ABU DHABI — Former PGA champion Jason Dufner, Kevin Chappell and Kyle Stanley are among 73 players who signed up for the LIV Golf qualifier next week in Abu Dhabi, where three spots are up for grabs to be part of the 2024 rosters.
The PGA Tour had said players would not be suspended for playing the qualifier, although they would need to get a media rights release. Players have to request a release 45 days in advance, which left them no time from when the LIV dates were set and the start of the event.
No players are believed to have received a release for the Dec. 8-10 LIV qualifier, AP reported.
Still unclear was what punishment, if any, PGA Tour members would face for simply trying to qualify.
The media rights release was required because unlike European tour qualifying school, the LIV Golf Promotions event is being streamed by LIV Golf Plus and the LIV Golf YouTube channel.
Dufner, who won the PGA Championship in 2013 at Oak Hill and played in the Ryder Cup (2012) and Presidents Cup (2013), was No. 172 in the FedEx Cup this year. He still would have limited status on the PGA Tour as a past champion.
Chappell, who played in the Presidents Cup at Liberty National in 2017, has been slow to return from back surgery.
He had limited starts and finished No. 179 in the FedEx Cup. Chappell was not eligible under the LIV Golf Promotions criteria, though they offered invitations.
Dufner and Chappell were among 14 players who received an exemption into the second round.
The first round has 59 players, including Stanley, Chris Stroud and Jeff Overton. The top 20 players after the first round advance to the second round. Scores are reset, and the top 20 advance to a 36-hole shootout on the last day.
Other players who signed up for the LIV qualifier include former Ryder Cup player Victor Dubuisson of France and Turk Pettit, a former NCAA champion who played for LIV the inaugural year and currently is playing the second stage of PGA Tour Q-school.
