06 April 2023 , 15:57
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LIV Golf rebels will be welcomed back to the DP World Tour if they pay their fines and serve any further suspensions, Keith Pelley has claimed.
And the DP World Tour boss said Ryder Cup legends Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood could still qualify for the Europe team this year although it will be “more difficult”.
The Canadian said: “This is their choice.” The DP World Tour has today won its legal battle against 12 LIV players who committed "serious breaches" of the Tour's code of behaviour by playing in LIV Golf events without permission.
The players were refused “conflicting event” releases to play in the first LIV Golf event in Hertfordshire last June and suspended from the Scottish Open and fined £100,000.
An injunction allowed them to keep playing on the DP World Tour but Sports Resolutions has today judged the fines and suspensions were legal. During a video conference in Augusta today, chief executive Pelley said he was already receiving emails from DP World Tour players delighted at the decision.
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He said his organisation will now decide on what further action to take against the rebels. But the Canadian refused to gloat - and left the door open for LIV Golf stars to keep playing on the DP World Tour if they decide to breach their LIV contracts and not play in future conflicting events. LIV stars now have to play 14 events a year.
”We’ve never banned them,” said Pelley. “All we have said is that we are enforcing our rules. I’m disappointed obviously with some of their comments but I understand that some of their contracts prohibit them from being as positive as we may have liked them to be, and they also obviously have equity in that, so they have an added incentive to build LIV at the detriment of the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour.
DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley addressed the result (Getty Images)"But this is their choice. If they adhere to the consequences, if they pay the fines, if they live to the consequences for breaching that we impose on them in the future, then, yeah, we’’ll welcome them back. I have no problem with them playing at all."
Pelley said the DP World Tour will now look at “each case individually” over deciding what further punishments to impose. LIV Golf stars like Poulter and Westwood must now decide whether to take further legal action - or resign from the DP World Tour and end any hope of future involvement in the Ryder Cup.
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Luke Donald is the man in charge of Team Europe (Getty Images)Pelley added: “In order to qualify for The Ryder Cup, you have to be European and you have to be a member of the DP World Tour. And if you are, and you qualify through one of the six spots, you’ll be on The Ryder Cup, or if Luke Donald selects one of the six players.
“I think it will be more difficult for them depending on what other sanctions that we impose on them to qualify for The Ryder Cup. But more importantly, the commitments that they have to play against events that are DP World Tour qualifying events will also make it more difficult for them to qualify.
If they qualify for The Ryder Cup, then they can play on The Ryder Cup but I think it will be difficult for them to do so.” LIV Golf stars are banned from the PGA Tour pending a legal case next year but 18 stars are teeing up at the Masters this week.