Tour players reprimanded over “unforgivable” language

Bosses at the EuroPro Tour have fired a warning to players after a broadcast had to be pulled because of “excessive amounts of swearing”.

A memo sent to players and subsequently shared online revealed a show from a recent event was cancelled by Sky Sports after its “compliance team” picked up bad language and the tour was unable to re-edit the footage in time.

Players have now been warned the incident had the potential to jeopardise the tour’s existence – and have been promised fines, which could be “significantly raised”.

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“This problem seems to be growing and although it’s only a small few it’s bemusing,” the memo read.

“When you reach the level of having an audience, you are at a level where your brand image and reputation matters. Not only does it matter to you, it matters to your sponsors and an international audience.

“By saying the “f” word when you are being watched is unforgivable. You are no longer just a golfer, you are an entertainer, an ambassador for your sport and industry.

“What you portray matters to the development and future of the sport.

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“The swearing… may have caused us a fine. To put it in perspective, that fine would have been in the thousands. If it put in jeopardy our relationship with Sky, it would have been in the tens if not hundreds of thousands and in fact may have threatened the tour itself.”

Executives also claimed the tour pays out 110% of the entry fees it receives on top of other costs, and described it as “hard work making this tour viable”.