Lee Westwood is unemployed. His words.
Whether the former World No. 1 remains that way, signs on for LIV Golf’s reboot or makes his way back to the DP World Tour remains to be seen.
“I am currently unemployed,” Westwood, 53, said on the “Chipping Forecast” podcast. “I haven’t signed up to anything anywhere. I haven’t made a decision on anything yet.”
Westwood has been with LIV Golf since its inaugural season in 2022 and served as co-captain of Majesticks GC. But as the league attempts to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and transition to “LIV 2.0” without funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Westwood has yet to commit to what comes next.
Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia and fellow Englishman Ian Poulter are among the high-profile
players who have decided not to return.
“There’s nothing that’s been presented to me that was agreeable for LIV 2.0,” Westwood said. “There are still a lot of things that would need fine-tuning; deadlines have come and gone, and I’ve heard nothing on whether I have to sign or not.”
While Westwood remains undecided, Bryson DeChambeau is singing a much different tune.
The two-time U.S. Open champion offered perhaps the strongest indication yet that he intends to be part of LIV’s reboot. DeChambeau said the proposed new business model could make LIV financially sustainable.
“The business model makes a lot of sense,” DeChambeau said. “And we’re actually working through that right now for this new model where it will make full financial sense.
“It’s no funny business, no nothing. It’s going to be done right. And this is going to be a league, hopefully, that exists forever.”
For Westwood, there’s another option increasingly coming into focus: a return to the DP World Tour.
Westwood and Poulter recently paid the fines imposed by the DP World Tour for competing in LIV events without releases. Poulter said in March that his outstanding fines totaled $1.1 million, while Westwood’s total is believed to have been similar.
That represents quite a reversal for two players who had long insisted they wouldn’t pay.
“I’m not paying them because I disagree with the way they’ve been handed out,” Westwood said in 2024.
He has now paid them, potentially clearing a path back to the circuit where he won 25 times.
Westwood and other LIV players have until Nov. 16 to reapply for DP World Tour membership. For Westwood, however, paying the fines doesn’t mean he can simply show up at the first tee. He would still have to serve a 10-tournament suspension before being eligible to compete.
“I am yet to have everything put in front of me and I have not really had any dialogue with the DP World Tour,” Westwood said. “I know if I sign up, I’ve then got to serve a 10-tournament suspension. I’ve looked at the schedule, and I feel like the first event I could play in on the DP World Tour will be the Turkish Airlines Open, which is the first week in May, so I haven’t looked any further.”
For now, the four-time European Tour Golfer of the Year and winner of 44 professional titles is in golf limbo.
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek and the golf coordinator of the USA Today Network.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lee Westwood ‘unemployed’ as LIV Golf future hangs in balance, DP World Tour return looms
