Tour players banned after betting on multiple PGA Tour events
PGA Tour confirms two players suspended after being caught betting on golf tournaments.
The PGA Tour has confirmed it has banned Korn Ferry Tour players Vince India and Jake Staiano after they placed bets on multiple PGA Tour competitions, which violates the circuit's Integrity Program.
Both of their suspensions were confirmed in an email statement sent out on October 27.
The PGA Tour revealed India and Staiano had placed bets on PGA Tour events that neither of them had participated in.
Either way, that is against the rules.
PGA TOUR statement regarding Korn Ferry Tour members Vince India and Jake Staiano pic.twitter.com/bK5zVfaeg0
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) October 27, 2023
According to Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) on Twitter, Staiano placed four bets in total, three of which were on the Bryson DeChambeau vs Brooks Koepka match in November 2021.
Koepka won the 12-hole match 4&3.
That match took place before the emergence of LIV Golf and both players leaving the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-bankrolled circuit in the summer of 2022.
The tweet read:
The fourth bet, according to Monday Q Info, was made on whether DeChambeau would make a birdie on a particular hole at the 2021 FedEx St Jude Championship.
Under the PGA Tour's Integrity Program, which was updated in September 2021, its primary purpose is to "prevent betting-related corruption in PGA Tour competitions."
Here's the ruling in full where betting is concerned on the PGA Tour:
India is to be banned from PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments for a total of six months, while Staiano is suspended for three months. India's ban started on September 18 and Staiano's began on September 11.
The PGA Tour has said it will be making no further comment at this time.
India, 34, has played full-time on the lower-tier Korn Ferry Tour since 2019 and he has accumulated just over $500k in career earnings on the circuit. India has also played in three PGA Tour events in that period but has yet to make a cut on the top tier.
Staiano, 26, has been on the Korn Ferry Tour for the past two seasons but has only made six cuts and as a result has only picked up $30k. He has not yet competed in a PGA Tour event in his career.
The Tour's decision to ban India and Staiano came the same day that Newcastle United's new signing Sandro Tonali began a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules.
Tonali, 23, recently signed from AC Milan but this month it emerged he had breached a rule that prohibits players placing bets on football events organised by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), UEFA and FIFA.
On top of his 10-month ban from playing football, Tonali has been fined €20k.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney was banned for a period of eight months earlier this season following 232 breaches of the FA's rules on betting on football matches.
What do you make of the Tour's betting rules for its players? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.
