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Westwood has no LIV deal and a ten-event ban if he rejoins
Lee Westwood says nothing offered for LIV 2.0 suited him. Rejoining the DP World Tour would mean a ten-tournament suspension, and its chief executive says returning players must earn their place.
“There’s nothing that’s been presented to me that was agreeable for LIV 2.0,” Lee Westwood told Golfweek on Tuesday. The 53-year-old has played in the league since its first season in 2022 and co-captained Majesticks GC with Ian Poulter, who has already said he is leaving. Westwood said he had heard nothing about whether he still had to sign. He told Sky Sports he was unemployed.
Westwood has until 16 November to apply for 2027 DP World Tour membership, and he said he had had little contact with the tour. If he rejoined, he would first have to serve a ten-tournament suspension, and he expects the first event he could play to be the Turkish Airlines Open in early May.
Guy Kinnings, the tour’s chief executive, set out the terms for returning players in an interview with The Scotsman published the same day. “Regardless of who the players are, they’ve got to prove themselves in the system,” he said, adding that the tour “will only consider invites to players who bring genuine value”. He said he had been told LIV had spent more than $7 billion and that one of its aims was to destroy the DP World Tour.
Players coming back without status would get invitations rather than a special exemption category, EssentiallySports reports, aimed at smaller national opens between February and August. Today’s Golfer reported in October that the invitations would not include Rolex Series events. Kinnings also told The Scotsman that only players with continuous membership can be considered for the Ryder Cup captaincy. Westwood would not qualify even if he rejoined.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports / Golfweek: Lee Westwood ‘unemployed’ as LIV Golf future hangs in balance
- Sky Sports: Lee Westwood has ‘no regrets’ about turning down chance to captain Team Europe
- The Scotsman: LIV wanted to ‘destroy us’ – DP World Tour CEO opens up in wide-ranging interview
- EssentiallySports: ‘No perfect solution’ – DP World Tour CEO confronts player frustration
- Golf Monthly: ‘LIV Golf wanted to destroy the DP World Tour’ – Guy Kinnings
- Today’s Golfer: LIV Golf stars set to agree exit plan with major DP World Tour deal
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