LIV Golf Tried to Strike a Deal With the DP World Tour, but Another Alliance Precluded It

The easy and perhaps most straightforward approach would be to pay the fines. Jon Rahm can certainly afford whatever amount the DP World Tour is levying against him. And LIV Golf would undoubtedly pay the seven-figure sum and might even round up.

But nothing is that easy, certainly not in golf’s fractured world. Not when it comes to LIV Golf and its disruptive nature, nor the quest by the DP World Tour to uphold its rules and enforce its sanctions—even at the expense of losing one of its biggest draws.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Sports Illustrated has learned that prior to the back-and-forth between Rahm and the DP World Tour last week that saw him appeal his sanctions—allowing him to play in upcoming events—LIV Golf sought to strike a deal with the DP World Tour that would wipe out the penalties for LIV players while offering various concessions and a monetary payout from the league.

The DP World Tour, which has its flagship event this week, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, declined the offer.

Rahm last week averted controversy while simply delaying it. He elected to appeal the penalties the DP World Tour placed on him and other LIV Golf players who want to compete in the Tour’s events.

By doing so, Rahm will be allowed to play at next week’s Spanish Open, a step in the process toward becoming eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

At its simplest, Rahm—as well as another Ryder Cup hopeful from LIV Golf, Tyrrell Hatton—is in violation of the DP World Tour’s conflicting events policy which requires a release to play elsewhere. In April 2023 the Tour won a U.K. arbitration case that allows it to enforce its penalties. Rahm somehow winning an appeal appears unlikely.

All of that seems simple enough. The players who went to LIV Golf knew the rules. The DP World Tour is enforcing them.

But this is not about the money, per se. LIV Golf to date has paid some £12 million (approximately $15.75 million) in fines for LIV golfers to compete in DP World Tour events—with another £10 outstanding. Rahm could scrounge up what he owes, without question.

To Rahm and his representatives, and to LIV officials who have sought to work on his behalf, putting up barriers to competition while DP World Tour sponsors want him competing and the European Ryder Cup—and teammates such as Rory McIlroy—clearly want him on the team is a curious strategy.

“They are hurting their own events and their own sponsors,” a source said. “These are roadblocks that are a detriment and not helping.”

The source said that LIV Golf sought a resolution in August that would eliminate the fines and clear the way for LIV players to compete in DP World Tour events without the various restrictions.

LIV representatives met with DP World Tour officials and proposed schedule adjustments that would assure LIV events would not be played against some of the Tour’s more prominent events (such as this week’s LIV Golf Dallas tournament, which is the same time as the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship),  an exemption category for DP World Tour players into the 10 International Series events on the Asian Tour that carry $2 million purses, and cash.

The amount was to be £6 million to put towards purses with the ability to add more if needed.

The offer was rejected.

In response, a DP World Tour spokesman told SI: “We met with them and listened to their proposal but did not accept it, as our view remains that the focus should continue to be on all stakeholders working together to reach an overall solution that benefits our sport.”

Last week, Rahm was ready to walk away from his country’s Open and the Ryder Cup over the issue. He questions why the rules have changed, allowing him to appeal his fines, while other players earlier this year had no choice but to pay them in order to compete. That was the case for Martin Kaymer at the BMW International Open in Germany, for example, and for Thomas Pieters at a tournament in his home country of Belgium.

At the last minute, Rahm’s agent, Jeff Koski, sent an email to DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings on Thursday requesting an appeal of the fines that would avert the immediate fallout.

Controversy has been far from avoided.

It is unclear when an independent panel will hear the appeal—it will also do the same for Hatton—but observers feel it is a losing battle. The U.K. arbitration ruling last year set the precedent, one that the DP World Tour is abiding by—to its own detriment, Rahm believes.

When that ruling is given, it is unclear if the fines will be due immediately. And what about tournaments next year?

To maintain membership, a DP World Tour player must compete in a minimum of four events outside of the majors. The Olympics counts, so Rahm has three more to go. He’ll be required to do the same in 2025, when the fines, in theory, would begin accumulating again.

It is believed he owes in the neighborhood of $1 million. You could fairly deduce that next year’s number would be similar.

The DP World Tour’s rules structure is undoubtedly at the root of its decision to snub LIV. The DP World Tour has made it clear it will follow protocol.

The other underlying reason is its relationship with the PGA Tour—which has offered no avenue into its events for any players competing in LIV events.

In 2021, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour entered into a “strategic alliance” that has seen co-sanctioning a few events between the two tours, including the Scottish Open, and allowing for the top 10 on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai to earn a PGA Tour card for the following season.

Less discussed is the Tour’s investment in European Tour Productions, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan’s seat on the DP World Tour board of directors and a commitment to underwrite purses, allowing for a 3% increase year over year in which the PGA Tour would make up any shortfalls. In court documents made public as part of the various lawsuits since abandoned, the PGA Tour described the DP World Tour investment as a “distressed asset.”

The DP World Tour deal with the PGA Tour runs for several more years.

Meanwhile, negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia—which funds LIV Golf—continue. There is never any mention of DP World Tour representation at those meetings. It appears to be waiting on a favorable outcome—as is the rest of the golf world.

Could that ultimately impact Ryder Cup eligibility? It’s possible. If negotiations linger or a deal falls through, however, there exists a very real possibility that a Ryder Cup showdown with Rahm awaits.

Another surgery for Tiger

As Tiger Woods has attempted a limited golf schedule since his horrific February 2021 car crash, focus has understandably been on his severely damaged right leg, and his ability to walk and recover.

Often underplayed are the serious back issues that never left him.

Woods remarkably returned from 2017 spinal fusion surgery to win three times, including the 2019 Masters.

But just two months prior to the car accident, Woods had a fourth microdiscectomy in December 2020. He had the fifth last week, and added to his spinal fusion, it means six back procedures in 10 years.

It partly helps to explain his struggles on the course in 2024.

His ankle and foot issues have improved, though Woods rarely provides much specific detail about his back other than to say it is an ongoing struggle.

In his statement on Friday after the surgery, Woods said he was hopeful it will “help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season.”

At his first tournament at the Genesis Invitational in February, Woods withdrew during the second round due to illness. But during the first round, he hit a shank on his approach shot to the 18th green and afterward said he had a back spasm that impacted him.

At the Masters, after an impressive second-round 72 in difficult conditions saw him make the cut for the 24th consecutive time, Woods fell apart during the third round, and it’s fair to wonder if back problems led to an 82—his highest score in 100 competitive rounds at Augusta National.

Woods hit just eight of 18 greens and needed 34 putts. He finished with two double bogeys, eight bogeys and two birdies and shot a career-worst 42 on the front side. He was in enough distress that it appeared he might withdraw but ended up finishing the tournament in 60th place, last among those who made the cut.

He was asked afterward about his back but dismissed it.

Woods then played just six more rounds the rest of the year, missing the cut at the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the British Open.

Last week, Woods appeared at a clinic for his foundation and then had the surgery in Florida.

Described as a microdecompression of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement, it is considered similar or perhaps even the same as a microdiscectomy.

It is unclear if a bone fragment was impinging the nerve and for how long. After past procedures, Woods noted having immediate relief, but there’s still a recovery process that includes virtually no activity for a month. He needs time for the disc to heal and whether he can play at his Hero event in December or with his son, Charlie, in the PNC event later that month is very much in doubt.

So, too, is Woods’s ability to add events to be more competitive.

More heartbreak for Rory

After a lackluster run through the FedEx Cup playoffs, Rory McIlroy appeared spent. It’s been a long year, one in which the four-time major champion said he played too much. His near-miss at the U.S. Open to Bryson DeChambeau overshadowed some strong play, which included three worldwide victories.

But McIlroy got a boost from the home crowd in Northern Ireland, where he contended all week at Royal County Down and appeared poised to win for the first time as a pro in his home country at the Irish Open.

Then, two late bogeys, a three-birdie surge at the end by Rasmus Hojgaard, an incredible approach shot to set up a tying eagle putt—that missed—and McIlroy suffered another tough defeat.

“Unfortunately I’m getting used to it this year,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully the tide is going to turn pretty soon, and I can turn all these close calls into victories.”

McIlroy was playing less than an hour from his boyhood home of Holywood, Northern Ireland. After a three-putt bogey at the 17th hole, he needed an eagle at the 18th to tie Hojgaard, then ripped a drive and a 7-iron to within 12 feet, only to miss the putt.

“Yeah, the support, I’m very lucky,” McIlroy said. “I get so much support when I come back. I certainly don’t take it for granted. I sort of had to try to keep my composure walking up to the 18th green there. But I did that as best as I could, but yeah, wish I could play in front of those fans and this atmosphere every week; it isn’t quite like that. Yeah, personally appreciate all the support and I can’t wait to come back.

“The support I got out there this week was absolutely amazing. I’ve had a great time being home. It’s been too long. Need to keep coming back more often.

“But look, from where I was at the start of the week and what I wanted to do, it’s a step in the right direction. You know, if anything, it just whets my appetite even more for Portrush next year.”

The British Open will be played at Royal Portrush, where Shane Lowry won in 2019. This week, McIlroy heads to the BMW PGA Championship.

Rahm’s busy month

Jon Rahm said Sunday after his victory at the LIV Golf Chicago event that he ultimately appealed his fines to the DP World Tour because he didn’t want to miss the Spanish Open next week in Madrid.

Rahm had been resisting the DP World Tour sanctions and went up to the Thursday deadline before his agent sent an email asking to appeal the penalties. That will allow him to play the Spanish Open, the Dunhill Links Championship and the Andalucia Masters, tournaments he needs to play to meet minimum eligibility requirements—and thus be eligible for play in next year’s Ryder Cup.

He referenced the meeting earlier in the week between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which funds LIV Golf.

“I think I had that decision almost made, but you’re still waiting towards the end after hearing that there were certain meetings happening in New York that maybe things would change or not,” Rahm said.

“But it basically came down to first with the personal situation we have going on at home, I don’t know if it would have been the best for Kelley and I and our family to have to go through the stress of not playing in Spain and possibly jeopardizing the Ryder Cup, and two, the fact that I’ve always loved being able to go play in Spain and give back to the country that’s given me so much.

“It would have just felt wrong to not be at the Spanish Open. With the hopes that things are going to improve in the future, as well, it basically became pretty clear that I wanted to appeal, fulfill my requirements as a European Tour member, and hopefully be able to qualify or be considered for Ryder Cup next year.”

And a few more things …

> Patton Kizzire checked a lot of boxes with his victory at the Procore Championship, the third of his PGA Tour career. He had been 132nd in FedEx Cup points, meaning he was not guaranteed exempt status for next year. He moved to 70th and earned a two-year exemption for the win, which also gets him in the season-opening Sentry as well as the Masters.

> The PGA Tour’s FedEx Fall takes this week off and will resume the week following the Presidents Cup, which begins Sept. 26 at Royal Montreal. There will then be seven more tournaments through the RSM Classic.

> It is difficult to fully assess LIV Golf’s Anthony Kim experiment. He came to the league in March amid considerable fanfare, has spoken of turning his life around after addiction problems and other issues as he led a reclusive life away from golf for the better part of 12 years. But does his golf deserve another chance in 2025? Signed as a wildcard, meaning he was not part of a four-man team, Kim never earned a point in 11 tournaments, his best finish a 36th at Greenbrier. Four times he finished 50th or worse in a 54-player league. It is unclear what happens next. Because Kim is not on a team, he will not play this week in Dallas. But LIV could sign him again as a wildcard player and it’s possible one of the teams signs him.

> The U.S. Solheim Cup team had plenty of stars but the play of Rose Zhang was particularly impressive. According to Elias Sports, she lost just eight holes while winning 20.

> For all of his success this year—winning the U.S. Open, finishing second at the PGA and tying for sixth at the Masters while jumping into the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking—Bryson DeChambeau was unable to win any of LIV Golf’s 13 events. Talor Gooch also went winless after capturing three titles and a playoff last year as LIV’s individual champion.