Ian Poulter plans to appeal against his suspension from the PGA Tour after golf's bitter power struggle took a dramatic turn at the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Within minutes of the first shots in the opening event of the run of Saudi-funded tournaments being struck, the PGA Tour responded by banning the 17 players in the field who were playing.
Among them were six-time major winner and lifetime member Phil Mickelson, former world No 1 Dustin Johnson and European players Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell, although all bar Mickelson had already resigned from the Tour.
Poulter had not resigned and repeatedly insisted he had done nothing wrong, despite being denied the required release to play in the controversial circuit, telling reporters after his opening-round 75: "I've played a lot of tournaments all around the world, this event is no different. It's a shame if they view this as something different.
"I will appeal for sure. It makes no sense. Having two Tour cards and the ability to play golf all over the world, what's wrong with that? I believe I've been given permission in the past to play in events around the world."
Asked why he had been refused permission on this occasion, Poulter added: "I don't know why. We can all make assumptions as to why. Competition is probably the real reason. It's a power struggle and it's just disappointing."
A legal battle between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour has always looked inevitable, with the players viewing themselves as independent contractors who should be able to play wherever they wish.
"I have spoken to some players, obviously we have spoken to the lawyers," added McDowell, who said he resigned from the PGA Tour to put himself in a "less litigious situation".
"We have the LIV legal team which are fantastic. We have our own legal team. Some players have decided that, out of an abundance of caution, they were going to resign and try to stay away from any litigation.
"Some guys believe that they shouldn't be in the situation where they have to resign. They don't feel like they are doing anything wrong. OK, we haven't been issued releases. We feel like we should have been issued releases. We've done it for the last 20 years, operated all over the world.
"We're in the UK. You've players like myself and Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, we are in our home markets here. We should be allowed to operate here as professional golfers. But hey, we all know the situation is about something bigger.
"It's competition and it's not liked. They are having to play the game the way they feel they have to play it, which is playing hard ball. We feel confident that we are well-protected and we are going to just try and do our best."
Sergio Garcia revealed he had resigned his PGA Tour membership more than a week ago and therefore felt he could not be banned.
"I'm not banned because I'm not a member of it," he said. "He [PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] received my letter. That's up to him. It doesn't bother me. I'm very happy where I am and I'm excited. I thought that today was a great start and that's what I'm going to focus on.
"Obviously we're going to have to wait and see what the European Tour does. But I definitely would like to keep my membership there, play at least my minimum [number of events] and get as good a chance as I can to make the Ryder Cup team because I love that event."
Mickelson revealed he will play all eight LIV Golf events this year and all 10 in 2023, but otherwise refused to comment on Thursday's events.
"Any PGA Tour matters I'm not going to discuss publicly at this time," he said.
McIlroy: I don't begrudge or envy anyone
Speaking to Sky Sports after his opening-round 66 at the Canadian Open, McIlroy said he did not "envy" the LIV players, and while conceding he would keep an eye on events at the Centurion Club, he reiterated his belief the PGA Tour is the "best place" to play golf.
"All [PGA Tour commissioner] Jay (Monahan) can do at this point is go by the rules that are in the tournament regulations. He's been very transparent about that from day one. That's what he's doing," he said.
"These guys, whether they did or didn't ask for releases, the guys that asked for them didn't get them… and the guys that just didn't ask are obviously over there.
"I guess there are consequences to those decisions, but as I said in my press conference yesterday, the guys in London have to do what they feel is right for themselves.
"I certainly don't begrudge them for being there, I certainly don't envy them, but I've always felt this is the best place to play golf, and I still believe that."
Asked if he would take in any of the LIV Golf action, he added: "I'm as engaged as everyone else in just wanting to see how it's going, so I'll have a look and see how it's going. Haven't bought any team merchandise yet, but I'll have an eye on how some of the boys are doing over there."
Coltart: How long is the ban? Forever?
Sky Sports' Andrew Coltart:
"We knew there was going to be a ban, that was decided way back in March when more of these proceedings were discussed and talked about. We knew players were facing the possibility of suspension," he said.
"Now we know that's true, I think a lot of people were expecting a length of that ban and how long that was going to be. Years? Months? Decades? Forever? At the minute it seems like forever, but there's a hint that there's a timeframe attached to it. I think that it's fair to say that a lot of people would have expected a number to coincide with that statement.
"From that [PGA Tour] statement, I don't see that necessarily deterring a couple of the other players who have signalled their intent to go there. I would have thought that maybe something slightly stronger may have impacted the decisions going forward with some of these players.
"The thing that's also slightly perplexing me at the minute is the strategic alliance, as I would have expected an announcement from the DP World Tour that would align itself with the PGA Tour. The more time that passes by and we don't hear, it's only going to raise a few more question marks.
"It depends which side of the fence you sit on here and it's going to get passed either side of that fence for some time so, unfortunately, we're heading into the direction of the courts and that's not going to benefit anybody."
'We're watching a sports-washing operation'
Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee said LIV Golf was about "greed and sports-washing", and believes those who compete will become a "depreciating asset".
"I think this is a sad day in the history of the game of golf. Let's be really clear about what we're watching today: we're not watching a golf tournament; we're watching a sports-washing operation," said Chamblee.
"If you're just a casual golf fan, by my count there are 14 names you might recognise. Those 14 players, their average world ranking is little over 100, so you're certainly not watching the best golfers in the world.
"You shouldn't be under any pretence that you're watching the best golf or the best golfers in the world today. What you're watching is pure and simple: it's a sports-washing operation.
"The foundation of the PGA Tour is built upon philanthropy; it looks after the players. It has health benefits, pension, safety nets and it has Tours for the beginning, the prime and the end of players' career.
"Let's look at LIV Golf. What's its foundation? It's based upon greed and sports-washing. It buys these players and, make no mistake, it will make these players as a depreciating asset. They will be expendable; they will be tossed aside when they have no further use to LIV Golf.
"It's a sad day as we watch these players destroy their reputations and self-emulate all that they've stood for in the game of golf."