DP World Tour To Ban LIV Golfers From 2027

Guy Kinnings speaks at the 2026 BMW PGA Championship — (Image credit: Getty Images)

The DP World Tour will not allow any golfer involved in the new version of the LIV Golf League to obtain membership on the European circuit from 2027.

A report from BBC Sport contained an interview with DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings in which he stated "players must make a choice" in terms of where they will play next season and beyond.

As it stands, it is possible for many LIV golfers to hold a DP World Tour card as well and compete without fines or sanctions after the Wentworth-based circuit granted eight conditional releases back in February.

However, much has changed since then - not least the Saudi PIF confirmed it would be withdrawing its financial support of LIV Golf, plunging the breakaway tour into a state of marked uncertainty.

Months after the April announcement by the PIF, a report by The Athletic in August said the DP World Tour was considering reintroducing heavy fines and sanctions for DP World Tour members competing in LIV Golf events from next year.

Now, though, quotes from Kinnings suggest the DP World Tour is taking a real hardline stance over its membership. Either you're in or you're out.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Kinnings said: "We have rules and regulations which are there to protect our tour and which our members must all abide by.

"Players who are not willing to comply with our rules and regulations should not be seeking to join our tour."

The call comes at a particularly interesting time in the golfing landscape, with the next few weeks featuring the deadline to sign up for 'LIV 2.0.'

By making that choice, golfers such as Tyrrell Hatton will effectively decide whether they can or cannot be a part of Team Europe at next year's Ryder Cup in Ireland. Only players who hold DP World Tour membership will be eligible for Adare Manor.

Roughly 15 players are likely to be affected by this decision, with stars such as Jon Rahm, Victor Perez and Tom McKibbin joining Hatton as Europeans with status on both tours.

However, Rahm is among the early few to have categorically ruled himself out of the new-look LIV Golf League, so it seems almost guaranteed the Spaniard will return to the DP World Tour full-time in 2027.

For players like Joaquin Niemann and Thomas Pieters, who do not hold any DP World Tour status, they would have to enter Q-School or commit to an agreement with the European circuit whereby they would receive a guaranteed number of invites.

Jon Rahm speaks at his 2026 BMW PGA Championship press conference — Jon Rahm has ruled himself out of playing in LIV Golf 2.0

Yet, that would be totally dependent on ruling themselves out of playing in LIV 2.0. Per BBC Sport, should a player claim they will not play in the LIV Golf League but then go on to do so, that would constitute grounds on which to have their DP World Tour membership cancelled with immediate effect.

LIV recently announced it had secured a possible $300 million in funding to move forwards with the next iteration of the league, a month after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.