With the PGA Tour concluding its regular season on Sunday at the Tour Championship, the focus now turns to which players will leave the Tour to join the upstart LIV Golf league. The departures began before the Tour Championship even concluded, with Cameron Tringale announcing he would be leaving the Tour, effective immediately.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Tringale expressed gratitude to the PGA Tour, along with multiple other golf entities, and indicated he would not be renewing his PGA Tour membership for the upcoming season:
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After 338 starts on the PGA Tour, Tringale ranks as the highest career earner who has not won a tournament. Since turning pro in 2009, Tringale has won $17,426,908 on Tour.
Tringale is the first of many expected defections coming later this week. Defending Open Champion Cam Smith is widely rumored to be jumping to LIV, and has done nothing to dissuade those rumors in recent interviews. As many as five other players, both international and U.S.-based, could be making the leap as well.
Earlier this week, the PGA Tour unveiled a number of changes designed to fight the rapid growth of LIV Golf. Those changes would primarily benefit the top players on Tour; Tringale likely would not have qualified for those "elite player" benefits and tournaments had he remained.
The Tour's 2022-23 season begins in two weeks. LIV Golf returns to action this coming weekend in Boston.
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Contact Jay Busbee at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee.