DP World Tour ban Saudi rebels from Scottish Open
When the statement came yesterday detailing the disciplinary punishments handed out by the DP World Tour to the Saudi-backed LIV rebels, it was clear it had a lawyer’s fingerprints all over it. In comparison to the indefinite bans handed out by the PGA Tour, it read like a light rap on the knuckles. Strip away the legal niceties, however, and in practice there will not be that much difference between the two tours.
The bald statement detailed a well-trailed ban from the showpiece Genesis Scottish Open, to be staged before the 150th Open next month, for any tour member who competed at the inaugural LIV event at St Albans. There will also be a £100,000 fine for rebels such as Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter, with the money partly distributed back into DP prize funds. On legal advice the statement goes on to say ‘participation in a further conflicting tournament or tournaments without the required release may incur further sanctions’. In reality, there’s no ‘may’ about it. My understanding is that all those who pitch up at the second LIV event in Oregon next week will be subject to further suspensions from multiple DP World tournaments and rapidly escalating fines, and so it will continue so long as they retain their membership.
‘The players who competed at Centurion wilfully broke the rules they signed that are there to govern and protect the tour,’ said CeO Keith Pelley. ‘They have disrespected the meritocratic ecosystem of professional golf that has been the bedrock of the game for the past half-century. Their actions are not fair to the majority of our membership and undermine the tour, and our response is fair and proportionate.’
Pelley refused to be drawn on what it all means for the future of those players regarding the Ryder Cup next year. Again, it’s possible to read between the lines. Most of the rebels have signed multi-year deals with LIV, so there’s no way they will be allowed anywhere near the Ryder Cup. In any case, how could they be while LIV members such as Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau are banned from representing America? You can’t have bans in place for one side and not the other.
Perhaps, players and future captains like Westwood, Garcia and Poulter are waiting to see if their home tour follows their lead and accepts a mammoth offer from LIV. There has been no shortage of speculation on that front, and Pelley did little to dampen it in a three-minute video on the tour’s website featuring what might be seen as a classic bit of mixed messaging. On the one hand, when asked directly about contact with LIV, he spoke of ‘lots of fiction’ flying about and reiterated the strategic alliance they have with the PGA Tour. On the other, his final words were: ‘We will always do our best for our players and members, and that means prize funds and playing opportunities.’