David Puig has become the latest LIV Golf player to head for the exit, and the DP World Tour increasingly looks like the landing spot for players who decide LIV 2.0 isn't for them.
Puig, the 24-year-old Spaniard who played for Sergio Garcia's Fireballs GC, said at the Spanish Open this week that he will not remain with LIV as the league tries to restructure its business and playing model.
"I don't see myself playing in the LIV 2.0," Puig told reporters. "It's a decision I've made. I hope to play the European Tour next year, which I really enjoy, with a fuller schedule."
Puig's decision comes as the DP World Tour appears to be positioning itself as something of a lifeline for players looking for a way out of LIV.
Several LIV players are in advanced
discussions over a pathway that would give them playing opportunities on the European circuit in 2027. Any agreement would require players to reject the new terms being offered as part of LIV 2.0.
That's significant with an Oct. 25 deadline looming for LIV players to commit to the restructured league. LIV needs enough players with outstanding financial claims against the league to sign on to satisfy terms of its restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit. The DP World Tour acknowledged that there has been considerable interest.
Players who return wouldn't necessarily receive full DP World Tour membership. Some could receive access to multiple tournaments in 2027, although they would initially be excluded from the five Rolex Series events.
Puig already had a foothold outside LIV. The former Arizona State standout continued playing select DP World Tour and Asian Tour events while competing for LIV and scored the biggest victory of his professional career last November at the Australian PGA Championship. Now he wants a full schedule in Europe.
Puig's departure also adds his name to an increasingly important group of LIV players choosing another path. Jon Rahm has said he will not participate in LIV 2.0, while Garcia was granted a release from his LIV contract earlier this week.
Rahm's attorney, John Beck, told a bankruptcy hearing Wednesday that Rahm had "independently reviewed the proposed terms of LIV 2.0" and determined they were "unacceptable to him."
Then there is Bryson DeChambeau.
DeChambeau's decision could be among the most important for LIV's future, and in late September the two-time major champion was still weighing his options. Unlike Puig, DeChambeau reportedly is not seeking DP World Tour membership. Instead, his discussions center on potential tournament appearances in Europe.
That makes the DP World Tour an increasingly intriguing piece of LIV's latest chapter. Patrick Reed took the European route after leaving LIV earlier in 2026, and Rahm is expected to do the same. Other players could soon follow.
The PGA Tour remains a much more complicated destination. Under its current rules for former LIV players, golfers face a one-year suspension from the date of their final LIV competitive round before they can seek a path back.
Europe, meanwhile, offers something much more immediate: a place to play.
And with Puig already declaring he won't be part of LIV 2.0, Rahm headed in the same direction and DeChambeau exploring his European options, the DP World Tour suddenly could have a major role in determining what LIV looks like on the other side of Oct. 25.
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek and the golf coordinator for the USA Today Network.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LIV Golf player joins growing list of those saying they're leaving
