10/12/2026 10:59:00
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10/12 10:42 CDT European tour says anyone signing with LIV Golf need not apply
to play both circuits
European tour says anyone signing with LIV Golf need not apply to play both
circuits
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
The European tour has delivered an ultimatum to players contemplating the new
version of LIV Golf, saying anyone who joins will not be allowed to be European
tour members.
"Players need to make a choice," Guy Kinnings, CEO of the European tour, said
in a statement Monday first reported by the BBC.
The DP World Tour, as it is commercially known, previously let LIV players to
keep their European membership as long as they paid fines for playing LIV
events that conflicted with the tour.
It extended an olive branch earlier this year to nine players, allowing them to
play LIV events without sanctions provided they settled all previous fines and
agreed to add European tour events to their 2026 schedules.
Kinnings delivered a far stronger message --- us or them --- as LIV is trying
to emerge from bankruptcy stemming from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund
cutting off the financial support. LIV has spent more than $5 billion since its
launch in 2022.
LIV has the backing of up to $300 million from BC Partners as it leans into a
10-tournament season with a focus on team competition and players owning equity
in LIV 2.0. Players have until Oct. 25 to decide whether to stick with LIV,
which could determine whether the beleaguered circuit can move forward out of
bankruptcy.
The European tour, however, is requiring anyone seeking to join to disclose
where they intend to play in 2027. The tour said it would terminate membership
if the disclosures prove false.
"As we have said for many years, we have rules and regulations which are there
to protect our tour and which our members must all abide by," Kinnings said.
"Players who are not willing to comply with our rules and regulations should
not be seeking to join our tour."
Players must be European tour members to compete in the Ryder Cup next
September, adding pressure to the likes of Tyrrell Hatton of England, Tom
McKibbin of Northern Ireland, Adrian Meronk of Poland and Thomas Detry of
Belgium.
An attorney for Jon Rahm said last week in a bankruptcy hearing for LIV that
the former No. 1 wanted to terminate his LIV contract. The question for Rahm, a
two-time major champion, is how he works his way back to the PGA Tour.
Sergio Garcia also asked to end his LIV contract, and David Puig of Spain has
indicated he is ready to take on a European tour schedule.
The European tour is negotiating a renewed alliance with the PGA Tour, which
involves commercial opportunities and a path for the leading 10 players on the
Race to Dubai to get PGA Tour cards.
Patrick Reed and Eugenio Chacarra, who both previously played for LIV Golf, are
a lock to earn PGA Tour cards this year off the European tour points list.
Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, another player who signed early with LIV, also has
a chance at a tour card.
The plan of LIV 2.0 is to have such a streamlined schedule to allow players to
compete elsewhere. But the PGA Tour bans LIV players for at least one year
dating to their last LIV appearance, and now the European tour is demanding
them to pick a tour.
Scott O'Neil, who took over as LIV CEO when Greg Norman left, has been
preaching the phrase, "Complete, not compete," as he sees the new version of
his league --- without Saudi funding to offer as much as nine-figure signing
bonuses --- to be complementary to other golf tours.
"We shouldn't live in a world where one group of golfers is uniquely restricted
from playing elsewhere," O'Neil said in August when laying the groundwork for
LIV Golf 2.0. "Our goal isn't to replace or restrict any tour. Our mission is
to bring something distinctive to the ecosystem that elevates it and makes the
whole game better."
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