The historic European golf circuit, the DP World Tour, announced Thursday that English justice had confirmed the exclusions and fines imposed on twelve players who joined the rebel circuit LIV.
These twelve players had requested authorization from the European circuit, of which they were members, to be able to play the inaugural tournament of the LIV, in Hemel Hempstead, near London, in June 2022.
Despite being refused, they took part in the LIV tournament and were banned from the Scottish Open by the DP World Circuit, which fined them 100,000 pounds ($168,000).
They had appealed to a court of appeal in London for the right to play it both ways, but a three-member arbitration board ruled the DP World Tour ‘had been completely reasonable in refusing to release’ the rebel players .
The regulations on which the sanctions are based “cannot be considered excessive in relation to what is necessary and proportionate for the (DP World Tour) to continue to operate as a professional golf circuit”, ruled the commission, according to the extracts of the decision made public by the European circuit.
The twelve sanctioned players “committed a serious breach of the DP World Tour Code of Conduct”, and they will therefore have to pay their fine within 30 days.
“We are delighted that the commission has recognized that (…) the procedure we followed was fair and proportionate”, welcomed the general manager of the DP World Tour, Keith Pelley, quoted in the press release.
This action is separate from the antitrust action between the LIV and the main professional circuit PGA in the United States.
Launched in 2022, the LIV circuit supported by Saudi Arabia has attracted renowned players such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau or Cameron Smith thanks to its very rich prize pool distributed over a season limited to 14 tournaments in 2023 (seven in the inaugural season) played in three rounds, without a cut.
