DP World (European) Tour sanctions LIV Golf League members

Continuing with its policy of acting against its members who have been playing under the LIV Golf League banner, the DP World Tour came down on as many 26 professionals who have appeared in either the parallel league’s events or on the Asian Tour.

Stiff fines were included in the action as well ranging from between 12,500 to 100,000 pounds on the 26 for each tournament they had played without a release from DP World Tour.

This is in addition to the 100,000-pound fines imposed on 17 others who had played in LIV Golf’s opening two events in London and Oregon last year.

The DP World Tour action came on the back of a favourable ruling under arbitration.

While Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Richard Bland had resigned earlier in the week, stripped 2023 Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson became the fifth to do so, Of the five, Garcia is yet to pay the fine imposed on him.

In a statement the tour said it had issued sanctions for players who breached the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation by competing in LIV Golf and Asian Tour events without releases to do so.

“These events occurred in the period from June 22, 2022 to April 2, 2023 – the day before the independent panel appointed by Sport Resolutions released its decision in relation to players competing without releases in the first two LIV Golf events in 2022; at the Centurion Club in England and at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon.

“That decision determined that the DP World Tour had acted ‘entirely reasonably in refusing releases’ for those events and that the Conflicting Tournament Regulation was ‘reasonable and proportionate to the Tour’s continued operation as a professional golf tour’.

“The panel also held that the DP World Tour had ‘a legitimate and justifiable interest’ in enforcing its regulations with the imposition of sanctions such as fines and suspensions.

“In total, 26 players were today informed individually of the sanctions applicable to them based on the specific conflicting tournaments they each played in, as a DP World Tour member, without being granted a release.

“These sanctions include fines and, where appropriate, tournament suspensions. The sanctions imposed were determined on a case-by-case basis; acknowledging differences between the events in terms of the impact on the DP World Tour’s broadcast partners, sponsors and stakeholders.

“Where fines were issued to players they ranged from £12,500 to £100,000 for each individual breach of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation.

“The total cumulative suspension imposed on any single player for breaches in the period June 22, 2022, to April 2, 2023 is a maximum of eight DP World Tour tournaments, comprising a combination of one or two week suspensions.

“The suspensions imposed relate to regular season DP World Tour events (i.e. excluding Major Championships) and will run consecutively, effective from the Porsche European Open from June 1-4, 2023 – the first tournament chronologically on the DP World Tour schedule whose entry list remains open as of today (Thursday, May 11).

“Players who have resigned their membership will not be eligible for reinstatement unless and until they pay their fines and their suspensions will apply from then onwards.

“Further sanctions for breaches of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation in events which occurred subsequent to April 2, 2023, will be considered in due course.”