Wesley Bryan, a 35-year-old professional golfer, announced he will appeal his indefinite suspension from the PGA Tour after participating in LIV Golf’s “The Duels” event at Doral this month. At this point, the PGA Tour had already notified him that playing in the LIV-sanctioned event would lead to punishment. LIV Golf has grown into a serious new rival to the PGA Tour almost overnight. Bryan’s decision to appeal is rooted in the understanding that “The Duels” was not a real LIV tournament.
Bryan has 134 career starts on the PGA Tour and his lone win came at the RBC Heritage in 2017. In a YouTube video he released Wednesday, he explained why he was excited to be a part of the event. He was especially worried about the lack of clarity surrounding the rules that govern these types of events and what he believed was his right to appeal.
“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,” – Wesley Bryan
As Bryan chases his professional golfing career, he documents his journey on a popular YouTube channel that he operates with his brother, George. The YouTube channel, called “Bryan Bros Golf,” had more than 550,000 subscribers as of Wednesday. Their channel is mostly known for trick shot videos, and it’s cultivated a new kind of content creation within the world of golf. The brothers have competed in the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic series of events for golf content creators on the PGA Tour.
Bryan loved to use his story to motivate and convince kids to go with “The Duels.” He viewed it as an opportunity to bridge the world of professional golf with their YouTube productions.
“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,” – Wesley Bryan
For Smith, the criteria for appearing in LIV tournaments were never intended to hone in on content production. Yet these are not the rules for platforms, like, say, YouTube.
“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.” – Wesley Bryan
Bryan is looking ahead to his appeal. He looks forward to resolving what he terms a “minor dispute” with the PGA Tour. With nearly three decades on the road, he understands and skillfully maneuvers through the demanding landscape of pro golf. Along the way, he establishes his burgeoning online influencer career in digital media production.
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