DP World Tour sets merit-based approach for returning LIV players

DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings says the circuit will take a merit-based approach to players seeking to return from LIV Golf, while alleging that LIV spent more than $7 billion and had damaging the Tour as one of its aims. He said the spending and intent were reported to him by people he trusts in golf, rather than supported by records he presented. Kinnings’s comments come as the DP World Tour sets its 2027 invitation policy for returning players. He said the Tour would not create a special exemption category and that its invitations would not apply to Rolex Series events. Instead, he said, invitations would target smaller national opens between February and August, where stronger fields could benefit tournaments. He said returning players would have to prove themselves within the Tour’s system and that there was no perfect solution to reintegration. The policy follows the Tour’s earlier exemption arrangements for LIV players including Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Tom McKibbin, according to one account. Kinnings’s remarks also come amid reported concern among some DP World Tour players about invitations for returning competitors. Kinnings said LIV’s spending had...