The LIV Golf League has told its players who compete on the DP World Tour that it will no longer pay the fines associated with playing in conflicting events, which can potentially impact their future participation in the Ryder Cup.
Although this year’s tournament at Bethpage Black will not be impacted because those who have not paid fines have appealed—with a hearing to be held later this fall—it will create a possible impasse for some players going forward.
The Telegraph reported the change by LIV Golf and estimated the league has paid the DP World Tour more than $20 million in fines since they were first instituted as a penalty for competing in LIV Golf events that conflict with DP World Tour events.
A source told Sports Illustrated that the move by LIV Golf is true, but the league has yet to comment.
The two players this impacts potentially the most are Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, both of whom are essentially locks to play for Europe in September. Both players appealed their fines last year and were allowed to compete in DP World Tour events pending the outcome.
Hatton won the Dunhill Links Championship last fall and the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year. With his strong play in the majors, the Englishman is set to qualify via one of the top six spots on the team automatically. Rahm is all but certain to be an at-large pick by captain Luke Donald.
In the spring of 2023, the DP World Tour won an arbitration case in a UK court which upheld the tour’s ability to fine players for playing in conflicting tournaments. That ruling suggests the player appeals will be denied.
Unlike the PGA Tour—which doesn’t allow its players to compete in LIV events at all—the DP World Tour has a suspension and fine system in place that varies by event. The figures are not disclosed. Sergio Garcia, for example, paid his fines, which allowed him to compete in the BMW International Open in Germany last month.
If the players who are competing under appeal are denied, they’d in theory be expected to pay their past fines plus those they’ve accumulated.
Rahm made it clear last year prior to the deadline for entering the Spanish Open that he would not be paying.
“I’m not a big fan of the fines,” he said prior to last year’s LIV Chicago tournament. “I think I've been outspoken about that. I don't intend to pay the fines, and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen.
“I've said many times, I don't go to the Spanish Open for the glory or anything else. I think it's my duty to Spanish golf to be there, and I also want to play in Sotogrande (the Andalucia Masters).
“At that point, it would almost be doing not only me but Spanish golf a disservice by not letting me play, so yeah, that's why we're trying to talk to them and make that happen. I would also love to play the Dunhill (Links Championship in Scotland). I have a good friend who asked me to play, and Johan (Rupert, the event organizer) has been has been a great, great ambassador for the game of golf. I would love to be able to play all those events.’’
Rahm’s account does not square with the DP World Tour’s account of the situation at the time. A DPWT spokesman said that the rules have been presented to Rahm and his representatives. Fines and suspensions differ by player and event.
Eventually Hatton and Rahm appealed their fines, which continues to allow them play.
Their stance has been that the DP World Tour should drop the fine structure as it is hurting their own events.
But if they did drop the fines, it would likely cause other problems, according to the Telegraph story.
“There would be outrage if the Tour caved in,” one source told the Telegraph. “The point is that the Tour fully expected the peace negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudis to have been settled by now, so they kicked this can down the road happy in the belief it wouldn’t matter. But with no deal in the pipeline—anything but, in fact—there is a huge problem looming.
“And at this point, unless the impasse between the two parties is broken, or the Tour changes its rules or even quits the strategic alliance with the PGA Tour and rows in with the Saudis, it is inevitable that the Europe Ryder Cup will be weakened for the match in Ireland in 2027. These are uncertain times and there is a lot of angst about what happens next.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as LIV Golf Will No Longer Pay Fines for Players Who Compete on DP World Tour.
