Is the PGA Tour a professional golf circuit or a juicy reality show? We truly can't tell anymore.
The latest point of drama involves Wesley Bryan, a part-time PGA Tour member and full-time YouTuber with Bryan Bros Golf alongside his brother, George Bryan.
The Bryan brothers have been major players in YouTube golf's meteoric rise in popularity, but Wesley still competes on the PGA Tour when he can find exemptions to smaller tournaments. Well, at least he did before a recent development.
A few weeks back, Bryan went against the PGA Tour's wishes by playing in "The Duels: Miami," a YouTube match filmed at the LIV Golf event in Miami.
The match involved popular YouTubers playing alongside LIV stars such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Joaquín Niemann. The video went live on Grant Horvat's YouTube channel during the tournament and has already surpassed two million views. It was a monumental event for YouTube golf, but it may have put an end to Bryan's PGA Tour career.
According to Ryan French of Monday Q Info, the PGA Tour placed Bryan on probation the day after "The Duels: Miami" was announced. After the video appeared on Horvat's channel, Bryan was suspended. Despite the petty actions from the PGA Tour, Bryan took the high road.
"For the last eight or nine years, the opportunities have been amazing," Bryan told French. "I'm extremely grateful to the Tour for that. I don't want this to be the end of my professional golf career."
According to French, the YouTube creators were informed before the event that playing in "The Duels: Miami" could lead to disciplinary action from the PGA Tour. The threat was later retracted for most of the players, but not Bryan. The 35-year-old decided to play in the match despite the risk of suspension, and he doesn't regret that decision.
"No, I don't have regrets. That video is one of the most powerful videos in YouTube golf." Bryan said. "We are going to continue to support Grant and grow the game through YouTube."
Wesley Bryan suspension took a wild turn
Bryan's suspension is only the first chapter of this peculiar story.
On Wednesday, Horvat, who has 1.15 million subscribers on YouTube, announced he received a sponsor invitation to the PGA Tour's Barracuda Championship in July. He hasn't decided whether he will accept the invitation yet.
This is a surprising development considering Horvat spearheaded the LIV Golf match and has a recurring YouTube match series with Mickelson. If Bryan was suspended for collaborating with LIV Golf, why is Horvat being offered a spot in a PGA Tour event?
But that's not all.
On the eve of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, the PGA Tour posted a YouTube video on its main account of Bryan's victory at this very same tournament in 2017—his lone win on Tour. A few hours later, however, it was gone.
If you were wondering what YouTube video the Tour posted today….. pic.twitter.com/9PCwomg9BU
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) April 16, 2025
So, to recap, the PGA Tour was so offended by a part-time player participating in a YouTube collab with a rival golf league—a league the Tour is actively trying to merge with, by the way—that it suspended him from playing in sanctioned events, but it still felt comfortable posting a YouTube video of that very player to profit off his win from eight years ago.
At least, it did for a few hours before realizing its mistake and taking the video down.
The PGA Tour can't get out of its own way, and the divisive drama is pushing away a crucial, younger fan base with each bizarre decision.