LIV Golf accused the DP World Tour of a 'clear attempt to obstruct' its restructuring process, according to Rob Fitzgerald, the organisation’s lawyer, during a court hearing on Wednesday. Fitzgerald stated that LIV was 'highly concerned' by the stance of its rival, the DP World Tour, which had declared it would reject membership for anyone playing in the breakaway LIV competition next season.
'The timing of this appears to be a clear attempt to interfere in our process with our players and potentially in our reorganisation as a whole,' Fitzgerald said. He added that the DP World Tour’s stance 'also raises several of the same concerns regarding anti-competitive behaviour that LIV has previously raised regarding the way competitive leagues are attempting to exclude and penalise participants, specifically these players, from participating in LIV.' The DP World Tour declined to comment on Fitzgerald’s statement.
Guy Kinnings, the chief executive of the DP World Tour, told BBC Sport on Monday that 'players must make a choice', marking a hardening of the organisation’s stance towards playing on multiple tours. In previous years, conditional approvals had been granted to some top players, including Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, allowing them to compete on both the DP World Tour and in LIV.
Fitzgerald highlighted that 'the freedom of the players is the reason why LIV Golf was created and is the foundation of LIV Golf 2.0, a league built around its players.' 'LIV has been vocal about its belief in free agency and that the best players should have greater flexibility to compete across the ecosystem. It is unfortunate that the other tour takes the opposite stance and pressures our players with a false choice,' he added.
Judge Michael B. Kaplan, who is overseeing the proceedings in the New Jersey bankruptcy court, responded: 'The comments I have read are indeed concerning.' At the judge’s request for clarification on the timeline for the creation of LIV 2.0, Fitzgerald stated that 'two key elements' were structural, relating to the investment by BC Partners, and 'a sufficient number of players signed by the 25th of this month'. 'We are working hard day and night on both the player and structural aspects,' he added.
When asked when he could inform the court 'on either side' whether LIV would 'shift to closing', Fitzgerald said: 'We expect that decision to be made by the end of the month.' He stated that 'upon receiving full clarity on LIV 2.0, the debtors will very quickly begin paying hosts, suppliers, and other parties, as we will schedule and prepare the LIV 2.0 events which are expected to take place shortly after the exit.'
LIV filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in the United States in September after Saudi Arabia withdrew its multi-billion-dollar funding. As part of the court-supervised 'restructuring process', which the organisation hopes to complete by early 2027, player contracts have been 'rejected' and no player is obligated to remain part of LIV. During Wednesday’s hearing, 19 player contracts were rejected, including those of Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson, after being postponed from the previous week’s hearing as those players sought clarity that their rejection would allow them to negotiate with third parties regarding their future.
LIV had recruited a number of high-profile players following its launch in 2021, but now owes its participants at least $45 million. Patrick Reed, the current leader in the Race to Dubai, who left LIV in January, said he was 'accepted from day one' after returning to the European tour. 'Playing on this tour this year, fully, was something I truly enjoyed and it seems the guys enjoyed having me come and play,' Reed said. 'I feel no different. I feel that the guys accepted me from the first day.' He added: 'I can see how some guys might have a problem with it if players came and played only major tournaments. I came and played everything, from major tournaments, small ones, the middle ones. I feel that for me there was no difference.'
Six-time major champion Rory McIlroy said that LIV was in 'a state of turmoil' and that the DP World Tour was 'more than welcoming' to players leaving the competition. 'The DP World Tour is completely right to change the rules and regulations,' McIlroy said at a press conference ahead of the start of the DP World India Championship on Thursday. 'This is the way to protect their business and to make the tour as strong as possible.' On Tuesday, he told Bloomberg that he would vote for the return of former LIV players to the PGA Tour, believing that the breakaway circuit was no longer a threat to traditional tours.
