DP World Tour says players who choose LIV cannot retain membership in 2027

The DP World Tour will not allow players who sign up to LIV Golf for next season to remain members of the European tour in 2027, chief executive Guy Kinnings told BBC Sport in an interview published on 12 October. The decision matters to players who have competed on both circuits because DP World Tour membership is required to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup.

‘Players need to make a choice,’ Kinnings told the BBC. He said the tour’s rules protect its members and that players unwilling to follow them should not seek membership. The announcement sets out the tour’s position before players commit to either circuit for 2027; it does not establish which individual players will make that choice.

How the DP World Tour will assess 2027 membership

Players will be asked which tours they intend to play in 2027, and their answers will be considered when the DP World Tour decides on membership, according to BBC Sport. The BBC reported that playing LIV after declaring otherwise could be grounds for termination of membership. That makes a player’s stated plans part of the decision, rather than simply their record of appearances in previous seasons.

The deadline to sign up for DP World Tour membership for 2027 is 16 November, the BBC reported. LIV needs players to sign up by 25 October under its court-supervised restructuring process. Those dates put LIV’s commitment deadline ahead of the European tour’s membership deadline, while the intentions of most potentially affected players remain unresolved.

Which LIV players could be affected

Around 15 LIV players, including Rahm, Hatton, Victor Perez and Tom McKibbin, have DP World Tour status through a membership category, the BBC reported. The announcement could therefore matter to players who already have a route into European tour events. It does not, by itself, show that any of those four will sign up for LIV in 2027 or lose their DP World Tour membership.

Other LIV golfers, including Joaquin Niemann and Thomas Pieters, do not have that status. According to the BBC, they would need to go through qualifying school or secure agreements for invitations, and such agreements would be available only to players outside a future LIV arrangement. The routes into events therefore differ among golfers associated with LIV, even though the tour’s stated choice applies to prospective members.

The Ryder Cup consequence is a question of eligibility, not a settled selection decision. Only DP World Tour members can play for Europe, the BBC reported, so losing membership would close that route while the restriction applies. Whether it affects any particular golfer depends first on that player’s 2027 plans and the tour’s membership decision.

Why LIV’s restructuring matters to the decision

LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September after the Saudi Public Investment Fund withdrew its multibillion-dollar funding, according to BBC Sport. The Associated Press reported on 6 October that BC Partners Credit had announced an initial investment as part of targeted cumulative financing of $300 million. The financing required bankruptcy court approval at the time of that report; its later status is not established by these accounts.

AP reported that the proposed financing would let LIV plan a 10-tournament 2027 season, with half the events at international sites. It also described a proposed model under which players would have equity ownership in the league and teams. Those were restructuring plans, rather than confirmation that the financing, ownership model or schedule had been finalised.

BBC Sport reported that the DP World Tour’s tougher position is understood to relate predominantly to LIV’s proposed equity offer and a perceived incompatibility with the European tour’s structure as a members’ organisation. That explanation is the BBC’s reporting, not a quoted statement of the tour’s formal rationale. The BBC also said the DP World Tour and PGA Tour were negotiating their strategic alliance; it described a possible connection to the membership move without establishing one as fact.

What players have said and what remains open

The uncertainty is already shaping players’ comments. After winning the Dunhill Links Championship on 4 October, Adrian Meronk told AP that the unsettled situation made a decision difficult and that he would wait to see what happened. AP reported that his victory gave him European tour status for the following year. LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil called the proposed investment meaningful progress while acknowledging that work remained, AP reported.

The BBC reported that Rahm had said he would not continue with LIV, while lawyers for other players, including Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, sought court clarification about ending contracts and talking to other parties. It said Richard Bland was then the only player publicly expressing a desire to play in a restructured LIV. The eventual roster, the outcome of LIV’s financing process and individual DP World Tour membership decisions remain open.