DP World Tour Needs to Take a Stand One Way or the Other on LIV Golf
BROOKLINE, Mass. — The twists and turns of golf’s insurrection continue to amaze and shock the golf world.
We are also learning about the integrity and fortitude of the golfers, executives and organizations, and while enlightening, it’s also concerning. Some executives are either unwilling to discuss a relationship with LIV Golf, or even meet with the group.
With LIV Golf no longer a pipe dream but a reality, it’s clear that the upstart tour has been underestimated since it was first discussed, and even now, after a successful first tournament, some don’t believe it has a chance.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, except in rhetoric, is completely ignoring LIV. He's unwilling to take a meeting with the insurgents and instead chooses to ignore them, possibly to the detriment of the PGA Tour.
Monahan has taken one decisive step, according to his players that support him, by suspending past and present Tour members who played in the first LIV event last week. Monahan drew a line in the sand and has not crossed it.
That is not the case for DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley.
Pelley brought his tour to Saudi Arabia in 2019 for the first Saudi International, and it returned in 2020 and 2021. The Saudi Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf, was a title sponsor of that event. The DP Tour decided not to continue it this year.
When LIV ramped up for its first event this month, the DP World Tour, like the PGA Tour, refused to grant releases to its members to compete in the event. So, if players ignored that move from the DP World Tour, action would seem to be required.
The PGA Tour did act, but the DP World Tour made a non-decision decision and gave all LIV players a free pass into next week’s BMW International Open with no repercussions.
“Some players asked me why we simply do not follow what the PGA Tour have done and immediately suspend these players,” Pelley wrote in an email to all his players on Tuesday. “While I understand this frustration, I remind you all that although we work closely with the PGA Tour, we are different organizations, and our rules and regulations are therefore different too.”
Pelley added that the DP World Tour is still evaluating an overall course of action and will have a clarified position on Thursday, June 23.
How is this possible?
How much time does the DP World Tour and Pelley need to make a definitive decision? It’s not like this caught the Tour off guard. If you believe that Pelley is reassessing his relationship with the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour, as Golf Digest reported this week, then the additional time may be warranted.
But while it drags its heels, the DP World Tour comes off as disorganized, and it's unconscionable that Pelley would leave those players hanging who are loyal to his tour.
This is time for decisive leadership on both sides of the pond. So far, neither Tour has responded with the necessary gravitas.
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