DP World Tour in the Red: LIV Stars as an Opportunity — Members Fight Back

The DP World Tour is financially dependent on the PGA Tour, but now LIV stars like Rahm, Hatton, and Garcia are pushing back—and longtime members are resisting special treatment.

The DP World Tour faces a double test ahead of the 2027 season. According to figures from Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal, as reported by GolfMagic, the tour did post a pre-tax profit of just over $4 million in 2025. However, the PGA Tour contributed approximately $77 million in financial support. The underlying operating loss amounted to approximately $85 million. At the same time, following LIV Golf’s bankruptcy, numerous players—including Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Sergio Garcia—want to return to Europe. According to GolfMagic, members such as Joost Luiten, Ewen Ferguson, Richard Mansell, and Marc Warren are objecting to preferential treatment for the returning players.

The breakdown behind the profit: $77 million from the PGA Tour

Carpenter’s figures reveal a Tour that received significant support from the PGA Tour in 2025: approximately $77 million in financial aid contrasts with an underlying operating loss of about $85 million. The two tours are linked by a strategic alliance they formed in 2020 and expanded in 2022. The PGA Tour also holds a stake in European Tour Productions.

The figures are secondhand: We do not have access to the original source from the Sports Business Journal, and the DP World Tour has not commented on the matter. The agreement regarding the stake in European Tour Productions expires at the end of 2027.

This is precisely the context in which the wave of returns is taking place. According to Carpenter, returning stars could bring additional commercial value to the Tour, and a profitable 2027 is also possible. However, it remains to be seen how many exemptions the Tour will grant to former LIV players.

Marc Warren: “We Owe Them Nothing”

Marc Warren was the most outspoken. The 45-year-old Scot has won four tournaments on the Tour and made more than 500 starts, yet he still lost his card. Most recently, he played in the HotelPlanner Tour Grand Final in Mallorca, finishing five strokes behind the leader in his bid to reclaim his spot on the top tour. “We owe them nothing,” Warren told The Scotsman, according to GolfMagic. Looking at the list of defectors, he asked, “Which of them are coming home? None of them, as far as I’m concerned.” These players didn’t want the European Tour to be their home, Warren said.

Joost Luiten, 40 years old, a six-time tournament winner, and currently ranked 168th in the world, made a similar argument. “Yes, they’ll probably come back, but I think it would be a weak decision on the part of our Tour,” he said in an exclusive interview with GolfMagic. “Players who voluntarily gave up their membership shouldn’t be able to come back so easily.” Exceptions are meant for members of the Tour, he said. Speaking to Today’s Golfer, he was even harsher: “They decided to chase the money, and now the money is suddenly gone.”

David Horsey took a more moderate stance. The 41-year-old, also a four-time winner, is quoted by GolfMagic as saying that as a member, one wants “them to earn their spot.” There are also dissenting voices: Lee Westwood, a 25-time winner on the European Tour, recently stated, as reported by GolfMagic: “Anyone with an exemption should be allowed to return freely.”

Kinnings’ stance: Anyone playing for LIV in 2027 is out

The Tour itself tightened its rules on October 12. As CEO Guy Kinnings told BBC Sport, players who compete for LIV Golf in 2027 will no longer receive conditional exemptions. They must disclose which tour they intend to play on. Anyone who signs with the DP World Tour and then tees off for LIV afterward risks having their membership revoked. “Players have to make a decision,” Kinnings said. “We have rules and regulations designed to protect our Tour, and all our members must abide by them.” He added: “Players who are not willing to abide by our rules and regulations should not try to join our Tour.”

Until now, LIV players had maintained their membership through conditional exemptions and settlements. For Rahm and Hatton, these agreements were valid only through 2026. The issue is particularly sensitive for Europe’s Ryder Cup candidates, as anyone who wants to make the team must be a member of the DP World Tour. Qualifying for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor has been underway since August 2026 and ends on August 22, 2027.

Eddie Pepperell has criticized the rule. “What immediately strikes me is that this sounds somewhat anti-competitive,” Pepperell said on the “Chipping Forecast” podcast. In his view, the Tour can only sanction a player “if he plays a LIV tournament that takes place at the same time as a DP World Tour event.”

From Bankruptcy Filing to a Wave of Returns

This development was triggered by the collapse of LIV Golf. After the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrew its funding, the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey on September 8, 2026. For a fresh start as LIV 2.0, BC Partners Credit has offered up to $300 million, but is demanding a “critical mass” of players. The league is aiming for more than 75.

Many stars have decided against joining. Jon Rahm left LIV in mid-October, and Thomas Pieters, Charles Howell III, and Louis Oosthuizen followed in the days that followed, as greenfeed.news reported regarding Pieters and Howell III and regarding Oosthuizen. Sergio Garcia, who was allowed to terminate his LIV contract, plans to compete on the DP World Tour in 2027. Hatton, Abraham Ancer, David Puig, and Tom McKibbin are also not part of LIV 2.0, while Adrian Meronk intends to return in 2027 with an eye toward the Ryder Cup. Ian Poulter is also stepping away and will focus on the senior tours in the future. According to GolfMagic, he called the decision “incredibly difficult.”

The tension with the Tour’s members has a history. In 2022, the Tour imposed fines on LIV players, including 100,000 pounds per LIV tournament played against Garcia. In May 2023, Garcia withdrew from the Tour; his fine remained unpaid at first. The Spaniard has since settled it.

What’s next: Deadline on November 16

For players without status, such as Joaquín Niemann, the options remain Qualifying School or an agreement for a set number of sponsor invitations. This option is only available to players who do not compete in LIV 2.0. As far as we know, the Tour has not yet announced any decisions regarding invitations for individual returnees such as Pieters, Oosthuizen, Howell III, or Poulter.

The Final Stage of Qualifying School is scheduled for November 6–11, 2026—a process that Pablo Larrazábal, among others, will have to go through again after 19 years. The deadline for applications for membership in the DP World Tour is November 16, 2026. According to the league’s attorneys, it should be clear by the end of October whether LIV 2.0 will even launch. As of early November, no decision had yet been reached (regarding the deadline for committing to LIV 2.0). The agreement between the DP World Tour—or rather, its parent company, the European Tour—and the PGA Tour regarding production rights expires at the end of 2027; the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor will take place from September 17 to 19, 2027.