Matt Gogel Suspended by PGA Tour After Betting on Golf, Tour Confirms

PGA Tour Champions golfer Matt Gogel has been suspended for six months after the PGA Tour discovered that he positioned bets on golf competitions, the Tour confirmed Wednesday, August 26.

Matt Gogel Suspended by PGA Tour

The 55-year-old golfer was suspended for violating the PGA Tour Integrity Program. The Tour mentioned Gogel positioned bets on PGA Tour competitors however didn’t wager on tournaments through which he performed.

“PGA Tour Champions member Matt Gogel has been suspended for violating the PGA Tour Integrity Program,” the Tour mentioned in an announcement. It additionally confirmed that Gogel didn’t wager on occasions the place he was a participant.

Gogel mentioned the bets had been made in 2024 and 2025. He described them as “small recreational wagers on golf” and mentioned he didn’t know they broke the Tour’s guidelines, the NY Post reported.

“I would never knowingly violate the integrity of the game of golf. I made an honest mistake and I look forward to playing in 2027 on the PGA Tour Champions,” Gogel mentioned in an announcement launched by the PGA Tour.

The suspension began Sunday, shortly after Gogel completed tied for thirtieth on the Rogers Charity Classic. His ban covers all PGA Tour-sanctioned occasions and can stay in place by February 22, 2027.

PGA Tour Withholds Details

The PGA Tour didn’t say which tournaments or outcomes had been related to Gogel’s bets. A Tour spokesperson additionally mentioned the group wouldn’t present particulars about these wagers.

Gogel cooperated all through the inquiry, in response to the PGA Tour. The suspension comes throughout a powerful 2026 season for Gogel.

According to USA Today, he has performed in 18 Champions Tour occasions and has earned greater than $760,000 in prize cash. He additionally tied for second eventually month’s ISPS Handa Senior Open, one of many senior tour’s main occasions.

Gogel at present ranks twentieth within the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Although he has not received on the Champions Tour, he has earned $2.68 million since becoming a member of the senior circuit in 2021.

Before returning to aggressive golf, Gogel had a protracted profession on the PGA Tour. He joined the Tour in 2000 and received the 2002 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, his solely PGA Tour victory. He later retired in 2007 due to accidents and labored as a golf commentator for The Golf Channel and CBS Sports.