Banned PGA star announces breakaway tour with $1 million prize and Las Vegas finale

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Wesley Bryan is out to go it alone after being shunned by the PGA Tour.The 36-year-old is a massive name in the YouTube golf space alongside his brother George — collectively known as the Bryan Bros.Bryan was booted off the PGA Tour after appearing in an LIV eventGettyThey are two of the biggest draws on the channel and have teamed up with another popular streamer Grant Horvat in a new venture.‘Your Golf Tour’ is being launched with a $1 million prize pot aiming to bring together the best creator-golfers.The four-event series will feature 16 of the best players before an individual strokeplay championship at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas with the massive prize on offer.“Today, we are proud to announce the launch of a new venture, Your Golf Tour (YGT) a multi year Tour designed for high-level competition in the digital golf landscape,” a statement read.“Competitive golf is where we started. YouTube golf is where we’ve evolved. We believe there’s a place for both. It’s built by the Creators for the audience who has grown with us.“For years, we imagined building a tour, but it felt out of reach. We’re grateful for how much innovation has happened in Golf recently.“We’ve experienced all that this space has to offer, and now it’s time for the next chapter. Our vision is to create a structure for top players to perform under real pressure with significant stakes while remaining authentic to the YouTube format that we know and love.”Wesley reached a career-high of 36th in the Official World Golf Ranking in 2017.But his PGA Tour membership was suspended after he took part in LIV Golf’s ‘The Duels’, which saw the breakaway pit its best golfers and YouTube stars.YouTube has a huge potential audience for events falling outside the main tours.Byran Bros Golf has over 800,000 subscribers on YouTubeGettyBryson DeChambeau has embraced social media in a way few fellow pros haveGettyLast year’s Internet Invitational racked up around 27m views across six episodes.Horvat says the 16 competitors will be hand-selected with some smaller names given a chance to raise their profiles.“We are starting with the 16 hand selected top golfers in the creator world, not all of which are giant names,” he said.“The selection was based first on skill, then personality. However, our goal is to evolve even bigger and host massive qualifiers in the future. “We want this to be a viable option for players that have maybe given up on pro golf but are great competitors.“There are so many incredible players out there that deserve a chance to compete. That is what YGT is all about.”Golf is stepped in tradition but new players are shaking up the old orderGettyRory McIlroy prepares to defend Masters crownWhile the prize pot is some way short of Rory McIlroy‘s $4,200,000 payout for winning last year’s Masters, it should be plenty to get people on board and shows how the digital age is opening up new pathways.McIlroy begins the defence of his Green Jacket in the most traditional of all golfing events at Augusta in April.The Northern Irishman now has a career Grand Slam and will serve up his first-ever Champions Dinner before the tournament with all eyes on whether Tiger Woods will tee off.Stay up to date with the latest from golf across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.