Players wey sign up for LIV Golf next season no go allowed to be members of the European tour in 2027. Na di DP World-sponsored European tour talk dis one. Dem say players must ‘make a choice’ about where dem play. Dis stance pass di one wey di tour take for recent seasons, as e tough well well.
Only players wey be members of DP World Tour fit play for Europe for Ryder Cup. Deadlines for both tours dey inside next five weeks. But uncertainty still dey around LIV Golf future, even though e don secure possible $300m funding as e try restructure.
‘Players need to make a choice,’ Guy Kinnings, CEO of DP World Tour, tell BBC Sport. ‘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.’
For previous years, conditional releases dey struck with some top players – including Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton – enabling dem to play on both DP World Tour and LIV. But now, players go be asked to disclose which tours dem intend to play on for next year, and their answer go count when dem dey decide on their membership.
About 15 LIV players – including Rahm, Hatton, Victor Perez and Tom McKibbin – get ‘status’ with DP World Tour. Dat mean dem get eligibility under one of di membership categories. Other LIV players, like Joaquin Niemann and Thomas Pieters, no get such status. So dem either need go through qualifying school or sign agreements with DP World Tour wey go give dem invitations to set number of tournaments. But those agreements go only available to players wey no be part of LIV in future.
BBC Sport hear say DP World Tour no go accept membership from anybody wey intend to play on wetin dem dey call LIV 2.0. If players no disclose their intention to play LIV but later do so, dat go be grounds to terminate their membership.
LIV Golf file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September as e try restructure, after di multi-billion dollar funding wey e dey get from Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund withdraw. Last week, e announce say e don secure possible $300m financing from BC Partners Credit to try move forward with 2027 season.
While DP World Tour agree to grant conditional releases to nine players dis season, e be understood say di change for 2027 mainly because LIV dey offer players equity in future and a feeling say dis no compatible with European tour being members organisation. But e also come at time when DP World Tour strategic alliance with PGA Tour dey negotiated, so di move likely reflect desire to put itself for best position for those discussions.
Players go get until 16 November to sign up to DP World Tour for next year. Under terms of court-supervised restructuring process, LIV Golf need sign players by 25 October. Ted Goldthorpe, head of BC Partners Credit, tell BBC Sport last week say e dey ‘confident’ LIV go get ‘critical mass’ of players.
But since then two-time major winner Rahm don talk say e no go continue playing on LIV tour. Lawyers wey represent number of other players, including fellow major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, seek clarification from court say rejection of contracts go equate to ‘termination’, enabling players to hold discussions with third parties about their futures. Richard Bland currently be di only player to don state publicly desire to play on LIV 2.0. However, Perez indicate last month say e hope future dey for di league.
