"They are hurting their own events"- DP World Tour rejects deal with LIV Golf with 'detrimental' effects, claims golf insider

The LIV Golf Series, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour have been trying to reach a consensus regarding the merger for over a year. However, despite their best efforts, there seems to be little progress.

The lack of a merger is affecting LIV golfers who want to play on the DP World Tour, including the likes of Jon Rahm. With several pending fines and sanctions for having left the tour, the LIV Series has attempted to strike a deal with the European tour instead.

However, according to a golf insider at Sports Illustrated, the DP World Tour has rejected the deal. The source further went on to say that this was a poor decision, which was detrimental to the Tour. The source reportedly said:

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

Jon Rahm's participation in the upcoming Ryder Cup is in jeopardy. He has made it clear that he does not intend to pay the fines piling up against him. However, he is keen on playing the Ryder Cup and other tournaments on the DP World Tour that will help him fulfill the criteria for the same.

According to BBC, Jon Rahm said:

"I'm not a big fan of the fines. I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them (the DP World Tour) about how we can make this happen."

Rahm is now set to play the 2024 Spanish Open after appealing against the sanctions put on him by the DP World Tour.

---

DP World Tour responds to LIV Golf deal, refuses to change its views on the true focus of the merger

A DP World Tour spokesperson also talked about the LIV Golf deal, and gave the reason behind the rejection of the same. Speaking via Sports Illustrated, the spokesperson said:

“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."

The merger between the LIV Golf series and the PGA Tour was first announced in June 2023. Since then, there have been several uphill battles to bring the tours together. Currently, Tiger Woods is leading the PGA Tour board in an effort to have more conversations with the Saudi Arabian PIF.

LIV Golfer Brooks Koepka also recently conceded about not knowing much regarding the deal. The LIV Tour and the PGA Tour have both released their schedules for the 2025 season, and show no signs of slowing down at the moment.