PGA Tour Champions Suspends Matt Gogel for Betting on Golf Tournaments

The PGA Tour Champions has suspended Matt Gogel for six months for betting on professional golf tournaments.

On Wednesday (Aug. 26), the PGA Tour revealed that Gogel had violated the PGA Tour Integrity Program, which prohibits players from betting on professional and amateur golf competitions.

Gogel bet on golf in 2024 and 2025, though the 55-year-old maintains he never wagered on tournaments in which he was a participant. Gogel’s suspension began on Aug. 23, 2026, and runs through Feb. 22, 2027.

The PGA Tour says Gogel “cooperated fully” through the investigation.

Gogel Claims Misunderstanding

In a statement regarding his six-month suspension, Gogel said he was unaware that betting on a golf tournament he wasn’t playing violated the PGA Tour Integrity Program.

“In 2024 and 2025, I unknowingly violated the PGA Tour policy by placing small recreational wagers on golf. I want to be clear that these wagers were not placed on regular PGA Tour events, PGA Tour Champions events, or any tournament in which I participated,” Gogel wrote.

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.”

Matt Gogel

The PGA Tour Champions is the professional golf circuit reserved for golfers aged 50 and over.

The suspension comes at a costly time, as Gogel ranks 20th on the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Gogel has played in 18 Champions tournaments this season, recording two top-10 finishes and accumulating $776,133 in winnings. His best finish came last month when he finished T2 at the ISPS Handa Senior Open in Scotland.

Gogel was nicely positioned for this fall’s Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, the three-event postseason that concludes with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in mid-November.

The top 72 players qualify for the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. The field is trimmed to 54 for the second event, and to 36 for the Cup Championship. The top five point finishers for the playoffs split a $2.1 million bonus, with $1 million to the winner.

Gogel won just once on the PGA Tour, the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He’s yet to win a Champions event.

PGA Tour Integrity Program

Covered persons in the PGA Tour Integrity Program include a player’s caddy, family members, agent, manager, instructor, trainer, and any other person who receives credentials at a tournament. Event employees and volunteers are additionally prohibited from betting on golf while employed or volunteering.

All tournament personnel, including rules officials and grounds crews, also must not engage in golf betting.

Players who violate the program risk sanctions ranging from warnings and mandatory education to a permanent ban from the game. To date, no PGA Tour member has had his membership permanently revoked.