Whatever it becomes LIFE Golf 2.0the DP World Tour has decided not to let those who compete in the new version of the rebel circuit have it both ways. In a statement to BBC SportGuy Kinnings, CEO of the DP World Tour, said that the European circuit, which had previously reached an agreement with LIV players to allow them in their tournaments, will no longer do so in 2027, effectively banning them from playing.
“The players have to make a choice,” Kinnings told BBC Sport. “We have rules and regulations that are there to protect our tour and that our members must all respect. Players who are not willing to respect our rules and regulations do not have to join our tour.”
The DP World Tour had reached agreements that included granting conditional releases to LIV players in part to allow players such as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton to maintain his Ryder Cup eligibility. The DP World Tour oversees the European team, just as the PGA of America oversees the American side. That stretch included Hatton and Rahm agreed earlier this year to an agreement which forced them to pay their outstanding fines for competing in the former Saudi-backed league in exchange for eligibility for the European Tour. Those deals only apply through the 2026 season. With LIV struggling to survive while going bankrupt in hopes of reinventing itself, the DP World Tour will no longer allow LIV players to have their cake and eat it too.
The deadline to apply for a DP World Tour membership is November 16, while the the deadline for players to commit to LIV Golf 2.0 is October 25th. The DP World Tour will ask players to disclose the tours they intend to play in 2027, and this will be taken into account when deciding whether to join the European circuit. Players like Rahm, Hatton and Tom McKibbin, who played in LIV, but also had “status” on the DP World Tour in certain categories, will no longer be allowed to double. Players like Joaquin Niemann do not have status and would need to go through the DP World Tour Qualifying School or make an agreement with the DP World Tour to play a certain number of events on sponsor invitations. Such offers will also only be available to players who do not play in LIV 2.0. If a player signs an agreement with the DP World Tour and also tries to play on LIV, their membership or contract will be terminated.
The DP World Tour ban comes as it renegotiates its alliance with the PGA Tour. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp would not say when, if or how to allow defectors to return to the PGA Tour.
LIFE Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, as it looks to restructure after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia announced that it would withdraw funding from the league after the 2026 season. Last week, LIV and its new investor, BC Partners, formalized a restructuring support agreement under which the London-based private equity firm will finance LIV 2.0. BC Partners announced a “committed initial investment” as part of a goal of $300 million in cumulative funding to help the league, which the court must approve.
A day after the RSA was filed, Rahm’s attorney told a New Jersey bankruptcy court that the two-time major winner. it will not be part of LIV 2.0. In the days that Rahm’s intentions were clarified, Adrian Meronk and David Puig also announced that they did not participate in the reboot. Hatton has yet to publicly say what he plans to do. The representation of Sergio Garcia asked the court for clarity on his LIV contract and later he had finished it.
Rahm and Hatton are key members of the European side, who will be watching winning his third Ryder Cup in a row the following September. Garcia said he told captain Luke Donald he plans to try to make the team, but would also be interested in an assistant captain if he doesn’t. The DP World Tour’s decision to stop granting releases, ending the eligibility of any LIV Ryder Cup player, adds another hurdle for the breakaway league as it looks to retain talent and reboot the land.
At a London conference last week, BC Partners chief credit officer Ted Goldthorpe said he and his company are very “committed” to LIV Golf and expect to have a “critical mass” of players by October 25. While many, including the PIF, have questioned whether BC Partners is only interested in LIV for the purposes of a tax write-off, Goldthorpe said that “was not the driving force behind the investment”.
The next hearing in the LIV bankruptcy case will take place on Wednesday, October 14.
