LIV golfer Martin Kaymer to skip BMW PGA Championship: 'I know I'm not that welcome'

Kaymer was one of the 18 LIV golfers set to be in attendance at Wentworth but says he doesn't want to go somewhere he's not wanted.

"Of course, there will be friction there, that's why I'm not going," Kaymer told Golf Digest ahead of the LIV Golf Invitational Boston on Thursday. "I don't need to go to a place where, feel-wise, you're not that welcome. They don't say it, but [it's there]."

While the DP World Tour initially tried to suspend LIV players from competing in its events, they are currently permitted to play due to a temporary injunction, with a full legal hearing on the matter still to come.

But while they are technically allowed to play, it's pretty clear the Tour doesn't really want them there.

According to a memo from DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley, obtained by The Golf Channel, the 18 players can expect a pretty icy reception at Wentworth.

"They will not be given any on-course competitive disadvantage - i.e. unfavorable tee times - but they will not be required to play in the pro-am on Wednesday and will not be in TV featured groups," Pelley wrote.

In another memo, sent only to the LIV players, Pelley asked, "Out of respect for our partners, our broadcasters and your fellow competitors, we would kindly ask you to consider not wearing LIV Golf-branded apparel during your participation at Wentworth."

Most of Kaymer's LIV colleagues are still planning on crashing the party, however, with the likes of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Abraham Ancer, Talor Gooch and Jason Kokrak all in the field.

Reed, Ancer, Gooch and Kokrak qualify by virtue of their spots inside the top 60 in the World Rankings, while the rest are long-time DP World Tour members who believe they should still have the right to compete on both tours.

Despite the temporary injunction, most of the players have avoided the DP World Tour this season, but with valuable World Rankings points and $8 million in total prize money on offer at Wentworth, they couldn't resist the temptation this time around.

Kaymer has been a member of the European Tour for 15 years, winning 11 times, but with the likes of FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy and US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick already making it clear the LIV players are not welcome, he would rather sit this one out.

"I do love the European Tour and I do like Wentworth; I think it's a flagship event that people like to participate in," said Kaymer, who has won 11 times in his 15 years on the European Tour.

"But under those circumstances, I try to stay in the area where the energy is high, where the energy is positive. I don't know why I should fly to England, [and] be on the golf course for four or five days where you are not that welcome, I would say. It has nothing to do with the European Tour or the players or anything like that... but where we are right now [in professional golf], I try to stay away. I will wait until everything settles."