Grant Horvat has a decision to make.
The famous YouTuber has received a sponsor invite to play in this summer’s Barracuda Championship, an opposite-field event to the Open Championship at Old Greenwood in Truckee, California. Horvat, who won the Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass last month, turned to his fans to help make his decision, asking whether he should play.
Thousands of fans replied, including PGA Tour player Michael Kim, saying, “If you want to play, you should play. It’s a sponsors invite and any person or maybe even tour pro that wants to tell you that you’re taking a spot or you should ‘earn it’ is total BS.”
Horvat revealed his invite on The Smylie Show.
“I don’t know where I’m at right now on it,” he said. “I truly believe in my game and I think I’m not going to shoot some crazy high score. When you play with the pros, you just realize how much better they are. They’re so good at golf.
“I’ll hit a lot of high-quality golf shots … but it’s truly a whole ‘nother level.”
It’s the timing of the invite that’s causing waves, however.
Horvat was one of six creators who played two weeks at The Duels: Miami, LIV Golf’s spinoff of the Creator Classic. Six creators played with LIV players ahead of LIV Golf Miami at Trump Doral, and the video posted in its entirety on Horvat’s YouTube page after the event. It has more than 2 million views.
The Bryan Bros, George and Wesley, were also participants. And on Wednesday, news dropped that Wesley was suspended by the PGA Tour for his participation in the event. Numerous creators, including Horvat, tweeted “#FreeWesley” in response to the news.
An important distinction to make is that Wesley is a PGA Tour member, in addition to being a content creator. He has three starts this year, including a T-25 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open. A length of his suspension from the Tour wasn’t announced, but previous suspensions for competing in LIV Golf events have been a year from the date last played.
Although the field hasn’t been announced, Wesley was likely going to play in the third version of the Creator Classic next month at the Truist Championship. He had played in the first two events, but with his suspension, it’s unlikely he’ll play at Philadelphia Cricket Club.
This has been frustrating for fans, especially considering the timing of Horvat’s announcement. Horvat revealed his invite only hours before Wesley’s suspension was announced, confusing fans why Horvat would be allowed to play in a Tour event when he also played in The Duels: Miami event.
Tournaments can use their invites on any player they want. In Horvat’s case, he’s not a member of the PGA Tour, meaning he doesn’t have to follow the Tour’s guidelines when it comes to what events he can and can’t play in.
The debate on whether Wesley’s suspension was warranted in playing a made-for-YouTube competition is fair criticism, but he also has different guidelines to follow than Horvat does. Will his suspension last, or will there be potential backlash from fellow creators because of it? Only time will tell.
Here’s to hoping Horvat plays the Barracuda. The content would be can’t miss, and it would be a great opportunity for him to experience life inside the ropes of a PGA Tour event.
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