The outcome of an arbitration concerning the rights of professional golfers who competed in LIV Golf events without first being granted the proper releases by the DP World Tour has been decided in favor of the DP World Tour. 1Professional players, including the likes of Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, chose to play in the first ever LIV Golf event, at the Centurion Club in 2022. As a result of this arbitration, they may never play in another DP World Tour event during their careers.
After initially playing in the first LIV event, the DP World Tour attempted to suspend the offending players from participation in further DP World Tour events, as well as issuing individual fines to players. 2These efforts were temporarily halted by the British Court, as they ordered a stay in the restrictions pending the outcome of this arbitration. With the arbitrators ruling in favor of the DP World Tour, they will be able to effectuate the punishments they initially had to delay on account of the British court.
Arbitrators determined that the violations committed by the DP World Tour players “increased the likelihood that commercial partners would be tempted to terminate or limit relationships with the tour.”3 In the eyes of the arbitrator, it was completely reasonable for the DP World Tour to decide against granting releases to these players. Moreover, when the players ignored the protocols they had agreed to as members of the DP World Tour, they opened themselves to the repercussions the league otherwise had at their disposal.
Of course, the previous DP World Tour players who are on the losing end of this decision feel differently. A lawyer for LIV, Matthew Schwartz, stated “By punishing players for playing golf, the DPWT is seeking to unreasonably control players . . .”4 It is the view of the LIV that the increase in competition is beneficial to the sport as a whole.
This is a landmark victory for proponents of the traditional PGA Tour/DP World Tour against the upstart LIV Golf league. The decision in favor of DP World Tour came in the form of a 90-page ruling, with detailed analysis of how the Tour is able to enforce their own regulations when their policies are violated. Players who were initially fined have been given up to thirty days to pay the imposed fines, but it is currently unclear whether these players have any ability to appeal the decision. 5It is also currently unclear what impact this ruling will have on future events such as the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup is a bi-annual competition between the best European and American golfers, and historically required European players to be members of the DP World Tour as a basis for qualification. While it is currently unforeseen how this ruling will directly effects the future of LIV Golf, it is fair to say that the first blow against them has been landed.
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