The DP World Tour is again taking a stand against LIV Golf.
The European circuit has started notifying LIV Golf members that it will resume imposing heavy fines and suspensions as part of its conflicting events rule in 2027, according to The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig. That will, in theory, force a select group of golfers to choose between the two leagues at a time in which the future of LIV Golf is incredibly uncertain.
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There were eight LIV Golf members who were granted conditional releases to participate in DP World Tour events without fines or suspensions in February. Previously, at the height of the LIV Golf feud throughout the sport, golfers were hit with massive fines or suspensions for playing in unauthorized tournaments on the Saudi Arabian-backed venture. But the players — Tyrrell Hatton, Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie — reached a deal to pay all previously incurred fines and play in extra DP World Tour events. That allowed them to compete on both the DP World Tour and LIV Golf in 2026.
Jon Rahm was not on that initial list of players, and had a separate feud with the DP World Tour, but he eventually reached his own deal with the league in May. Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood have also paid outstanding fines to the DP World Tour.
But now, it appears that the offer was only valid for 2026. The DP World Tour is telling those same players, per the report, that it is highly unlikely the same conditional releases will be granted in 2027.
The issue, apparently, has to do with the “LIV 2.0” plan that the league and CEO Scott O’Neil are trying to push. Saudi Arabia, which has backed the league financially since the beginning, is pulling funding after 2026. O’Neil has recently announced that they have found an unnamed “lead investor” to fund the league for several years to come, but specifics are not yet known.
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But as part of that deal, players will have the chance to hold equity in the new LIV Golf. That, according to The Athletic, is a problem for the DP World Tour. The European league wants players to be full participants for them, and not be focused on LIV Golf first. For those with an equity share of LIV Golf, that league would be the top priority.
Essentially, the DP World Tour is going to force players to choose one side or the other again. The DP World Tour runs the European Ryder Cup team, too, so opting to remain with LIV Golf could absolutely impact European players’ status on that team for the 2027 event at Adare Manor in Ireland.
With LIV Golf’s future as murky as it is, this could be the thing that pushes golfers away from the league and back over to the DP World Tour. Missing a Ryder Cup, especially when LIV Golf isn’t what it once was, likely isn’t something the top European stars will want to risk.
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