Were the DP World Tour out of line with their Otaegui treatment?

Adrian Otaegui may have dominated the Andalucia Masters to conquer the tournament record and land a fourth DP World Tour victory, but the impressive win didn’t come without its complications.

In decimating the field on home soil at Valderrama, Otaegui became the first LIV player to win on either the DP World or PGA Tour since the breakaway league commenced.

And, alongside the symbolic nature of the win, the DP World Tour’s coverage of the Spaniard – or lack of it – soon had plenty of people bickering over whether his treatment was out of line.

Having teed up for three LIV events before filing an injunction to play on the DP World Tour again, Otaegui appeared ignored by the circuit as he soared to victory in Spain, with many criticising the Tour for failing to adequately cover him on social media.

So with all that said, was Otaegui’s treatment by the DP World Tour out of line? Here’s what two our writers think of it all…

‘To not mention him until 58 holes was very petty’

I thought it was a huge shame, argues George Cooper. Because what Otaegui did on the course, where it matters, was phenomenal. He’s just had an unbelievable four days. He’s playing on home soil and the crowd were loving it.

I had a scan and they didn’t mention him by name until he’d played 58 holes! That, to me, is very petty.

I think we would be having a different conversation if this was a Patrick Reed or an Ian Poulter – one of LIV’s committed defectors who have made millions and continued to bash the DP World Tour off the course.

But Otaegui was a number filler for LIV in the early stages, a player on a temporary contract who’s now left the league and sees his future with the DP World Tour.

Yes, he filed the injunction, but who can blame him? He couldn’t have known the consequences when he ventured off to play in three LIV events. At the end of the day, this is his livelihood, and it was an incredible victory.

‘He literally sued the DP World Tour’

It’s not just a case of him going to play in the LIV Golf series, says Alex Perry, he then sued the DP World Tour!

He was part of that small group of players who took legal action back in July, so it was always going to be complicated.

Of course, they absolutely should be mentioning him on social media. They should be mentioning that he’s leading the golf tournament and breaking records. It was a phenomenal round of golf.

But on the flip side, I completely understand that they’ve gone, ‘Do you know what? This guy literally sued us, so why should we give him the same coverage as everybody else?’

Those calling for Keith Pelley’s head to roll over this need to give their heads a wobble.

You can listen to George and Alex debate Otaegui’s win some more – on top of a number of other topics along a similar line – on The Slam podcast. Click the button below, or tune in on your favourite pod platform. Remember to let us know how you feel on the matter by tweeting us @NCG_com.