“I didn’t think I did anything wrong” - LIV Golf pro Louis Oosthuizen upset about Presidents Cup ban
As the 14th edition of the Presidents Cup gets underway, players and fans are discussing the golfers missing the event.
The competition will miss some top players from both the US as well as the international side due to the bans handed out to LIV Golf defectors. Following this, many LIV golfers including Louis Oosthuizen have now slammed the tour for its actions.
The Presidents Cup is scheduled to take place between September 22 and 25. Ahead of the event, both the US and international teams were forced to fill their roster, ousting all the names associated with LIV Golf.
This meant that South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen couldn’t be part of the competition. He has now claimed the action to be unfair against golfers who wish to participate in both the Saudi-backed league and PGA Tour events.
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As the practice for the Presidents Cup takes place at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, Louis Oosthuizen has voiced his disagreement with the ban on LIV golfers.
Speaking about the biennial competition pitting a 12-player team, the former Open champion said that he 'would love to be able to play'. He went on to add that he was upset about missing out on the international event due to the ban.
In an interview with SI.com about the Presidents Cup, Louis Oosthuizen said:
“There’s a lot of pangs about missing next week… It just sucks that I can’t be around to try and do anything for the team. There’s no rule that says I need to be a PGA Tour member to play the Presidents Cup, especially as an International team player.”
Having played at the last four editions of the event as part of the international side, Oosthuizen said that he ‘did nothing wrong’ and added:
“I didn’t think I did anything wrong. I made my decision where I am playing golf. But I didn’t do anything wrong while I was a PGA Tour member.”
Oosthuizen went on to state that he felt bad for fellow South African and international team captain Trevor Immelman. Oosthuizen said that his former teammate was forced to prepare a roster without multiple international pros for the event and added:
“I feel the most bad for Trev. Trevor’s a good friend. We text each other. He knew my decision beforehand. But still, it sucks. I wanted to play for him. He’s going to be a great captain.”
PGA Tour's ban on LIV Golfers from Presidents Cup
It should be noted that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the ban on LIV defectors back in June. LIV Golfers were banned from competing in all PGA Tour, Korn Ferry, PGA Tour Champions, Canada, and Latinoamerica tour events, apart from the Presidents Cup.
Louis Oosthuizen was among the first players to jump ship from the PGA Tour to join the newly introduced Saudi-backed league.
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Apart from Oosthuizen, British Open winner Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman, Anirban Lahiri, Brandan Grace and Charl Schwartzel, are the other big names missing out from the international team on the Presidents Cup.
Meanwhile, Patrick Reed, Taylor Gooch, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are some of the players that lost their places in the US team due to their association with the rebel league.