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TSN Senior Reporter

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Vijay Singh is going to play in a golf tournament in early June. Just not where you think.

While the PGA Tour has a planned restart on June 11 in Forth Worth, TX, at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Singh will tee it up that day in the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Fla.

The fact that a golfer with 34 PGA Tour wins and three majors is joining a minor-league circuit started for up-and-comers has caused an uproar among some regular players on that tour.

Brady Schnell, a 35-year-old who has spent most of the last 10 years on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamerica and the Korn Ferry Tour, lashed out at Singh on Twitter, calling him a "true piece of trash" for taking a spot in the field that could go to a younger player in need of starts.

The comment ignited a firestorm on social media with people taking both sides of the argument. Schnell made several more comments before citing the central point of his argument.

"Whether you agree or not, I am just trying to protect the money AND the valuable points for every player on the tour that needs them to move on to the PGA Tour," said Schnell. "There is NO point to him playing."

Under the PGA Tour’s rules, any fully exempt player who is not eligible for that week’s PGA Tour event may play in a concurrent Korn Ferry tournament. Singh, a World Golf Hall of Fame member, has lifetime status on the PGA Tour but that did not get him into the Charles Schwab Challenge.

The 57-year-old who lives in Ponte Vedra, did not respond to any comments which is not unusual. Aside from posting videos of his relentless workout regimen, he keeps to himself. He rarely gives interviews anymore, preferring to let his game do the talking.

He has also been no stranger to controversy. In 1985, as a 22-year-old, he was banned from the Asian Tour after he was accused of lowering the score on his card in order to make a cut.

In 2003, when Annika Sorenstam played in a PGA Tour event, Singh was quoted as saying, "I hope she misses the cut... because she doesn’t belong out here."

In 2013, the Fijian golfer sued the PGA Tour after it suspended him for using deer antler spray, which had been a banned substance but was subsequently removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list. The two sides settled in November 2018.

Singh did get some support in this latest storm from a surprising source, Phil Mickelson, who gave his opinion on Twitter.

"It’s no secret VJ and I aren’t close," said Mickelson, "but I’d like to say on his behalf that in addition to being a member of the [Hall of Fame], he’s a big part of the PGA Tour’s success which financially subsidizes, and always has, the KFT. He has earned the right to play when and where he wants."

Singh is fourth on the PGA Tour’s career money list with $71.2 million. He plays primarily on the PGA Tour Champions but still makes several starts on the regular tour. This season, he’s played three events on the PGA Tour, missing the cut in all of them. His lone Champions start was the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January where he ended up 29th.