achieved that goal based on the impact it’s had in the past few years—especially when you compare its influence to that of the various golfers who’ve harnessed YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms to actually grow the game.
The PGA Tour has fully embraced those personalities with the “Creator Classic” series featuring the likes of Grant Horvat, Fat Perez, Kyle Berkshire, and other social media stars who’ve managed to make a name for themselves with their golf content (the most recent iteration was held at TPC Sawgrass before the start of The Players Championship).
LIV decided to get in on the action by organizing what was dubbed “The Duels” at this week’s tournament in Miami with a field boasting a number of golfers who partook in the Creator Classic, and last month, an insider asserted the PGA Tour had threatened those participants with retribution before backing down after they pushed back.
However, based on what Phil Mickelson had to say on Thursday in a now-deleted tweet, there was one very notable exception in the form of Wesley Bryan, who has purportedly been suspended from PGA Tour events for a year for agreeing to collaborate with LIV.
The tour has not confirmed that is, in fact, the case as of this writing, although it’s not too hard to understand why he would be an exception to the rule based on his unique status among the other golf creators who got a pass.
Bryan initially rose to prominence by making trick shot videos on the YouTube channel he started with his brother George, but he proved he’s far from a one-trick pony by earning his PGA Tour card ahead of the 2017 season and winning his first (and, to date, only) event with a win at the RBC Heritage that year.
He still produces a ton of content on YouTube, but he balances that endeavor with a career that’s seen him play in a grand total of 134 PGA Tour events; he’s made more than $5 million in career earnings thanks to his play in those tournaments, but it’s safe to assume he’s raked in even more from his videos.
However, it looks like he might have to wait a while to add to those tallies if Mickelson is telling the truth.