PGA commissioner: ‘The Tour is built on meritocracy’
Rahm and Hatton likely to start back on DP World Tour
The head of the PGA Tour has said there will be no favours offered to golfers looking to return to the platform after LIV’s bankruptcy filing last week.
The increasing likelihood is players such as Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith and Tyrrell Hatton will have to play their way back on to the PGA Tour through performances in Europe in 2027 in what would represent a boost to the DP World Tour.
The removal of LIV’s Saudi Arabian funding beyond this year has left the business seeking to launch a 2.0 version. Large deals with players such as Rahm and Smith will no longer be sustainable. Yet, technically, these golfers are still LIV employees.
Rahm said at Wentworth on Tuesday that “there is a long legal process they have to go through before a lot of things fall into place”. Golfers are, for now, at the mercy of courts and bankruptcy proceedings. Whenever that is complete, the expectation is of a mass exodus back to the PGA Tour.
Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour’s commissioner, says his organisation has no plans to reintroduce the sort of scheme Brooks Koepka took advantage of when returning from LIV at the start of this year. Koepka was reintroduced in return for sporting and financial sacrifices. Others opted not to take that opportunity.
“As I said a few weeks ago in Atlanta, there are really three things when it comes to anyone who wants to compete on the PGA Tour,” Rolapp said. “One, the PGA Tour is built on meritocracy. Every player, whether they are a member or want to become one, must earn their place. Two, we are a membership organisation; we have rules and those rules exist for lots of reasons, including fairness and competitive balance. Rules matter, and they must be enforced.
“Which brings me to No 3, accountability and discipline. These are essential elements for any sports league and are certainly for the integrity of the PGA Tour and the sport. It’s what holds the Tour together. Those are guiding principles for us. In terms of where we are today, we are not currently contemplating a returning-member programme like the one you saw in January.”
The PGA Tour is trying to determine how cards can be earned from the DP World Tour in future. Tiers of competition will soon be created on the PGA Tour. Also at Wentworth, Rory McIlroy said those progressing from Europe should feed into the top-level Championship Series in the US.
“I don’t see any reason why a DP World Tour player would go to the [second tier] Challenger Series,” McIlroy said. “I don’t see that as an upward move in your career. I see it as a very lateral move. So it would just be: OK, how many cards is reasonable to give to the DP World Tour for the Championship Series? I would imagine that is what the ongoing discussions are.”
On that specific topic, Rolapp said: “We have not determined what the DP World Tour cards will be, as of yet. That’s under discussion. I don’t see any scenarios where there’s no Championship Series cards.”