With LIV Golf’s future in doubt following the PIF’s decision to pull funding, speculation has arisen about whether LIV stars like Bryson DeChambeau will try and return to the PGA Tour. But a much easier path exists for LIV pros looking to move on from the upstart league: the DP World Tour.
And one DP World Tour veteran is adamant that the tour has “to welcome [LIV pros] back.” That player is Pablo Larrazabal.
In an interview with Today’s Golfer, Larrazabal also shared a strong message for “very selfish” DPWT players who, fearing the loss of playing opportunities, want to make it difficult for LIV pros to return.
Pablo Larrazabal invokes Rory McIlroy’s ‘play better’ mantra in LIV message
The DP World Tour would benefit greatly from the return of star players from LIV Golf. Not just the biggest names like DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, but also European legends like Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood.
But the reality is that if 15-20 LIV pros start playing DP World Tour events regularly, as some reports allege, some of the current DPWT players will be negatively impacted. They would see their finishes plummet along with their prize winnings. They could even lose spots in tournaments.
In his interview with Today’s Golfer, though, Larrazabal showed no sympathy for those players’ fears.
“People are very selfish. If you finish fifth this week – bring the LIV players, you’re probably going to finish 15th. So they’re going to take around 30, 40 grand from your pocket,” Larrazabal told Today’s Golfer. “But to win golf tournaments, you have to be the best. And to make money, you have to be the best. I want to beat Sergio Garcia. I want to beat Jon Rahm down the stretch on Sunday afternoon. And the kids, they want to be rich. They want to get richer, not beating anyone. And that’s very selfish.”
Adding weight to Larrazabal’s argument is the fact that he is very much the kind of player who could see career opportunities vanish with the return of LIV stars. Though he’s captured nine DP World Tour wins in a long career, the 42-year-old has struggled lately and is currently ranked 152nd in the Race to Dubai standings.
The veteran pro went on to invoke a quote from Rory McIlroy to make his point. McIlroy’s quote was originally inspired by lesser PGA Tour pros who feared changes on that Tour would hurt them.
“Rory McIlroy said in the past that you want to get in the strong tournaments, the money tournaments, ‘play better.’ If you’re playing like I am nowadays, you’re going to be playing smaller tours,” Larrazabal said. “You want to be the best. [Some of the] best are on LIV and we have to welcome them back.”
Pro sees returning LIV stars as boon for DP World Tour
Larrazabal also revealed specifics on how he sees the return of star LIV pros benefiting the DP World Tour, including the attraction of more sponsors and, potentially, increased purses.
“This tour with seven or 10 [LIV players] week in, week out around here, we will have more sponsors. We will have better venues and better golf tournaments. It’s time to let them in. How great would this tournament be with Bryson DeChambeau or Jon Rahm? It will be massive. Instead of playing for $2.5 million or $2.7 million, we will be playing for $4 million or $5 million. They need us, we need them,” Larrazabal told Today’s Golfer.
He continued by reiterating his “welcome them back” mantra, especially when it comes to European stars from Ryder Cup history.
“We have to welcome Sergio Garcia. Lee Westwood, [former] number one in the world. We have to welcome Martin Kaymer. We have to welcome the guys that made the tour like it is now. They did what they wanted to do. Who is a tour to tell us what to do? We have to do as much as we can do for our people back home, for our families. They went to play another tour, but those guys made the Ryder Cup as it is now. Unfortunately or fortunately – whatever you want to call it – they’re not going to be involved in the Ryder Cup.”
DP World Tour winner sounds off on LIV pros who want to return
The circumstances around LIV pros playing DP World Tour events are not the same for every player. Some players resigned their DP World Tour memberships when they moved to LIV. Others took it a step further and sued the tour. But some players maintained their DP World Tour cards, paying fines when they broke the rules by playing LIV events the same week as DP World Tour events.
Furthermore, in February the DP World Tour granted releases for eight LIV pros to continue playing LIV events without accumulating additional fines and punishments. Those players are Laurie Canter, Thomas Detry, Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk, Victor Perez, David Puig and Elvis Smylie.
So in most cases, current LIV pros are eligible to play DP World Tour events right now. That differs from the situation on the PGA Tour, where returning LIV pros will face, at minimum, a one-year suspension and possible fines.
But six-time DP World Tour winner Joost Luiten thinks the DP World Tour should make it “very hard” for LIV pros to return, as he told Today’s Golfer.
“They were very quick to leave and they were very happy to take the money. Not everyone, but a lot of them spoke bad about this tour,” Luiten said. “They should make it hard to come back. I’m not saying it should be impossible, but I think it should be hard. I think the fines should stay in place.”
Luiten then continued to defame those DP World Tour pros who left for LIV, arguing they want “the best of both worlds.”
“When you leave you have to sit on the blisters – it’s a Dutch saying. It means they made their decision and now they should deal with the consequences,” Luiten said. “They were happy to take the money and nothing was good enough. Now they want to come back and have the best of both worlds. I think that’s not really fair. They made the decision and now they have to live with it.”
As for what the path back should like, Luiten shared an idea: Q School.
“They should go back to Q school. That’s the fairest thing you can do. Let them battle it out there. Nobody wants to go to tour school. That’s the most fair thing you can do… You lost your status on this tour and deal with it.”
You can read the entire Today’s Golfer report here.
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