LIV Golf stars rush to DP World Tour as path back to PGA Tour

LIV Golf winds down, players seek new home

Immediate PGA Tour return blocked, DP World Tour emerges as alternative

European tour veterans split on welcoming former rivals

Jon Rahm (left) and Tyrrell Hatton, both of whom retain DP World Tour membership. [Getty Images]

LIV Golf, which upended the global golf world on the strength of massive Saudi Arabian investment, is winding down — and its star players are searching for somewhere to play. With an immediate return to the PGA Tour out of reach for most, Europe's DP World Tour has emerged as the leading alternative.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday (Korean Standard Time) that LIV Golf alumni now find themselves having to return to the very European tour they once threatened. Their arrival is expected to intensify competition for playing spots among existing members.

LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. The organization subsequently pursued a relaunch under the banner of "LIV 2.0," but failed to secure investment and announced Nov. 5 that it would abandon restructuring efforts and proceed with liquidation.

Founded in 2022 with backing from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf lured some of the world's biggest names away from the PGA Tour with enormous contracts — among them Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau of the United States, and Jon Rahm of Spain. The league's collapse accelerated after PIF cut off funding in April, and a planned $300 million investment by private equity firm BC Partners also fell through.

Most LIV players want to return to the PGA Tour, the sport's premier circuit. The tour bars LIV participants from competing for one year from their last appearance, as a general rule. It applied a special reinstatement program to Brooks Koepka of the United States this year, but has no current plans to extend the same opportunity to others.

That has pushed the DP World Tour to the fore as an alternative. Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton of England and Sergio Garcia of Spain are all pursuing a return to the European tour. Rahm and Hatton retain their existing membership, while Garcia must requalify.

DeChambeau can apply for DP World Tour membership on the strength of his 2024 US Open title. Johnson, Cameron Smith of Australia and Joaquin Niemann of Chile, however, face greater uncertainty in securing playing rights.

Bryson DeChambeau (left) and Sergio Garcia. DeChambeau can apply for DP World Tour membership based on his major championship victory, while Garcia must reacquire the membership he previously relinquished. [Getty Images]

There is already a precedent for using the European tour as a bridge back to the PGA Tour. Patrick Reed of the United States and Eugenio Chacarra of Spain, who left LIV earlier, performed well enough on the DP World Tour to secure PGA Tour cards for 2027. Reed said he hoped his former LIV colleagues would "play well and come back to the PGA Tour like I did."

Not everyone on the European tour is welcoming the influx, however. England's Eddie Pepperell said he would feel "a sense of betrayal" if playing opportunities were handed to LIV alumni — players who left for large sums and are now, in his view, looking to take spots from members who stayed.

The DP World Tour itself faces a dilemma. High-profile additions would boost the tour's commercial appeal, but the organization also has an obligation to protect playing opportunities for its existing members. DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings said anyone seeking to join must "prove themselves within the tour's system."

The Wall Street Journal said the stars who once walked away from established tours for enormous signing fees now find themselves hunting for tournaments to enter. LIV Golf's collapse, the paper said, has ignited a fresh conflict over reinstatement rights and playing privileges.

yjc@heraldcorp.com