'We Had It Coming' - Pieters Accepts DP World Tour Could Be Over

The recent DP World Tour arbitration hearing announcement will certainly cause some reaction from the affected LIV players. Speaking at The Masters, Thomas Pieters, who joined the Saudi-backed circuit at the start of 2023, believes that the decision made by the Appeal Panel isn't good for the game.

Pieters, who fired a two-over-par first round at Augusta National, was asked about the Sport Resolutions announcement, with the Belgian posed the question: "When you decided to make the jump to LIV, did you at the time think you would be done playing European Tour events?" His response? Well, in an 11 word answer, he bluntly stated "no, but it's their decision, and I respect it. It's whatever."

According to DP World Tour CEO, Keith Pelley, the announcement "will make it harder for them (LIV golfers) to qualify" for the Ryder Cup, with Pelley insisting it is the right decision for the Tour and its members.

However, with sanctions and fines possibly set to be implemented, there is a good chance that LIV players will now rescind their DP World Tour memberships in order to avoid them. 

This means that Ryder Cup legends like Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter will be unable to feature in DP World Tour events and, according to Thomas, this is something that will hurt the circuit. "I would love to play at home. I would love to play my home Open, explains the 31-year-old. "I don't see how it's good for the game if I have to skip the tournament. They're just hurting themselves really. But you've got other players coming through, I guess."

Although there will be 14 LIV tournaments available to play in, including Majors if Pieters qualifies, the announcement almost felt inevitable, at least, that's according to the Ryder Cup player, who stated: "It is what it is. We had it coming. It's just part of the deal, I guess."

For the DP World Tour and Pelley, they believe it's time to look ahead, with the Canadian explaining that “I also believe now that perhaps we can move on. Yes, there is a lot of analytical work to be done on what our next steps are going to be, but we can also now focus on looking ahead and looking at what our 2024 schedule is going to be. And that's exciting.

“So we're delighted about what transpired today but we're also equally as excited about the future and what the 2024 schedule entails.”