LIV Golf’s Lee Westwood has unleashed a torrent of biting criticism aimed at the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, accusing them of inconsistent treatment of different players. The British golfer, once a fixture on the European Tour – essential for Ryder Cup eligibility – switched allegiance to competitor LIV in 2022.
Since then, the veteran of 11 European Ryder Cup Teams faced penalties for partaking in unauthorised tournaments and, after an unsuccessful appeal, forfeited his membership. Westwood now pointed fingers at the European Tour for allegedly giving favourable treatment to stars like Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton – who remained with LIV yet retained their memberships. Moreover, he took aim at the PGA Tour, branding them egocentric and suggesting their stubbornness has hindered any chance of reconciliation with LIV.
Amid suggestions that his Ryder Cup captaincy aspirations might be dashed, the 51-year-old golfer confirmed to i news his eagerness to lead: “I would jump at the chance.
“But certain things have to change. Rapprochement is necessary. I don’t know that the PGA Tour are willing to give up anything, I don’t think they are willing to bend at all. I don’t know how smooth that relationship [between the DP World Tour and PGA Tour] is. I think the European Tour are realising the PGA Tour is all about one interest, that it’s a leopard that can’t change its spots.
“I don’t have a relationship with the European Tour. I have £857,000 worth of fines that I appealed against. The appeal went the way of the Tour, so I resigned my membership because I wasn’t prepared to keep getting fined. I would love to sit down with them and carve a way to come back together.
“The Tour have not treated everyone the same way. They have not treated Rahm and Hatton the same way they treated me, Poults [Ian Poulter] and [Henrik] Stenson and the like. They have manipulated the situation. They haven’t paid their fines either, but their appeal dates have been pushed back until after the Ryder Cup. They have basically kicked the can down the road for those players. This is another aspect that has to be addressed if we ever sit around the table.”
Regarding the possibility of reconciliation within the divided realm of professional golf, Westwood casts doubt on President Donald Trump’s potential influence despite his well-known passion for the sport, reports the Mirror US.
“He [President Trump] is a keen golfer, but I don’t think he has that kind of influence,” said Westwood. “What can he do? He can’t force the PGA Tour to make a deal. I don’t think the PGA Tour want the deal. To do a deal, both sides have to move on a few things, but I don’t think they want that.”
The DP World Tour contests many of Westwood’s assertions, stressing their cordial partnership with the PGA Tour and denying any specific hostility towards him personally.
A spokesperson for the DP World Tour commented: “We have been consistent in our administration of our members’ regulations which, as the Sports Resolution Panel stated, is ‘necessary and proportionate’ to protect the rights and collective interest of the Tour’s membership.
“The fact remains, any player is able to be a member of the DP World Tour provided they comply with the members’ regulations each player signs up to. Some players have done that and remained in membership, while others have returned to membership and fulfilled their outstanding sanctions.
“In terms of appeals, our disciplinary process, set out in our members’ regulations, gives a member the right to appeal against any sanctions imposed and continue to play while that appeal is pending. Some players have exercised that right recently, the same as a number of players did in 2022-23, including Lee Westwood.”
