[Photo: Michael Reaves]
The DP World Tour is banning LIV Golf members from competing in its events starting in 2027.
Unlike the PGA Tour – which had suspended LIV players since LIV launched in 2022 – the DP World Tour had been granting LIV players conditional releases to participate in tournaments. It was a move that was partially done in order to keep several LIV individuals eligible for the Ryder Cup, as the DP World Tour overseas the European team. That included a settlement earlier this year with Tyrrell Hatton and (after a prolonged public fight) Jon Rahm paying outstanding fines for defecting to the former Saudi league.
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However, those still with LIV must apply for DP World Tour membership by November 16, and guidelines now stipulate that double-dipping between tours is not allowed. More than a dozen LIV players had status on both tours, including Rahm, Hatton and Tom McKibbin.
In a statement to the BBC, DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings said, “Players need to make a choice. We have rules and regulations which are there to protect our tour and which our members must all abide by. Players who are not willing to comply with our rules and regulations should not be seeking to join our tour.”
In August, LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil asserted LIV wanted to “complete, not compete” the golf ecosystem, a comment that upset DP World Tour officials after LIV tried to poach several DP World Tour tournaments and sponsors. Additionally, O’Neil accused a DP World Tour leader of contacting LIV players to discuss their options; subsequent reporting indicated it was actually player managers contacting the DP World Tour.
Last week Rahm’s lawyers told a New Jersey bankruptcy court that Rahm does not want to be part of LIV’s future. Hatton, who has made four Ryder Cup appearances for Europe, has not made his intentions public.
Aside from Rahm, Sergio Garcia was granted an exit from his contract and fellow Spaniard David Puig said he was no longer interested in playing with LIV. Attorneys for Cam Smith, Matt Wolff and others asked the court whether Garcia’s request sets a precedent for their clients.
Also last week, LIV’s new investor, BC Partners, extended the deadline for players to sign up for the league to October 25. “We’re super committed,” BC Partners chief executive Ted Goldthorpe said at a London conference. “As [O’Neil] said, we’re going to start hiring back employees and planning for next year’s events. All systems go.
“The next 22 days will be about signing up the players, and I feel very good about that. We’ve had a lot of constructive dialogue with them. We obviously have a deadline now, but that’s the next big step for us.”
However, there are questions if BC Partners is truly interested in running the league, as it has a history of taking on troubled companies for future tax credits. The next bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for this Thursday, Australian time.
