LIV Golf Accuses DP World Tour Of 'Interference' With Signings

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Lawyers for LIV Golf have accused the DP World Tour of "a clear attempt to interfere with our process" in terms of signing up players for the new 2.0 version of the league.

At a US bankruptcy court hearing on Wednesday, LIV Golf's attorney Rob Fitzgerald voiced his "concern" at the DP World Tour's stance on players hoping to rejoin the European circuit.

DP World Tour boss Guy Kinnings told the BBC on Monday that "players need to make a choice" between rejoining his tour or playing in LIV Golf 2.0.

Fitzgerald claims that giving players that ultimatum raised "anti-competitive concerns" over player freedom - and the court judge in the case agreed that Kinnings' comments "do raise concerns".

While telling the court that LIV Golf would know whether 2.0 could go ahead by the end of the month, Fitzgerald wanted to raise the point of the DP World Tour toughening its position on players returning.

And in particular it was the timing of Kinnings' comments that LIV Golf believes to be a deliberate attempt to derail the 2.0 version of the league.

"We're continuing to monitor this situation very closely and we're quite concerned by it frankly," Fitzgerald said of Kinnings' comments on the DP World Tour's position.

"The timing in particular strikes us as a clear attempt to interfere with our process with our players and potentially our reorganisation writ large.

"It also raises a lot of the same anti-competitive concerns that LIV has expressed previously regarding the way competing leagues have sought to box out and punish market participants, namely these players, from participating in LIV and really only LIV."

Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Joaquin Niemann and Tyrrell Hatton

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil has until 25 October to achieve a "critical mass" of player sign-ups to get an investment deal with BC Partners over the line.

Jon Rahm has ruled himself out of joining 2.0, but most players are still deciding who is in and who is out for the new LIV Golf league format.

Rahm and the likes of Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin and others played on the DP World Tour and LIV last year after agreeing a deal with Wentworth officials, but that same deal is not on the table next season.

With a Ryder Cup coming up and now the DP World Tour's toughening stance it's made the decision even harder for big European names hoping to make the team at Adare Manor.

But that's something LIV Golf's legal team argue is unfairly restricting the freedom of players who want to play on both tours.

"Player freedom is the reason LIV Golf was created, and it's the foundation of LIV Golf 2.0, a league built around its players," Fitzgerald added.

"LIV has been vocal in its belief in free agency and that the best players should have greater flexibility to compete across the ecosystem. It's unfortunate that another tour is taking an opposite view and pressuring our players with false choice."

Interestingly, judge Michael B. Kaplan, who is hearing the case in the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court, agreed with LIV's arguments, or at least agreed that the comments from the DP World Tour could be worth a further look.

"The comments I have read do raise concerns," said the judge.

O'Neil has insisted that the new LIV mantra is to "complete not compete" with the established tours, and has voiced his willingness to try and fit into the current ecosystem around PGA Tour and DP World Tour events.

But that's not how the DP World Tour see things, as the organization's Ben Cowen recently outlined the constant battle with LIV Golf for tournaments and sponsors.

These latest comments in court suggest that the battle between the two parties may yet take on a legal format going forward depending on how LIV Golf 2.0 player sign-ups go before the deadline.

Golf Monthly has contacted the DP World Tour for comment.

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.