Guess who?! One LIV golfer refuses to pay DP World Tour fine
It will come as little surprise as to which player has missed the deadline. So what happens now? Matt Chivers explains
Seventeen players have been issued fines from the DP World Tour for playing in the first ever LIV Golf event last summer.
Sixteen of them have paid by the deadline – which leaves just one who doesn’t intend on coughing up.
Sergio Garcia could now face further sanctions, according to the DP World Tour, who say they will take “appropriate action if he continues not to respect the Sport Resolutions panel’s decision”.
Along with a number of other European stalwarts, Garcia has resigned his DP World Tour membership and ended any chance of further Ryder Cup participation.
As the hefty fines were upheld against those who joined the Saudi-backed circuit, competing in more conflicting events while keeping DP World Tour membership could have led to more fines.
It’s virtually 12 months to the day when Garcia declared “I can’t wait to leave this tour” when disagreeing with a rules official at the Wells Fargo Championship last May.
The Spaniard also soured his relationship with the DP World Tour back in September, when he withdrew from the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
There was no specific reason given for pulling out. He was subsequently pictured at a college football match in Texas soon after.
The likes of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Patrick Reed, and Graeme McDowell paid their £100,000 penalties for teeing it up at Centurion in June 2022. The fines were originally dished out the following month.
Westwood has since commented on his resignation from the tour, “The way I view it is, as a European Tour member, I was allowed to be a member of the PGA Tour without any problem for all those years.”
“Tell me, what is the difference? Just because LIV is funded by the Saudis – a country where my tour used to play and where we were encouraged to play?”
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
