DP World Tour fines and bans LIV Golf players

The DP World Tour has revealed punishments for its players who have joined LIV Golf.

The DP World Tour has finally revealed the disciplinary action against its rebel members who played in the opening LIV Golf event without a release.

The likes of Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Sam Horsfield, Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, and Richard Bland will be fined £100,000 each and suspended from playing in the upcoming Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship. Tellingly, they are all events that are co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour.

The DP World Tour has allowed the LIV Golf rebels to play in this week’s BMW International Open in Germany and has made no comment on whether there will be any bans from the events that it sanctions independently. It is also yet to comment on whether the rebel will still be eligible for the European Ryder Cup team.

However, it has said that anyone who participates in “a further conflicting tournament or tournaments without the required release may incur further sanctions”.

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A host of the Tour’s members applied for releases to play in the inaugural LIV Golf Series event at Centurion Club, but those requests were rejected.

The Tour said their actions “contravened the conflicting event Regulation laid down in the Members’ General Regulations Handbook as well as the Code of Behaviour Regulation, of which the members have been reminded on a number of recent occasions”.

“Every action anyone takes in life comes with a consequence and it is no different in professional sport, especially if a person chooses to break the rules,” Keith Pelley (above), DP World Tour Chief Executive, said. “That is what has occurred here with several of our members.

“Many members I have spoken to in recent weeks expressed the viewpoint that those who have chosen this route have not only disrespected them and our Tour, but also the meritocratic ecosystem of professional golf that has been the bedrock of our game for the past half a century and which will also be the foundation upon which we build the next 50 years.

“Their actions are not fair to the majority of our membership and undermine the Tour, which is why we are taking the action we have announced today.”

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The fines will barely make a dent in the players’ bank balances, with the majority receiving large signing-on fees from LIV Golf and the last-placed finisher at each of the events receiving a guaranteed $120,000 from the $20m individual purse. It’s also been reported that LIV, which is fronted by former World No.1 Greg Norman, will cover any fines handed out by the main tours.

The DP World Tour has said that all money received from the disciplinary action will be shared equally between increasing prize funds in upcoming tournaments to “benefit members who have complied with the release rules, and the Tour’s Golf for Good programme, which gives money to deserving charitable causes in the communities in which it plays events.

The PGA Tour has suspended all of its players who play in LIV Golf events from entering any of its tournaments and, as it stands, they won’t be allowed to represent the USA in the Ryder or Presidents Cups. CEO Jay Monahan has also announced plans for a rival big-money, limited field no-cut series, along with large purse increases across several events.

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LIV Golf players can still play in this year’s Open, with R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers confirming that they would be welcome at St Andrews if eligible earlier this week.

“The Open is golf’s original championship and since it was first played in 1860, openness has been fundamental to its ethos and unique appeal,” he said.

It remains to be seen if the rules will be changed in 2023, with The Masters yet to comment on the situation and both the US PGA and US Opens only confirming their position for this year’s events.

LIV Golf events do not currently carry Official World Golf Ranking points, which could impact players’ hopes of playing in the Grand Slam events, but the Series has applied to be included with a decision expected in the coming weeks.

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