After weeks of uncertainty, the DP World Tour has finally confirmed the measures it will take against its members defecting to the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Keith Pelley, DP World Tour chief executive, has announced all players who participated at the breakaway league’s inaugural event at Centurion have breached the Tour’s regulations. As a result, members will be fined £100,000 and suspended from the following events:
- The Genesis Scottish Open (July 7-10)
- Barbasol Championship (July 7-10)
- Barracuda Championship (July 14-17)
Pelley also confirmed that continued participation in “a further conflicting tournament or tournaments without the required release” may result in further sanctions.
In a statement, he said: “Every action anyone takes in life comes with a consequence and it is no different in professional sport, especially if a person chooses to break the rules. That is what has occurred here with several of our members.
“Many members I have spoken to in recent weeks expressed the viewpoint that those who have chosen this route have not only disrespected them and our Tour, but also the meritocratic ecosystem of professional golf that has been the bedrock of our game for the past half a century and which will also be the foundation upon which we build the next 50 years.
“Their actions are not fair to the majority of our membership and undermine the Tour, which is why we are taking the action we have announced today.”
The announcement comes weeks after the PGA Tour confirmed the indefinite suspensions to any of their members competing at the LIV Golf Invitational.
While measured in comparison, the big news surrounding the DP World Tour’s sanctions concerns the Scottish Open, an event which for the first time, will be co-sanctioned by the two tours.
This means the likes of Brooks Koepka, who was initially in the field for the Scottish Open, will now be unable to compete at Renaissance due to his defection to LIV Golf. Other members hit by the suspension include Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Louis Oosthuizen.
- RELATED: LIV Golf Invitational: Everything you need to know
- RELATED: LIV Golf Invitational: Who’s teeing up in the series
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George Cooper
